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Table Of Contents

Installing NSPECHO to Measure SNA Response Times

Preparing for Installation by Verifying System Software

Uploading the NSPECHO Files from IBM OS/2 Systems

Uploading the NSPECHO Files from Systems Not Running IBM OS/2

Converting NSPECHO Data Sets to Partitioned Data Sets

Copying Files into System Libraries

Configuring VTAM for NSPECHO

Adding the IPM Startup Procedure to PROCLIB

Defining the NSPECHO Host Application

Defining Router PUs and LUs

Configuring the Mainframe-to-Router Link

Coordinating the VTAM and Router Installation

Configuring a VTAM Connection

Configuring the Router

Configuring and Connecting the Router to the Network

Specifying the Router Name

Configuring SNA Service Point Support

Router Configuration Samples

Basic Configuration Through a Local Ring to a Token Ring Interface

Configuration for a DSPU with RSRB on a CMCC

Configuration for RSRB with a Loopback

Configuration for DLSw+ Using Virtual Data-Link Control

Correlating the Router and VTAM Configuration Information

Verifying the Router's Mainframe Connection

Verifying the Router Connection from NetView

Verifying the Router Connection from VTAM


Installing NSPECHO to Measure SNA Response Times

IPM includes the Cisco NSPECHO application to measure host-to-router response times. NSPECHO is designed for mainframe systems running the IBM OS/390 operating system. NSPECHO is supplied on disk and does not require System Modification Program Extended (SMP/E ) for installation. This chapter describes how to prepare and configure your system for installing the NSPECHO application, how to install the NSPECHO application on your mainframe, and how to configure VTAM for NSPECHO.

The tasks for installing NSPECHO are discussed in the following sections:

•Preparing for Installation by Verifying System Software

•Uploading the NSPECHO Files from IBM OS/2 Systems

•Converting NSPECHO Data Sets to Partitioned Data Sets

•Copying Files into System Libraries

•Configuring VTAM for NSPECHO

•Configuring the Mainframe-to-Router Link

Preparing for Installation by Verifying System Software

Before installing IPM on a host system, verify that your system meets the IPM system requirements. To use NSPECHO on your mainframe the host must be running the following software:

•OS/390 Version 2.4 or later

•VTAM Version 4.4 or later

Uploading the NSPECHO Files from IBM OS/2 Systems

For IBM Operating System/2 (OS/2) systems, NSPECHO provides an installation utility that automatically uploads the NSPECHO compressed files to an MVS host in binary format to data sets that have a fixed block (FB) record format (RECFM) and 80-byte record size (LRECL). The NSPECHO installation utility uses the SEND command, which is supported by the IBM Communications Manager/2 Release 1.11, or later, running on OS/2.

The uploaded data sets require no more than two cylinders of space.

Caution   Using File Transfer Protocol (FTP) to upload the NSPECHO compressed files to an MVS host is not recommended because of possible complications with the file format.

Note   The following procedure specifies standard Interactive System Productivity Facility (ISPF) menu options. These options might vary at your site if the ISPF menu has been customized.

Perform the following steps to upload the NSPECHO files to an MVS host from OS/2 using Communications Manager/2:

Step 1 Start a 3270 emulation session and log in to TSO.

Step 2 Do one of the following:

•If you are already at the TSO Ready prompt, go on to Step 3.

•From the ISPF main menu, type 6 in the Select Option field and press Enter. The TSO Command Processor panel is displayed.

Step 3 Insert the NSPECHO disk into your disk drive.

Step 4 At the OS/2 command prompt, enter the letter representing the drive in which the NSPECHO disk is located and press Enter.

Step 5 At the OS/2 command prompt, use the nspuload command, as shown below, to upload the files.

nspuload local_disk host_session prefix

Where:

local_disk is the drive in which the NSPECHO disk is located.

host_session is the host emulator session ID.

prefix is the file prefix, if your system requires a prefix. (The NSPECHO default prefix is your TSO ID.) If the TSO profile command prefix option is on, do not specify a value for this argument.

Step 6 When the upload process is complete, verify that the NSPECHO files were uploaded to the MVS host. Return to your TSO session. In the Select Option field of the ISPF main menu, type 3.4 and press Enter. The Data Set List Utility menu is displayed.

