The Silicon Graphics® IRIS® 3270 Emulator products provide a high-speed communications link between an IRIS-4DTM Series workstation and an IBM® host computer.
With the IRIS 3270 Emulator, you can use an IRIS-4D workstation or server—with Systems Network Architecture (SNA), Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), or 5080 Graphics System Workstation connectivity—to access your IBM mainframe.
This document describes how to use the IRIS 3270 Emulator. It is organized to provide user information, such as configuring the emulator, transferring files, and troubleshooting. For information on how to use Silicon Graphics' 3270 High-Level Language Application Program Interface (HLLAPI) to create HLLAPI applications that interact with IBM host applications, refer to the IRIS 3270 Emulator Programming Guide.
Chapter 1, “Configuring the IRIS 3270 Emulator,” explains how to configure the 3270 terminal emulator software. It contains a section on configuring the emulator for the first time.
Chapter 2, “Using the IRIS 3270 Emulator,” describes how to start and use the emulator. It covers starting and stopping the emulator and how to save screen images.
Chapter 3, “Using the IRIS 3270 Emulator with an ASCII Terminal,” explains how to use the 3270 emulator with a character-based (ASCII) terminal.
Chapter 4, “Transferring Files,” covers how to transfer files between your workstation and a host using either Silicon Graphics' file transfer program (IRISXFR) or IBM's IND$FILE file transfer protocol.
Chapter 5, “Troubleshooting,” describes troubleshooting techniques for both 3270 hardware and software.
Appendix A, “Error Messages,” contains a list of error messages, divided into sections for configuration, terminal emulation, IRISXFR, and IND$FILE.
Appendix B, “Editing the Emulator Configuration File,” describes how to make changes to the plain-text configuration file for the emulator. This chapter is primarily for ASCII terminal users.
Appendix C, “3278 Status Line Codes and Messages,” lists the various codes and messages displayed on the emulator status line.
Appendix D, “Automating Host File Transfers,” describes how to automate file transfers between VM or MVS machines and your local workstation using IRISXFR and IND$FILE.
Appendix E, “Keyboards,” contains keyboard layouts for the languages supported by the IRIS 3270 Emulator.
The IRIS 3270 Emulator enables any model of the IRIS-4D Series to:
emulate a Model 2 IBM 3278 terminal using an ASCII terminal (including VT100, iris-ansi, and xterm terminals)
transfer files between the IRIS workstation and an IBM host using either IBM's IND$FILE or Silicon Graphics' IRISXFR file transfer protocol
display an X Window SystemTM/MotifTM graphical user interface to let users interactively customize the emulator's configuration settings
support multiple 3270 products, multiple hosts or gateways, and multiuser environments using Silicon Graphics' mouse-driven Toolchest menus
access an IBM host using French, German, Italian, Katakana, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, U.K. English, or U.S. English international character sets
use the Silicon Graphics' 3270 HLLAPI to create programs that interact with host applications
provide generalized structured field support for HLLAPI applications (for SNA, TCP, and 5080 link types only)
access the on-line, Silicon Graphics-to-IBM keyboard maps
These type conventions and symbols are used in this guide:
| Italics | Filenames, variables, IRIX command arguments, command flags, titles of publications, icon names | |
| UPPERCASE | IBM file names, command names and the names of keys used on IBM systems | |
| Screen type | Code examples, file excerpts, and screen displays (including error messages) | |
| Bold Screen type |
| |
| () | (Parentheses) Following IRIX commands, they surround the reference page (man page) section where the command is described | |
| [] | (Brackets) Surrounding optional syntax statement arguments | |
| # | IRIX shell prompt for the superuser (root) |
The IRIS 3270 Emulator software and hardware communicate between an IRIS workstation and an IBM-host system. For information on system requirements, refer to the release notes included with your 3270 emulator product.
The IRIS 3270 Emulator software includes these key files and directories:
| /opt/3270/bin/ | Contains all executable files for 3270 | |
| /opt/3270/chest/ | Contains Toolchest menu files | |
| /opt/3270/font/ | Contains all fonts used by the emulator | |
| /opt/3270/lib | Contains libsgi3270.a, the 3270 HLLAPI link library. | |
| /var/opt/3270/example/ |
| |
| /var/opt/3270/file/ |
| |
| /var/opt/3270/spool/ |
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| /var/opt/3270/lib/ |
| |
| /usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/Setup3270 |
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To use Silicon Graphics' IRISXFR file transfer utility, you must install the IRISXFR program on your IBM host. This software is distributed on a
1/2-inch tape, generated at 1600 bytes per inch (BPI). For information on how to install the host software, refer to the installation instructions included with the IRISXFR distribution.
 | Warning: Do not attempt to add boards or other upgrades in your system. Hardware upgrades should be installed only by Silicon Graphics-certified personnel. Upgrades performed by noncertified persons void your warranty and may damage your system, or cause injury to improperly trained individuals. |
The IRIS workstation running 3270 emulator software can be connected to an IBM host through these network configurations:
a leased line using Synchronous Data Link Control (SDLC) via an IBM 37X5 front end processor
Ethernet, Token Ring, or FDDI using IBM 3172 or equivalent controller
local non-SNA channel attach using the IRIS Channel Adapter (ICA)
The figures on the next pages illustrate sample IRIS 3270 Emulator hardware configurations, including:
an IBM, or IBM compatible, mainframe computer
an IBM host front-end processor running Network Control Program (NCP)
an IRIS SNA workstation running the IRIS 3270 Emulator software (SNA mode) through an IRIS SNA gateway
an IRIS SNA gateway running the IRIS 3270 Emulator software (SNA mode)
an IRIS Channel Adapter gateway and connections
The following figures illustrate these connections:
