What is SNA Server?

Microsoft SNA Server is an SNA gateway that connects LAN-based PCs with IBM host systems
running SNA (Systems Network Architecture) protocols. SNA Server accomplishes this with
excellent ease of use, economy, performance, reliability, security, and flexibility, as well as with
broad ISV/IHV industry support. SNA Server delivers these broad benefits through an equally
broad set of features that include

• Complete compatibility with existing Novell® Network protocols, cards, and drivers.
• Familiar and easy-to-use GUI for installation, administration, and troubleshooting.
• Complete SNA coverage (APIs, LU and PU protocols, datalink protocols).
• The highest capacity of any SNA gateway (for sessions and clients and for servers per
domain).
• Centralized and remote administration, including administration via IBM NetView® and
RAS (Remote Access Service).
• Support for centralized and branch configurations.
• The greatest security of any SNA gateway (SNA Server is designed to meet C2-level
security).
• Load balancing, hot backup, and other fault-tolerant features.
• Support for every key corporate desktop system and LAN protocol (including IPX/SPX
and TCP/IP).
• Open, modular, extensible architecture.
• A design that is scalable, multiplatform, and compatible with symmetric multiprocessing
(SMP).
• Complete context-sensitive help and online documentation.
• Complete functionality provided in one package.

SNA Server is a server process that runs on the Microsoft Windows NT™
Server operating system. SNA Server utilizes both the native Microsoft Windows NT™
communications protocol (such as TCP/IP or IPX) and IBM SNA protocols, acting as a high-
speed gateway between the PC and IBM networks. SNA Server's bidirectional communication
provides terminal emulation, printer emulation, file transfer, and program-to-program
communications. SNA Server supports client functions on all the popular PC operating systems
including Windows NT, Microsoft Windows®, MS-DOS®, OS/2®, UNIX®, and Macintosh®.

By supporting software such as 3270 or 5250 emulators, SNA Server makes data and applications
residing on IBM hosts available to PCs for use with desktop productivity software such as
Microsoft Excel.
SNA Connectivity, PCs, and LANs

IBM SNA connectivity has gone through four phases. Initially, terminals were connected through
terminal controllers (for example, 3274s) to mainframes. In the second phase, terminals were
replaced by PCs, each of which had a coax card (for example, an IRMA card) to connect to the
controller. In the third phase, PCs began being connected to each other on LANs. In most cases,
the LANs were just used for file sharing—the PCs still kept their coax-card connections to the
mainframe. In the fourth phase, PC gateways made it possible to use LANs for host connectivity
and to more easily link the IBM and PC worlds. With the fourth phase comes a change in the role
of mainframes from stand-alone systems to application servers and data repositories integrated
with the enterprise internetwork and LAN-connected PCs.

As the value of LAN-connected PCs and client-server architecture has grown, it has come to play
an important role in running organizations, a role so important that integrating PCs with host
computers is critical to the effective operation of enterprises with legacy systems.

Benefits of SNA Server

1 ) Benefits to the Desktop User

SNA Server reduces complexity, increases stability, and saves memory by allowing you to use only
one protocol. In contrast, when connecting directly, you will need the DLC protocol to connect to
the host, plus your favorite LAN protocol, such as TCP/IP or IPX/SPX, to connect to the
file/database/mail server.

In many cases, the DLC protocol simply will not work or coexist with certain types of adapters
and/or other protocols. The DLC protocol is a terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR) program and thus
requires a real mode NDIS or ODI driver. In addition, IBM's DLC protocol (LAN Support
program) only works with certain adapters and protocol stacks. Connecting PCs through SNA
Server allows you to get rid of these TSRs and MS-DOS device drivers.

2) Benefits to the LAN Administrator

SNA Server provides easier administration. When connecting direct, each desktop must be
configured individually with the host's network address, LU name, and so on. Whenever there's a
change on the host side, such as the host's network address, all desktops must be reconfigured.
With SNA Server, there's nothing to configure at the client; all host changes can be tracked
centrally by the LAN administrator.

SNA Server provides integrated security for all users. The LAN administrator can control access to
the host by using the combined security features of Windows NT Server and SNA Server. In
contrast, direct connection allows each desktop user to access the host by simply knowing the
applicable host parameters. A gateway adds another level of flexible security.

Performance and troubleshooting tools are available. When all host-bound traffic is concentrated
through SNA Server, the LAN administrator can use the performance monitoring, event logging,
and tracing/sniffing capabilities of the server platform. An individual desktop problem is easier to
work around by simply assigning a new LU, and tracing and debugging can be done at the server
without interrupting the work of desktop users.

3) Benefits to the Host Administrator

SNA Server dramatically reduces (re)definition work on the host. You can support hundreds of
users by defining a single PU or controller, instead of having to define one for each user.
Especially on mainframe systems,. Less definition work also means fewer definition errors, each
of which can be costly.

SNA Server also reduces host memory requirements. All these hundreds of definitions are typically
stored in resident memory on the host system, consuming excessive amounts. Memory savings can
result in hardware savings and in improved host performance..

