General Knowledge Base

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I want to run my console session(s), DSP01, using CAT5 to an office adjacent to the Computer Room. The e-TwinSt@r controller seems to provide the solution. Is the display station connection on the controller twinax or RJ45? I have two iSeries, both LPAR'd. Can I use logical sessions to share one or more display stations?

The e-Twin@x Controller creates a Telnet connection to the AS/400 to open the display session. This requires activation of the TCP/IP protocol and Telnet server on the AS/400. Therefore, an e-Twin@x Controller session cannot be used as an AS/400 console session. A true console session even allows the user to have manual control over an IPL procedure, when no protocols and servers are active.

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Where can I find information about a problem with a specific device on the AS/400?

With the exception of IPDS printers, all devices are TN5250 sessions. Therefore, the first place you can check is the Telnet Server log. To see it enter the WRKACTJOB command, select QTGTELNETS job (it can be more than one), press 5 <Enter>, then 10 <Enter>. Another place where the information about the problem might be found is the output queue QEZJOBLOG or (in some systems) PRT01. In some cases, usable information can appear in message queue QSYSOPR. In OS/400 V4R4, the name QTVDEVICE is used instead of QTGTELNETS. To see all messages, press F10 when the job log appears.

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Where can I find job-related log messages in the AS/400?

Enter the command WRKF QPJOBLOG; Press 8 in QPJOBLOG line; Find 'Spooling Description' title and 'Spooled output queue' line.
The output queue name defined there contains all current log messages. To change the log queue name to another (QEZJOBLOG recommended), type the following command:
CHGPRTF FILE(QPJOBLOG) OUTQ(QUSRSYS/QEZJOBLOG).
After that all log messages will be saved in the QEZJOBLOG output queue.

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I want to stop and then restart a display or printer session, without physically turning it off and on. How I can do this?

Use the e-Twin@x Controller configurator (HTTP or Twinax), select the required device in the Twinax devices table, and if device is any status excluding "Pending", enter the Suspend option. The device will be disconnected from AS/400. To reconnect it, enter the Resume option.

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After switching off the power on the controller its devices still remain active on the AS/400. As a result, when the power is switched on some of these devices cannot be connected and show a failed status on the controller. Is there any way to fix this?

If you simply turn off the controller, the devices may stay active on AS/400 and you will not be able to run the sessions immediately after restarting the controller. We recommend running the Twinax Configurator and pressing F10 in any screen after the password is entered. In the prompt screen press F12 to shut down the controller. This will disconnect all sessions from the AS/400 and show the following message on all active display screens: e-Twin@x Controller is ready to power down. Now you can turn off the controller.

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There are several PTFs that IBM released to fix AS/400 support of the TN5250E devices and IPDS LAN printers. Is there a simple way to check that my AS/400 has all required and/or recommended PTFs installed?

You can use the e-Twin@x Controller configurator to check PTFs on the AS/400. Open the "Working with Hosts" screen and verify the required host. Once verification is complete, an option to check PTFs will be available.

Note that even when the PTF appears as installed on AS/400 it still may be not applied, so if you are not sure that all installed PTFs are also applied, use the AS/400 command DSPPTF and check their status. The whole list of required and /or recommended PTFs appears in this link.

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There are several TCP/IP errors that may appear in the Diagnostic log or in the terminal screen due to configuration or connectivity problems. What is the meaning of these errors?

Solution:

If you receive one of the common TCP/IP errors listed in the table below, try the following solutions:

1. Check that both the Telnet server and the TCP/IP interface are active on the AS/400.

2. Check the device or service status:

a. If this is a display or printer device session, the device should be in Vary On pending state. If it is not, vary off and then vary on the device. Note that Auto-recovery mode does this automatically.

b. If there is a problem with a host service, like the Server Mapper or Remote Command server, make sure that the server is active. If it is not, run it. If it is active, but the e-Twin@x Controller is unable to connect to it, run the ENDHOSTSVR and then STRHOSTSVR commands.

3. The error may have been caused by incorrect IP configuration, such as an incorrect controller IP address, default router IP address, etc. Check and correct the IP configuration.

4. The error may have been caused by a physical connectivity problem. Check the LAN or modem connection.

5. The error may have been caused by an internal e-Twin@x Controller problem. If none of the above solutions helps, reset the controller.

