HP 3000 Manuals

COMMUNICATOR 3000/XL XL RELEASE 2.1

SNA/SDLC Link/XL Enhancements 

by Tony LaMarca/Scott Emo 
Business Networks Division 

Two new enhancements have been added to the SNA Link/XL product, now
named SNA/SDLC Link/XL:

 *  Netview Alerts support.

 *  Type 2.1 Node capability.

NETVIEW ALERTS ENHANCEMENT 

The Netview Alerts enhancement provides a mechanism in the SNA/SDLC
Link/XL to send alert messages to the IBM Netview Facility.  This
enhancement provides three functional elements:

 *  A mechanism to format and send alerts to an IBM Host.

 *  Delayed alert reporting of link level errors.

 *  Operator generated alerts.


This enhancement uses the PU-SSCP session to send alerts to the Netview
program running on an IBM Host.  The messages follow the Netview network
management vector format.  This facility is used to send alerts to the
IBM Host when certain link level failures occur.  Alerts are saved in a
message file on the HP 3000 XL and sent to the Host when the SNA link is
reactivated.

The Operator Generated Alerts program provides HP 3000 XL users with the
ability to send alerts to an IBM Host running Netview.  This enhancement
allows an operator on the HP 3000 XL to communicate network problems to
an operator on the IBM Host machine.  The program provides a customer
interface on an HP 3000 terminal and accepts alert data from the user.
The data is constructed into a basic alert and then sent to the IBM Host.

TYPE 2.1 ENHANCEMENT 

Type 2.1 Node protocol is the IBM peer-to-peer communication capability
within an SNA network.  In June of 1987, IBM announced VTAM support for
T2.1 Node.  In response to this announcement, HP has implemented T2.1
Node capability on the MPE XL HP 3000 with the enhanced SNA/SDLC Link/XL
product.

The SNA/SDLC Link/XL product is a complete replacement of the current SNA
Link product.  It provides a superset of the current SNA Link features.
The new product supports both T2.0 and T2.1 Node protocols.

The additional T2.1 Node features are:

 *  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 T2.1 Node SNA/SDLC Link/XL can be used in any configuration
previously running the existing SNA Link/XL product.  The new
functionality can be used when the IBM Host and NCP software are upgraded
to support T2.1 Node.  VTAM version 3 release 2 and NCP version 5 release
2 are versions that will support a T2.1 Node.

T2.1 Node has been added to the SNA/SDLC Link/XL product so that future
SNA service products can be enhanced to take advantage of the T2.1 Node
capability.  In this release, the NS/SNA Link/XL (HP30296A) takes
advantage of the T2.1 Node capabilities.  Please refer to the "NS/SNA
Link/XL" article in this Communicator for more information.

* 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 T2.0 Node.  Independent LUs provide the new
T2.1 Node functionality:  primary LU support, negotiable bind and
multiple sessions.

MPE/iX Communicators