Step 7 In the DSNAME LEVEL field, type userid.nspecho* (where userid is your TSO ID or system prefix) and press Enter. The following NSPECHO data sets should be listed on the DSLIST panel:

•userid.NSPECHOL.SEQ

•userid.NSPECHOS.SEQ

Uploading the NSPECHO Files from Systems Not Running IBM OS/2

If you are not installing from OS/2 using Communications Manager/2, use the upload utility available with your TN3270 emulation package and ensure that the NSPECHO files are uploaded with a FB, binary, and LRECL=80 file format. This is the required format in which the NSPECHO files must be uploaded to convert them to partition data sets during the NSPECHO installation.

Converting NSPECHO Data Sets to Partitioned Data Sets

Once you have uploaded the NSPECHO data sets to the MVS host, you must convert them to partitioned data sets.

Perform the following steps to convert the NSPECHO data sets to partitioned data sets:

Step 1 On the DSLIST panel, position the cursor in the Command column to the left of the first data set (NSPECHOL.SEQ).

Step 2 Type receive inds (/) and press Enter.

Step 3 When prompted, press Enter. The partitioned data set should be created.

If the receive command is terminated, type an S in the Command column to the left of the data set to display details about the data set. From the data set details, verify that the data set was uploaded to the MVS with an F or FB record format and a record size of 80.

If these values are correct, type a B in the Command column to the left of the data set to browse the NSPECHO data set. The data should be skewed but readable. If you cannot read the data, then an ASCII or CRLF format may have been used to upload the data set.

If one of these formats was used, repeat the upload procedure as described in the "Uploading the NSPECHO Files from IBM OS/2 Systems" section and ensure that the proper format is used.

Step 4 Press Tab to move to the next file (NSPECHOL.SEQ), type receive inds (/), and press Enter.

Step 5 When prompted, press Enter.

Step 6 When you have completed converting the NSPECHO data sets to partitioned data sets, press F3 to return to the Data Set List Utility and then press Enter. The DSLIST panel is displayed with a refreshed list of data sets.

In addition to the original two data sets, the list should now include the following data sets:

•userid.NSPV1R2.NSPRLOAD

•userid.NSPV1R2.NSPRSAMP

Copying Files into System Libraries

Ask your systems programmer to move the IPM load modules and procedures into the proper libraries and to configure VTAM using the sample configuration files.

Step 1 Copy NSPECHO from the prefix.NSPV1R2.NSPRLOAD data set to your system LOADLIB library.

Step 2 Copy NSPIPM from the prefix.NSPV1R2.NSPRSAMP data set to your system PROCLIB library and change the DSN on the STEPLIB DD statement to your system LOADLIB library name. See "Adding the IPM Startup Procedure to PROCLIB" section.

Step 3 Copy the NSPAPPL member from the prefix.NSPV1R2.NSPRSAMP data set to your system VTAMLST libraries. See "Defining the NSPECHO Host Application" section.

Step 4 Copy NSPSWNET member from the prefix.NSPV1R2.NSPRSAMP data set to your VTAMLST libraries. See "Defining Router PUs and LUs" section.

Configuring VTAM for NSPECHO

Before you can use NSPECHO to measure SNA response times, you must complete the following tasks:

•Adding the IPM Startup Procedure to PROCLIB

•Defining the NSPECHO Host Application

•Defining Router PUs and LUs

Adding the IPM Startup Procedure to PROCLIB

A sample startup procedure (NSPIPM) has been supplied in the prefix.NSPV1R2.NSPRSAMP data set. You must customize this procedure for your environment and place it in the PROCLIB data set.

Note   The Xs in column 72 are continuation characters.

The text of the sample procedure is as follows: 

//NSPIPM   PROC TRACE=NO,TEST=NO

//*

//*

//* DOC: JOB TO RUN NSP VTAM ECHO PROGRAM.