Error Messages

Hex Code Mnemonic and Description
0x5020 EPIPE: The connection is broken.
0x5024 EINPROGRESS: The connection cannot be completed immediately
0x5025 EALREADY: A previous connection attempt has not yet been completed.
0x5027 EDESTADDRREQ: The destination address is invalid.
0x5030 EADDRINUSE: Address is already in use.
0x5031 EADDRNOTAVAIL: Address not available.
0x5033 ENETUNREACH: Network is unreachable.
0x5035 ECONNABORTED: The connection has been aborted by the peer.
0x5036 ECONNRESET: The connection has been reset by the peer.
0x5038 EISCONN: The socket is already connected.
0x5039 ENOTCONN: The socket is not connected.
0x503B ETOOMANYREFS: Too many references: can't splice.
0x503C ETIMEDOUT: Connection timed out.
0x503D ECONNREFUSED: The attempt to connect was refused.
0x5041 EHOSTUNREACH: The destination host could not be reached from this node.
0x5049 ENNOFIND: The route specified cannot be found.

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I experience a long delay or failure before getting the sign-on screen on the attached Twinax Terminals. What is the reason?

The AS/400 may be opening another Telnet server. As this may take several minutes, we recommend that you always start a few Telnet servers in advance. To do so, run:

STRTCPSVR *TELNET

Also, the delay or failure might occur due to a security limitation on the AS/400 prohibiting it from adding auto-configured devices to a subsystem. In this case, create the device descriptions manually.

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When the e-Twin@x Controller is turned off, or its connection with host is broken while active devices there are attached, these devices may remain active on the AS/400 making it impossible to run them again without operator intervention. Is there any way to avoid such a situation?

To prevent this, run:

CHGTELNA and define Timemark timeout = 30.

This disconnects sessions 30 seconds after the connection is broken.

If this doesn't help, you must install a PTF on the AS/400.

1. For information about this PTF, access the IBM Web page:

http://www.as400service.ibm.com/supporthome.nsf/home

2. Click Frameset-APARSearch and enter the APAR # SA79071 in the search field. Click Search.

3. Select the link to the SA79071 APAR. All applicable information is there. This covers PTFs V4R1 SF57180, V4R2 SF56882, and V4R3 SF53489.

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The e-Twin@x Controller cannot communicate with the host, but I know that the TCP/IP interface is configured and active on AS/400. What might be the reason?

The controller requires several TCP/IP servers and Host Servers to be started on the AS/400. To use the TCP/IP servers, the QUSER profile on the AS/400 must be enabled and the password must be valid. To make sure the QUSER profile is always enabled, set the password with no expiration time value by entering the following command at the host prompt:

CHGUSRPRF USRPRF(QUSER) PASSWORD(*SAME) PWDEXP(*NO) STATUS(*ENABLED) PWDEXPITV(*NOMAX)

To start the specific Host Socket Server enter the following command at the host prompt:

STRHOSTSVR SERVER(*SVRMAP *RMTCMD)

To start all of the Host Socket Servers enter the following command at the host prompt:

STRHOSTSVR SERVER(*ALL)

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During host verification appears error "Error: Connection error. Check IP address& ". How can I fix it?

If you receive this error during system verification, enter the following commands at the host prompt:

ENDHOSTSVR SERVER(*SVRMAP)

STRHOSTSVR SERVER(*SVRMAP)

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During host verification the following error appears: "Error: Unable to connect to RMTCMD server& ". How can I fix it?

If you receive this error during system verification, enter the following commands at the host prompt:

ENDHOSTSVR SERVER(*RMTCMD)

STRHOSTSVR SERVER(*RMTCMD)

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It's still impossible to run Remote Command on AS/400 even after all host servers on AS/400 were stopped and then started. What can I do?

Solution: It may be that Remote Command session in the e-Twin@x Controller is using a resource that is locked and no longer available. To fix the problem, use the e-Twin@x Controller configurator, select Work with Systems and perform system verification for the system for which you are unable to run Remote Command. This will reset the Remote Command session on the controller and release the required resource.

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Why does the e-Twin@x Controller get the response "not authorized to ... " when issuing Remote Command to the host?

