HP 3000 Manuals

COMMUNICATOR 3000/XL XL RELEASE 2.1

Introducing NS over SNA/XL 

by Tony LaMarca/Scott Emo 
Business Networks Division 

PRODUCT OVERVIEW 

With NS over SNA/XL (HP30296A) HP 3000s can communicate with each other
over an SNA network.  This new product provides you with the ability to
run all HP Network Services over your SNA network.

NS over SNA/XL allows the MPE XL Network Services (NS) to run over an SNA
network.  The product supports connectivity of standalone HP 3000 Series
900 over an SNA network or any HP 3000 on a LAN connected via an SNA
gateway node.  The diagram below shows a possible configuration and
examples of how the HP 3000 Network Services are used.  Please note that
in order to run NS over SNA/XL you are required to have SNA/SDLC Link/XL
(HP30291A) and NS3000/XL Network Services (HP36920A).

This product is only supported on the MPE XL operating system and uses
the SNA PU 2.1 protocol.

NS OVER SNA/XL CONFIGURATION DIAGRAM: 


NETWORK SERVICES USAGE EXAMPLE 

NS over SNA/XL exclusively:

 *  A user on node A can run a virtual terminal session (VT) to log on to
    node B. The user on node A can also run the network file transfer
    program (NFT) to transfer data to node B. All of the WAN
    communication is over the SNA network.

NS over SNA/XL over AdvanceNet LAN:

 *  A user on node A can use VT to log on to node C. When this occurs,
    node B acts as a gateway between the SNA network and the HP LAN.

 *  Node A sends data destined for node C to node B using NFT. Node B
    then forwards it to node C via the AdvanceNet LAN.

The NS over SNA/XL product is installed on nodes that are attached
directly to the SNA network:  A, and B. NS over SNA/XL sends NS packets
across SNA sessions and provides peer-to-peer communication across the
SNA network.  NS services, running on nodes C and D, use TCP/IP protocols
to route data to nodes running NS/SNA.

The NS over SNA/XL product uses Physical Unit 2.1 (PU 2.1) protocol.  PU
2.1 is the IBM peer-to-peer communication capability within an SNA
network.  In June of 1987, IBM announced VTAM support for PU 2.1.  In
response to this announcement, HP has implemented PU 2.1 capability on
the MPE XL HP 3000.  The NS over SNA/XL product is the first HP Datacomm
product to take advantage of the PU 2.1 capability.

Support for PU 2.1 allows:

 *  Type 2.1 XID negotiation as a secondary link

 *  Negotiable BIND Logic

 *  Support of Independent* LUs.  This includes:

     *  Multiple LU-LU sessions on a single LU

     *  Primary LU support (i.e., ability to send a BIND)

The new functionality can be used when the Host and NCP software are
upgraded to support PU 2.1.  VTAM version 3 release 2 and NCP version 5
release 2 are versions that support PU 2.1.

* A session in the old IBM hierarchical structure is now called a
"Dependent LU." With the new peer-to-peer structure, the LU-SSCP and
PU-SSCP sessions are not required and the session is called an
"Independent LU." Dependent LUs have all the same features and
limitations as the LUs under PU 2.0.  Independent LUs provide the new PU
2.1 functionality:  primary LU support, negotiable BIND and multiple
sessions.

MPE/iX Communicators