//*

//NSPIPM   EXEC  PGM=NSPECHO,REGION=4M,TIME=10,

//         PARM=(`APPLID=NSPECHO',                                     X

//             `TIMEZONE=MVS',                                         X

//             `SERVERID=SERVER1',                                     X

//             `TRACE=&TRACE',                                         X

//             `TEST=&TEST')

//STEPLIB  DD  DSN=prefix.NSPECHO.LOAD,DISP=SHR

//SYSLST   DD  SYSOUT=*

//SYSUDUMP DD  SYSOUT=*

Defining the NSPECHO Host Application

Add the following definition to your VTAMLST data set. A sample can be found in the NSPAPPL file, located in the prefix.NSPV1R2.NSPRSAMP data set. 

NSPRAPPL VBUILD TYPE=APPL

NSPECHO  APPL

Defining Router PUs and LUs

Before you can use IPM to measure SNA response times on your network, a link needs to be established for communication between the mainframe and the router. To establish this link, you need to configure both the mainframe and the router sides of the network. Configuring the mainframe-to-router link involves the following tasks:

•Defining a VTAM PU for each router on the mainframe

•Configuring SNA Service Point support on the router

A VTAM PU definition must be supplied for every router for which you want to measure MVS host-to-router performance.

For more information, see "Configuring the Mainframe-to-Router Link" section.

Configuring the Mainframe-to-Router Link

Before you can use IPM to measure SNA response times on your network, a link needs to be established for communication between the mainframe and the router. This section provides detailed instructions on setting up the link between the mainframe host and a router. In this section you will find the following information:

•Coordinating the VTAM and Router Installation

•Configuring a VTAM Connection

•Configuring the Router

•Correlating the Router and VTAM Configuration Information

•Verifying the Router's Mainframe Connection

For further details including a sample network configuration and diagram for defining the mainframe-to-router link, see the "" appendix.

Coordinating the VTAM and Router Installation

This section contains information for both the network engineer and the systems programmer to properly configure the network devices for use with IPM and the NSPECHO program. It describes how the router configuration correlates to the VTAM PU definition on the mainframe.

To ensure successful configuration of the mainframe-to-router link, the network engineer should coordinate setup of the router configuration with the MVS systems programmer responsible for configuring the router's VTAM connection on the mainframe.

•For the network engineer—If you have already configured SNA service point support on your routers, then you do not need to perform any additional configuration on the router.

•For the systems programmer—A VTAM PU definition must be supplied for every router for which you want to measure MVS host-to-router performance.

Configuring a VTAM Connection

Before you can use IPM to measure MVS host-to-router performance, the router must be connected to the VTAM host through a systems services control point-to-physical unit (SSCP-to-PU) session. This connection is established by defining a PU for each router and its associated LUs in the VTAM configuration file.

To define a PU and LUs, add lines to the VTAM configuration file for each router, similar to those shown in the example on the following page. Specify the values for the SERVICE_POINT_NAME, idblock number, and id number arguments for each router. These arguments need to correspond with the values that are specified in the configuration of the router.

SWDRTRS VBUILD TYPE=SWNET

x

SERVICE_POINT_NAME









LU1_NAME

LU2_NAME

LU3_NAME

LU4_NAME

LU5_NAME

LU6_NAME

LU7_NAME

LU8_NAME

LU9_NAME

LU10_NAME

PU







LU

LU

LU

LU

LU

LU

LU

LU

LU

LU

ADDR=01,
PUTYPE=2,
IDBLK=idblock number,
IDNUM=id number,
DISCNT=(NO),
ISTATUS=ACTIVE,
MAXDATA=521,
IRETRY=YES,
MAXOUT=7,
PASSLIM=5,
MAXPATH=4

LOCADDR=02

LOCADDR=03

LOCADDR=04

LOCADDR=05

LOCADDR=06

LOCADDR=07

LOCADDR=08

LOCADDR=09

LOCADDR=10

LOCADDR=11

x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x

The following example shows a sample PU definition in VTAM:


defines each of the VTAM arguments. For information about how these arguments correspond to the router configuration, see the "Correlating the Router and VTAM Configuration Information" section.

Note   The PU type, ID block, and ID number, and LU definitions are the most important arguments in the sample VTAM definition. The other arguments are provided as an example, but are not required.

Table 8-1 VTAM Configuration File Argument Definitions

Argument
Description

SERVICE_POINT_NAME

Service point name of the router (1 to 8 characters).

idblock number

Identification number that is sent to the host when a connection is being established. The idblock number corresponds to the first 3 hexadecimal digits of the router exchange identification (XID) number. It is recommended that you specify 05D for routers.

id number

Unique number that identifies the router. The id number corresponds to the last 5 hexadecimal digits of the router's XID number.