Solution: When defining the user ID in Work with systems screen note:

·If the user class is *SYSOPR, *SECADM, or *SECOFR, the default authorities are sufficient to allow full use of the Work with systems features.

·If the user class is *USER, it will only allow simple system verification. To perform any other activities, you must add the following special authorities to the profile:

·*IOSYSCFG (for IPDS printers): To allow the appropriate queue to be created and activated when printers are started and stopped.

·*JOBCTL (for SCS printers): To allow the end writer command to be recognized by the host after reset.

·*ALLOBJ (for FTP and to restore customized objects for SCS printers): Use this only once per system; it is not needed if customized objects were already created manually.

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Why can't I get access to the e-Twin@x Controller from the PC with browser when the proxy server exists on the network?

Solution: If you have a proxy server on your LAN between your PC and the e-Twin@x Controller, you might have problems running the e-Twin@x Controller HTTP configurator. In this case, you need to set your Internet browser to bypass the proxy server when working with local IP addresses. For Internet Explorer, select Tools|Internet options|Connections|LAN settings, select Use a proxy server, and select Bypass proxy server for local addresses.

Note that an existing proxy server on the LAN might cause problems when updating the e-Twin@x Controller version and when getting a log file. In this case, you must set your proxy server to bypass requests to and from the e-Twin@x Controller IP address. Refer to the proxy server user guide for more information.

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How can I install the SECURIT-e Server on a PC with a LINUX OS?

Use the following steps to run SECURIT-e Server on Linux:

1. Use Linux type that supports glibc or libc5. We've tested this on: Red Hat Linux release 6.1 (Cartman).

2. Install Java Virtual Machine with version 1.1 or above. We've tested with JDK 1.2.2 (more info is in http://java.sun.com/products/jdk/1.2/install-linux.html. )

3. Put files (from SECPC.EXE) SECURIT.ZIP, CNTINFO.HTM, INDEX.HTM, CONFIG.INI into the folder SECURITe on the Linux machine. (We used FTP to copy them).

4. Run the SECURIT-e using either command

Java . cp "securit.zip" TwinProxy.TwinProxy

or

Java . classpath "securit.zip" TwinProxy.TwinProxy

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I see a "Host Unreachable'" error message in the e-Twin@x Controller log. What causes this message?

According to Cisco documentation: "If the access server receives a datagram that it cannot deliver to its ultimate destination because it knows of no route to the destination address, it replies to the originator of that datagram with an ICMP Host Unreachable message".

In our case, a TCP packet from the e-Twin@x Controller to a remote AS/400 did not reach the host. Instead, one of the routers on the way responded with "Host unreachable" message. This message caused the TCP stack to generate a "Host Unreachable" error to ALL open sessions connected to that host. Once the controller receives this message, it ignores it and retries to send packet.

Important notes:

  1. This message indicates that there is a WAN problem ,i.e. there is a problematic router(s) on the way. If several sites drop, then the problem might be in the router(s) at the base. For example: if this router is too busy, it might sometimes not answer an ARP request that comes from an adjacent router.
  2. It's possible to configure a Cisco router to disable these ICMP "Host Unreachable" message. The command for it is:
    interface ethernet 0
    no ip unreachables

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I am trying to use a WAN connection. When the modem dials I receive the message "Remote Lan 0: modem is down, reason got 'NO CARRIER' from modem". What causes this problem?

The problem may be an incorrectly defined password in the modem configuration. Re-enter the password and try again.

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I am unable to get a terminal or printer device connected to my AS/400. In the terminal screen I see the message "Waiting for host reply..." and then I receive an error message. The device status changes to "failed". What can I do?

First of all, check if there is an active session with the same name (as the failed device) on the AS/400. If you are sure that the session name is unique, use the e-Twin@x Configurator to reset the failed device. If after this action device returns to the failed status, change to device name to the DSPS1 (for terminal) or PRTS1 (for printer) -- usually these names fit the AS/400 default naming convention. Then reset the device again. If the device does not start -- even with the "valid" name, there is most likely a problem with the AS/400 configuration (the Telnet server, for example), or the TCP/IP parameters. But if device goes active (Sign On screen on the Terminal), it means that there are device name restrictions on AS/400.
To change these restrictions run command DSPSBSD QINTER <Enter> and select option 4. You will see if there is any workstation (or generic) names including yours. If not, do the same for subsystem QBASE. If there are restrictions on your name in one of the both, call System Administrator to open your name in the AS/400, either to remove the restriction from QINTER (QBASE) or to create another subsystem that will enable session with your name to get Sign On screen. Use the following commands:
RMVWSE to remove name restrictions.
ADDWSE to enable workstation names within subsystems.

