TCP/IP Over SNA

[Dewey Paciaffi]

In article <081690.091707.heise1 at ibm.com> RAH at IBM.COM ("Russell A. Heise") writes:
-
- eddjp at althea.UUCP (Dewey Paciaffi) writes:
-
- > In article <2812 at awdprime.UUCP> linas at linas.austin.ibm.com writes:
- > -
- > -Let me try to answer this one...
- > -If you have a SNA network, there is no way in the world that
- > -you can hook up a Sun to it.  If you did, every airline reservation
- > -system in New Jersey would probably burp.
> >
- > Don't tell this to my SUNs doing 3274 emulation...
- Here, here...
- >
- > -If you have Ethernet, well, just hook the /6000 to it. It'll work.
- > -Use sockets.  They'll work.  IBM TCP/IP is NOT implemented on top
- > -of SNA.  If you have to use SNA, call your IBM Mainframe service rep.
- > -The /6000 supports SNA, but you'll probably have to buy special
- > -hardware to hook up to your s/370 or 3090.
- >
- > This seems to conflict with what I've heard elsewhere. I've been told that
- > the RS/6000 doesn't support SNA, but that SNA does support TCP/IP, with
- > the proper Hardware/Software/Mainframe configuration. If this actually
- > is the case, then the RS/6000 TCP/IP should be just as easily transported
- > across the SNA as the TCP/IP from a SUN or a Xenix/386, for that matter.
-
- My turn.  AIX V3 on the RISC System/6000 provides support for TCP/IP
- over Token-Ring networks, Ethernet networks, and Serial lines (RS-232D).
- This support comes in the base OS offering.  In addition, you can
- purchase and install a separate product, AIX SNA Services/6000, which
- provides a programming level interface to an SNA network.  It does not
- provide a user-interface or any form of emulation, but it does allow you
- to build your own interface on top.
-
- TCP/IP and SNA are apples and oranges, with some exceptions.  The
- biggest exception arises from the fact that an SNA network can include
- a Token-Ring network.  Therefore, (with the right software configured)
- an RS/6000 can "talk" TCP/IP over a Token-Ring, or "talk" SNA over a
- Token-Ring, or both.  The two protocol suites can coexist on the same
- Token-Ring without influence or interference.  When your SUNs are doing
- 327x emulation, their emulation software is talking to the controller
- using SNA protocols.  This has nothing to do with TCP/IP.
-
-Russ Heise, AIX TEchnical Support, IBM

Firstly, the poster linas in Austin stated that there is "No Way" to
hook Suns to an SNA Network. I have Suns doing 327x emulation, consider
it a connection to our SNA network, and know the difference between it
and TCP/IP.

Based on your posting above, Russ, I'm confused again. I thought I was 
no longer confused last month when you posted the following:

-From: RAH at IBM.COM ("Russell A. Heise")
-Subject: RS/6000 Communications
-Date: 16 Jul 90 19:29:51 GMT


- eddjp at althea.UUCP (Dewey Paciaffi) writes:

-> My company is buying RS/6000s. We have an SNA network that serves a number
-> of sites, tied to a 3090 at the Corporate Headquarters.
->
-> We would like RS/6000s at different locations to communicate over the
-> SNA backbone. This communication would be preferably TCP/IP. Is there
-> a product available or in development that would allow this?

-Yes, you may wish to consider one of the following options:
-a) o Install VM-TCP/IP (or MVS-TCP/IP) on the 3090 nearest to each RISC
-     System/6000.  I am assuming that you have more than one 3090!
-   o Connect each RS/6000 to the local 3090 via Token-Ring or Ethernet.
-     VM-TCP/IP can talk directly to both types of networks.
-   o Activate the SNA Network Link feature of VM-TCP/IP to gateway TCP/IP
-     packets between the two local area networks *over* the SNA network.
						 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
You said TCP/IP can be transported over SNA, with the proper hardware
and software configuration. This agreed with what I had heard elsewhere.
In today's posting you call SNA and TCP apples and oranges, and seem to
say that TCP is not transportable over SNA. Does the VM-TCP Gateway 
product encapsulate the TCP-IP Packets in SNA Packets?  For my purposes
this constitutes transporting TCP/IP over SNA. I know that native
TCP doesn't work over SNA, which is why I asked the original question in the 
first place.



-- 
Dewey Paciaffi
eddjp at althea.UUCP