Configuring the Router

In addition to configuring a VTAM connection for each router, you also need to configure the router to support communication with IPM. To ensure that the router is properly configured, perform the following tasks to prepare each router that you want to measure host-to-router performance using IPM:

•Configuring and Connecting the Router to the Network

•Specifying the Router Name

•Configuring SNA Service Point Support

Configuring and Connecting the Router to the Network

Be sure to set up the router according to the instructions provided in the documentation that came with your router. Verify that the router is configured and connected to the network.

For detailed information about configuring and connecting Cisco routers, refer to the "Related Documentation" section in the preface "About This Guide" for other publications about Cisco routers.

Specifying the Router Name

Use the hostname command in the configuration file of each router to specify the router name for the router.

Router Name

To specify the name of your router, use the following command in global configuration mode:

hostname name

To simplify correlation of the router with its VTAM definition, we recommend that you use the name that you specify for the router in the hostname command in the VTAM definition.

For more information about using this command, see the Cisco IOS Configuration Fundamentals Configuration Guide.

Configuring SNA Service Point Support

To configure SNA service point support on the router, you need to add Cisco IOS software sna host commands to the configuration file of your router. The specific commands that you add depend upon the type of connection that you wish to establish. For detailed information on configuring SNA service point support and the Cisco IOS software command for your interface type, refer to the Cisco IOS Bridging and IBM Networking Configuration Guide and Command Reference publications.

The following procedure shows the basic steps to define SNA service point support for Ethernet and Token Ring connections. Again, the actual commands that you use will depend upon the type of connection that you wish to establish. If you want to view some specific configuration examples, see the "Router Configuration Samples" section.

Step 1 Define a link to an SNA host in global configuration mode using the sna host command.

The following example shows the syntax of the sna host command for Token Ring, Ethernet, FDDI, RSRB, or virtual data-link control (VDLC) connections: 

sna host host-name xid-snd xid rmac remote-mac rsap remote-sap 
lsap local-sap focalpoint

Step 2 Enable the local service access point (SAP) on the interface when you are in interface configuration mode, using the command syntax: 

sna enable-host lsap lsap-address

Step 3 Start an outgoing connection when you are in interface configuration mode, using the command syntax: 

sna start host-name

For more information about these commands and their options, see the Cisco IOS Bridging and IBM Networking Command Reference.

Router Configuration Samples

This section provides five samples of the SNA Service Point configuration in a router configuration file. The following samples are provided:

•Basic Configuration Through a Local Ring to a Token Ring Interface

•Configuration for a DSPU with RSRB on a CMCC

•Configuration for RSRB with a Loopback

•Configuration for DLSw+ Using Virtual Data-Link Control

Basic Configuration Through a Local Ring to a Token Ring Interface

The following is an example of the lines that would appear in the configuration file of a router with an interface configured through a local ring to a Token Ring Interface on a network device: 

!

sna host CWBC02 xid-snd 05dcc002 rmac 4001.3745.1088 rsap 4 lsap 4 focalpoint 
!

interface TokenRing0/1

	ip address 172.18.9.129 255.255.255.240

	ring-speed 16

	sna enable-host lsap 4

	sna start CWBC02

!

Configuration for a DSPU with RSRB on a CMCC

The following example shows the lines that would appear in the configuration file of a router that contains a Cisco mainframe channel connection with an interface configured for RSRB: 

!

dspu rsrb 325 1 900 4000.7000.0001

dspu rsrb enable-host lsap 4

!

dspu host CWBC01 xid-snd 05dcc001 rmac 4000.3333.4444 rsap 4 lsap 4 
focalpoint  
!

dspu rsrb start CWBC01

!

interface Channel4/1

	no ip address

	no keepalive

	sna C010 C0

!

interface Channel4/2

	ip address 172.18.9.145 255.255.255.240

	no keepalive

	lan TokenRing 0

	source-bridge 28 1 900

	adapter 4 4000.3333.4444

Configuration for RSRB with a Loopback

The following example shows the lines that would appear in the configuration file of a router with RSRB and an interface configured with loopback: 

!

source-bridge ring-group 600

source-bridge remote-peer 600 tcp	172.18.10.97

source-bridge remote-peer 600 tcp	172.18.10.98

!

sna rsrb 1011 3 600 4000.ffff.00cb

sna rsrb enable-host lsap 4

!

sna host CWBC0B xid-snd 05dcc00b rmac 4001.3745.1089 rsap 4 lsap 4 focalpoint 
sna rsrb start CWBC0B

!

interface Loopback0

	ip address 172.18.10.97 255.255.255.252

!