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Sometimes the display session locks in Input Inhibit during typing, or after pressing Enter. No error message appears on the screen, but I can continue to work after pressing the Error Reset button.

In may be that the display is configured automatically as 132*27 color, but does not support message line. So, when any error occurs on the terminal it cannot be shown, but only Input Inhibit is highlighted. In such cases you can also see a message in the e-Twin@x Controller's diagnostic log with the text "Recovering from the Twinax Exception error on <session_name>, A=1, P=2, PR1=9,PR2=0.", or the same message with "..PR1=8,...", or no error appears at all. To resolve the problem, define this Terminal as an 80*24 color device. This will allow the user to see the error message on the Terminal screen, if it appears.

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I have controller with the following connection configuration: WAN connection to AS/400 and LAN connection enabled for a small LAN PCs that need to connect to an ISP via the e-Twin@x Controller. The PCs can get an Internet connection, but I cannot connect to the host over the WAN. How can I solve the problem?

You need to set the e-Twin@x Configurator | LAN Interface | TCP/IP Interface | Default router to one of the LAN PC's IP addresses. In addition, you need to define the e-Twin@x Controller IP address as default router in all LAN PCs. Note that you will not be able to get a WAN connection to the host if you have no cable attached to the e-Twin@x LAN connector, or if the PC configured as default router is turned off. In case you do not need LAN connection, disable the LAN interface from License Configuration.

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My e-Twin@x Controller tries to dial the ISP, but the modem never synchronizes with the ISP. I see messages in the e-Twin@x Controller log such as: "Attempting to dial...", then "No CARRIER". Then the modem tries to connect again.

It may be that your modem has some compatibility problems with the ISP's modem. The best thing to do is to replace your modem with a different brand modem. Experience shows that there is no ultimate modem command that can solve this problem.

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I have an ISDN modem. I cannot connect to an ISP at all. I see messages indicating that the modem tries to connect, then I receive an error message.

Your ISDN modem MUST be configured with the following ISDN protocols only:

  • PPP
  • MULTI-PPP
  • V-120
  • X-75
In order to configure your ISDN modem to one of these protocols you first have to find out (in your ISDN modem manual), what is the AT command that switches the modem to the desired protocol. Next, create a new type of modem with the LANLynk manager and add this command in one of the modem's command fields.

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I have the following problem with Decision Data terminals: if only display sessions are defined, the display connects OK, but if I add a printer session, I can not get a Sign On screen for the display session. What can I do?

There is an internal problem in some old Decision Data terminal models. You can update the terminal to newer version (for example, the Decision Data Terminal Model 3855 with firmware version 18 has this internal problem. Upgrading to firmware 20 will solve the problem). Also, there is a parameter in Advanced options - 'Delayed init mode' that was added in version 02.12.00 build 249. When this parameter is set, the controller connects each session separately, which solves the problem, although it causes a slow down in the startup process.

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I have a problem connecting from a PC to the built-in RAS in the e-Twin@x Controller, and from the e-Twin@x Controller to an ISP. It dials OK, but the connection doesn't succeed. I am using a US Robotics 56K Faxmodem. What can I do?

There is a compatibility issue with some US Robotics modems. The LANLynk Manager and the e-Twin@x Controller configuration module both contain a list of compatible US Robotics modems. If your modem is not in the list, it may not work. In this case, try to use another (non-US Robotics) modem.

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I am using a dial-out connection to an ISP. How can I prevent disconnection if there is no data being passed from the controller to the ISP?

The e-Twin@x Controller has its own mechanism for keeping the connection alive when there is at least one active display or SCS printer session. The time-mark Telnet message is sent from the Controller to the AS/400 for all active sessions every 1.5 minutes. This mechanism helps to detect the AS/400 disconnection (during IPL, for example) and start the auto-recovery procedure.

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I am using dial up connections to the Internet at my remote sites. When the users report a problem, how can I find the current IP address of the e-Twin@x Controller?

