jmh@eagle.ukc.ac.uk (Jim Hague) (07/01/87)
Can anybody help with some pointers for a friend .... Looking for advice on connecting a varied collection of IBM PCs, XTs, ATs, compatables etc etc etc to an IBM mainframe (don't know exactly what flavour, but it is S/370 series, not S/38 or S/36). They'd like to connect the PCs various to the mainframe somehow, with the PCs acting as terminals and also offering file download etc etc. If anybody operating such a collection could drop some mail by with some actual experience (what are the connection options, do they work etc) I'd be grateful. Respondents in the UK stand at least a chance of liquid appreciation. Thanks in advance. Oh, I will of course summarise any responses to the net (if necessary). -- Jim Hague UUCP: ..!mcvax!ukc!jmh Failure has gone to his TG: 72:MAG10135 head. - Wilson Mizner.
jmh@eagle.ukc.ac.uk (Jim Hague) (07/22/87)
In article <3157@eagle.ukc.ac.uk> I wrote: > >[....] > >Looking for advice on connecting a varied collection of IBM PCs, XTs, ATs, >compatables etc etc etc to an IBM mainframe (don't know exactly what >flavour, but it is S/370 series, not S/38 or S/36). They'd like to >connect the PCs various to the mainframe somehow, with the PCs acting as >terminals and also offering file download etc etc. Many, many thanks to all those who replied. The information has been passed on to the interested parties. I did threaten a summary, so here's a briefish one. <The slowest is to use Kermit and go in through serial port. This usually <requires the smallest additions in terms of cost and hardware, but the speeds <we have achieved are limited to about 1/3 of the serial line speed. < <We have a number of MicroPlus MP01 cards, which plug into the PC's bus and <take a coax connection to a 327x terminal controller. Terminal emulation is <good, and file transfer speeds are in the 1-2 Kilobyte/second range. Cost is <not too bad, since the coax is usually in place already. < <The fastest (and most expensive) is a TCP/IP route, using Fibronics hardware <for the mainframe, and either Excelan or Ungermann-Bass for the PC. Transfer <rates up to 45KBS have been seen and the terminal emulation of telnet is <adequate. .... <We run a free package called YTERM (from Yale) university. It runs on a <series 1 system and allows an ASCII terminal to be used in a pseudo <hardwire manner. It works VERY well, we have over 500 people using it on <a regular basis. You need something like a termcap for each type of <terminal you wish to connect, but (a) some come with the package, and (b) <they're not hard to generate [.....]. .... <Try the "IRMA" board from DCA in Georgia (USA). It makes your <PC act like a 3270. They also include file transfer software which <runs under TSO. .... <We use IBM's offering here and it works fine. [....] The program is memory <resident, so you've got a 3270 terminal at the touch of a hot key. Of <course there are the usual conflicts with other memory resident stuff, <and IBM's card and a Novell ETHERNET card fight like cats and dogs. < .... <The hardware question is a matter of whether you want things hardwired or <using modems. We use both modems and something called an "intelligent <switch" which is some kind of network hardware that we also use to connect <to 2 vaxen, a few antiquated cybers and 3 autodial modems (and soon a cray!). <The modem option is fairly simple, but does require all of the PCs to have <modems. <As for software, we've been using yterm [....] -- Jim Hague UUCP: ..!mcvax!ukc!jmh Failure has gone to his TG: 72:MAG10135 head. - Wilson Mizner.