Preparing to Install Native Service Point

This chapter describes how to prepare and configure your system for installing NSP. It also lists the prerequisites for installing and operating NSP.

This chapter provides information on the following:

Preparing for Installation Overview

Before installing NSP:

Step 1 Verify that your system meets the minimum hardware and software requirements to install and operate NSP.

Step 2 Configure a VTAM connection for each router you want to manage from SOLVE:Netmaster using NSP.

Step 3 Verify that each Cisco router has been correctly configured and connected to the network and that the appropriate service point has been defined in the configuration file of each router.

Verifying System Requirements

The following sections describe the software and hardware requirements for the PC that is used to upload the NSP software. The mainframe host and router requirements are also described.

Workstation Hardware and Software Requirements

The PC you use to upload the NSP data sets to the MVS host must have the following software installed:

IBM OS/2 or Microsoft DOS
TN3270 emulation session with host and file transfer capabilities (IND$FILE)

Your PC must meet the following minimum hardware requirements:

IBM PC-compatible 386 or higher
4 MB of RAM
A serial port or network interface card that provides network connectivity

Host Requirements

To use NSP on your mainframe host, the host must be running Sterling SOLVE:Netmaster Version 3.1 or later and Time Sharing Option (TSO).

Router Requirements

To use NSP to manage your Cisco routers, the routers must be running Cisco IOS software, Release 11.0 or later, with a feature set that provides SNA support.

Before you can use NSP to view and manage a Cisco router from your SOLVE:Netmaster console, the router must be connected to the VTAM host via a systems services control point to a physical unit (SSCP-to-PU) session. This connection is established by defining a PU for each router in the VTAM configuration file.

To define a PU for each router, add the following lines to the VTAM configuration file for each router, specifying the values for the SERVICE_POINT_NAME, idblock number, and id number arguments for each router:

SWDRTRS VBUILD TYPE=SWNET			x
SERVICE_POINT_NAME	PU	ADDR=01, PUTYPE=2, IDBLK=idblock number, IDNUM=id number, DISCNT=(NO), ISTATUS=ACTIVE, MAXDATA=521, IRETRY=YES, MAXOUT=7, PASSLIM=5, MAXPATH=4	x x x x x x x x

The following table lists and defines each of the VTAM argument descriptions.

Table 2-1: VTAM Configuration File Argument Definitions

Argument	Description
*SERVICE_POINT_NAME*	Service point name of the router. May be 1 to 8 characters.
*idblock number*	Identification number that is sent to the host when a connection is being established. It is recommended that you specify 05D for routers.
*id number*	Unique number that identifies the router.

The router exchange identification (XID) number is a combination of the idblock number and the id number of the router. For example, if the router XID is 05D00001, the idblock number is 05D and the id number is 00001.

The XID number is also the value for the xid-snd argument in the Cisco IOS software sna host command as seen in the following example:

sna host host_name xid-snd xid rmac remote_mac [rsap rsap_addr] [lsap local_sap] [focalpoint]

Example

The following is an example of a VTAM configuration file that has been configured for a connection to a router with the SERVICE_POINT_NAME GLENDUSK, idblock number 05D, and the id number BB000.

SWDRTRS VBUILD TYPE=SWNET			x
GLENDUSK	PU	ADDR=01, PUTYPE=2, IDBLK=05D, IDNUM=BB000, DISCNT=(NO), ISTATUS=ACTIVE, MAXDATA=521, IRETRY=YES, MAXOUT=7, PASSLIM=5, MAXPATH=4	x x x x x x x x x

The sna host command in the router configuration for the router would appear:

sna host glendusk xid-snd 05dbb000 rmac 4001.3745.1088 rsap= 4001.3745.1088 fsap 4 lsap 4 focalpoint

Verifying the Router Configuration

In addition to configuring a VTAM connection for each router as described in the "Configuring a VTAM Connection" section, verify that the following conditions exist for each router:

The Cisco router is configured and connected to the network according to the instructions in the Cisco documentation that came with the router.
The host name and enable password arguments are defined in the configuration file of each router.
The appropriate service point is defined in the configuration file of each router using Cisco IOS software SNA interface commands.

: For detailed information about configuring and connecting Cisco routers, refer to the documentation list in the "Related Documentation" section in the "About This Guide" chapter. For samples of a defined service point in router configuration files, see the "General Reference" appendix. For detailed information on the Cisco IOS software interface commands, refer to the Cisco IOS software Bridging and IBM Networking Configuration Guide and Command Reference publications.

Testing the Router Configuration

Once you have configured a VTAM connection for each router and verified that the service point has been properly defined for each router, you can test the router's configuration by verifying it from SOLVE:Netmaster. To verify a router from SOLVE:Netmaster:

Step 1 From the SOLVE:Netmaster Command Entry panel command line, issue the following command for each router where router_name is the name of the router you are verifying:

D router_name

If properly configured and connected, the router status will display with an active (ACTIV) status. If the router does not display an active status, it is not successfully configured and attached to the network or the service point is not defined correctly in the configuration file of the router.

Step 2 Repeat Step 1 for each router that you plan to monitor using NSP.

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