If you are using the SECURIT-e server, use your browser to connect to the server utilities (normally on port 8181 at the SECURIT-e server TCP/IP address). From this page you can check the server logs for any messages requiring attention, or may select the Attached Controllers list to retrieve the IP address of the controller you need to investigate.

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When there is a disconnect due to an ISP problem, printers go into failure mode and need to be RESET. Would it be possible for the controller to notice a pattern like this and automatically perform the same function that the "RESET" button on the Twinax device display performs?

Such an option already exists in the controller configuration. We don't typically recommend it, because RESET isn’t usually required on every recovery operation. To set it, go to the Advanced Parameters, and select the 'Force delete on recovery' option.

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What is the meaning of the various LED diagnostic information displayed on the controller’s front panel?

Following is a list of LED diagnostic codes used for specific events. The four digits refer to the state of the four right-most LEDs on the front panel (0=off; 1=on):
0001 - no active sessions
1000 - default router is not defined
1001 - unable to get IP address from DHCP server
1011 - no host system is defined
1100 - no interface is enabled
1101 - unable to connect to default router
1111 - unable to find Twinax adapters

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I have a secured environment with TCP/IP port limitations. Which ports do I have to open to enable e-Twin@x Controller operations?

There are several methods for connecting a controller to the AS/400, depending on which services it requires from the AS/400 and from external servers. The list of opened ports depends on the method used.

The following ports are used to connect to controller:
port 21 FTP protocol (used for version update)
port 8080 HTTP configurator
ports 5000-(5000+ n) IPDS printer connection ports (by default), where n - number of licensed sessions, 5000 - is base port and can be changed in configuration
Controller connects to AS/400 to the following ports:
port 21 FTP protocol (used for printer customized objects install and updates)
port 23 Telnet Server port (used for Display and SCS printer sessions)
ports 449 Server Mapper port (returns Remote Command port)
ports 8475 Remote Command port (default - can be changed in AS/400)
Controller uses SECURIT-e Server to connect to AS/400 using secured (encrypted) connection. SECURIT-e Server can be installed on AS/400 or on Windows NT. The following ports are used:
port 3001 connection port (default, can be changed in Server configuration and also must be changed in controller configuration)
port 8181 HTTP connection for on-line information and diagnostic log

The Controller can work with optional service - TwinMail server. It uses 8023 port for connection.

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I have several terminals connected to the controller's ports. One of the terminals is unable to connect - it shows only a black screen. In the Twinax devices table for the specific port this terminal appears in the Pending status, as if it is not connected. What is the reason for this?

Turn off the terminal and refresh the Twinax devices table. You may notice that some other terminal has configured a printer for this address. In this case, you will see the printer device appearing on this address. Find the terminal and change its configuration, or configure the problematic terminal to use a different free Twinax address.

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I sometimes have a problem connecting to the Controller's HTTP Configurator in a mixed 10/100 mbps environment. When the Controller first restarts it works fine, but after a while I am not able to connect to it. If the network cable is moved to a different port, then I can connect to the Controller again.

Starting with version 3.03.00, the Controller includes an option to force the LAN mode to 10 mbps, half-duplex (see "LAN interface -> TCP/IP interface" option). Setting this parameter may help.

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Sometimes the Controller's auto-recovery procedure doesn't work well for display sessions. Before the device can be varied off, any job on it must be ended. This is done with the "ENDJOB " command. If there are no other jobs of any status (e.g., ACTIVE, OUTQ, etc.), then it works fine. However, most of our users have spooled output from interactive sessions early in the day, or earlier in the week. These jobs are in OUTQ status. When the ENDJOB is executed, it fails because the job name isn't unique (due to the OUTQ jobs). We would have to specify the exact job number and user to get the job to end. The problem is that we don't have that information available when initiating the remote command from the BOScom unit. Because of this, the device remains in a failed state.

Starting with version 3.03.00 there is a new way to recovery the display sessions. We have created a special program for ending workstation jobs called BSENDJOB. It is located in the BOSCSTLIB library. The Controller can execute a remote command, calling this program. The workstation device name is passed as a parameter. To use the program, it must be installed on the AS/400. The installation procedure is now a part of the System Verification procedure (see Upload BSENDJOB procedure). Then select Use BSENDJOB call in the system configuration.

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