Configuration for DLSw+ Using Virtual Data-Link Control

The following is an example of the lines that would appear in the configuration file of a router that uses virtual data-link control over DLSw+: 

source-bridge ring-group 99

dlsw local-peer peer-id 150.10.16.2

dlsw remote-peer 0 tcp 150.10.16.1

!

sna vdlc 99 4000.4500.01f0

sna vdlc enable-host lsap 12

!

sna host HOST-B xid-snd 065bbbb0 rmac 4000.7000.01f1 rsap 4 lsap 12 
focalpoint

!

sna vdlc start HOST-B

!

interface serial 3

	description IP connection to dspu7k

	ip address 150.10.16.2 255.255.255.0

	clockrate 4000000

!

Correlating the Router and VTAM Configuration Information

The router's service point name and the XID number must correspond in both the router and VTAM configurations to successfully establish a link between the router and the SNA host. It is important that the network engineer and the systems programmer communicate for proper setup of these two configurations.

The following example shows the format of a Cisco IOS software sna host command that you use to configure the router for SNA Service Point support:

sna host host_name xid-snd xid rmac remote_mac [rsap rsap_addr] [lsap local_sap] [focalpoint]

The values for the host_name and xid in the router configuration correspond to the VTAM PU definition in the following way:

•The SERVICE_POINT_NAME argument that is shown in the VTAM PU definition is the name of the router that is configured in the router hostname command and in the host_name argument of the sna host command.

•The idblock number and id number arguments that are shown in the VTAM PU definition are components of the router XID number that you specify as the value for xid in the xid-snd argument of the sna host command.

For example, if the router XID is 05D00001, then you specify an idblock number of 05D and an id number of 00001 in the VTAM PU definition. You specify a value of 05D00001 in the xid-snd argument of the sna host command.

Example

The following example shows a VTAM configuration file that has been configured for a connection to a router with the hostname GLENDUSK and XID of 05DBB000:

SWDRTRS VBUILD TYPE=SWNET

x

GLENDUSK

PU

ADDR=01,
PUTYPE=2,
IDBLK=05D,
IDNUM=BB000,
DISCNT=(NO),
ISTATUS=ACTIVE,
MAXDATA=521,
IRETRY=YES,
MAXOUT=7,
PASSLIM=5,
MAXPATH=4

x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x



The sna host command in the router configuration for the router should appear:

sna host glendusk xid-snd 05dbb000 rmac 4001.3745.1088 rsap= 4 lsap 4 focalpoint

For more information about the sna host command, see the Cisco IOS Bridging and IBM Networking Command Reference.

Verifying the Router's Mainframe Connection

Once you have configured a VTAM connection for each router and verified that the configuration and SNA service point support have been properly defined for each router, you can test the router's configuration from NetView or VTAM.

Verifying the Router Connection from NetView

Use the following procedure to verify that the network devices are configured properly and that the router can attach to the network.

Step 1 From a NetView command prompt, issue the following command for each router, where router_name is the hostname and service point name of the router that you are verifying: 

DIS router_name

If properly configured and connected, the router status will display with an active (ACTIV) status. If the router does not display an active status, it is not successfully configured and attached to the network or the service point is not defined correctly in the configuration file of the router.

Step 2 Repeat Step 1 for each router from which you plan to measure host response times.

Verifying the Router Connection from VTAM

You can also verify that the router is communicating with the mainframe from VTAM using the following procedure:

Step 1 From the MVS console, issue the following command for each router name, where router_name is the hostname and service point name of the router that you are verifying: 

d net,ID=router_name,E

Step 2 Repeat Step 1 for each router from which you plan to measure host response times.

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