SNA Server reserves host CPU cycles for what the hosts are intended for—running applications. If
you have direct connections to the host, each of these connections must be managed individually
by the host's control software, consuming many CPU cycles. SNA Server saves network
bandwidth. Instead of the host having to poll all desktops individually to maintain direct
connections (even when there's no activity), the host has to maintain only one connection when
using a gateway. This can dramatically reduce network noise and allow better network
performance as well as reduce session time-out problems.

. How Can SNA Server Be Used?

SNA Server is being used in several different ways to connect PCs and host computers:

It provides large-scale and fault-tolerant connectivity for users on LAN-connected PCs to run
 interactive host applications. Using powerful automation tools of today's terminal emulators,
this access can be re-engineered, presenting the user with a forgiving and intuitive graphical
interface.
It can provide connectivity for TN3720 users without complicating the mainframe
configuration with the requirement to support TCP/IP.
It can act as a database gateway, allowing secure access to SNA host databases via ODBC,
directly from workstations on the LAN.
In an enterprise whose wide-area backbone is still based on SNA protocols, SNA Server can be
used to integrate LANs across branch offices as well as with corporate data and applications
(both uses are shown below). SNA Server also provides the means to administer such a
network.

Using RAS over SNA, a workstation in a remote office on an SNA backbone can access any
resource across the SNA link, as long as necessary permissions are granted for the resources.
Using RAS over SNA is most suitable for remote administration because of the typically slow
SNA links. In these ways, each remote site in the enterprise can transparently share files,
printing, electronic mail, and databases.

SNA Server 2.1: Features

Graphical User Interface

SNA Server's tools are designed to make SNA Server extremely easy to install, configure, manage,
and use. These benefits may significantly reduce training and support costs. SNA Server uses the
latest in graphical user interface design and usability testing to make the administrator's task as
easy as possible.

Admin

The Admin display contains three windows (Servers and Connections, LU Pools, and Users and
Groups) that are similar to the File Manager in structure and functionality, making the
administration of SNA Server intuitive. Drag and drop allows you to quickly set up LU pools and
assign users to them. Icon-based visual feedback allows an administrator to readily identify
servers, connections, LU pools, and users, as well as the type of connection . whenever the status
of any object changes, the administrator can view the change immediately.

Dialog Boxes

Easy-to-understand dialog boxes help you map parameters from the VTAM Gen or AS/400
configuration to settings within SNA Server. Regardless of whether the administrator has a LAN
background or has experience working with the host, SNA Server is designed to make it easy to
manage the PC-to-host connectivity. Automatic configuring of several host parameters also saves
time and reduces configuration errors.

SNA Trace

A simple dialog box allows you to record messages to and from SNA Server, as well as activity
into and out of SNA APIs and activity within the software components of SNA Server.

SNA Trace Options --- Windows NT Tools

These include User Manager, Performance Monitor, Event Viewer, and Control Panel
applets. Integration with Windows NT is tight, so that the tools appear as seamless extensions of
SNA Server.

Centralized Monitoring and Control

SNA Server's tight integration with the Windows NT Server allows administrators to manage all of
the SNA servers from a single location. This allows MIS organizations to utilize SNA servers as
part of their distributed client-server systems while maintaining centralized security and control.

SNA Server provides centralized comprehensive monitoring and administration of routine

operations and problem diagnosis through the SNA Server Admin program and tools, Windows NT
graphical tools, and host-based NetView. The Admin program runs on any Windows NT platform
and provides the tools the LAN administrator needs to manage day-to-day SNA/LAN interaction.
NetView capability provides communications between SNA servers and host operators. Windows
NT graphical tools are tightly integrated with SNA Server and provide a broad range of capabilities
for controlling, diagnosing difficulties, and monitoring.

•Link Services Management. Link services can easily be installed, configured, or removed with
SNA Server Setup, which also displays the mapping between Windows NT device driver names
and SNA connections. Individual drivers can also be started and stopped in the Windows NT
Control Panel through the Devices applet.
•Connection Management. Admin displays the status of SNA servers and connections (inactive,
pending, active, stopping); allows you to create, delete, start, and stop them with the click of a
button; and provides activation flexibility for connections. A connection can be activated manually,
at server startup, or on demand when a client accesses it..
•LU Management. Admin allows you to quickly create a range of LUs for a connection, and group
them into pools to provide user access. When you highlight a connection, Admin displays the
associated LU information: the name, status, and user activity for each LU.
•User Management. Admin displays users and groups as well as the sessions for users who have
been granted SNA access. Admin also allows you to assign LUs or LU pools to users and view or
modify a user's properties.
•Configuration Management. Admin allows you to open, save, back up, and restore multiple
configuration files. In a multiserver environment, the primary server holds the master copy of the
configuration file; this copy is replicated to backup servers, if they are available. If the primary
server goes down, backup servers provide the configuration information to clients and other
servers.
•Batch-mode Configuration. In addition to the graphical tools provided by Setup and Admin,
SNA Server provides a command-line utility, snacfg. You can use the command-line interface to
easily modify an off-line configuration file without starting the graphical interface, or to store
configuration commands in a command file, so that they can be carried out easily.
•Troubleshooting. For extensive troubleshooting capability, SNA Server provides the SNA Trace
tool, support for Response Time Monitor (a feature of some 3270 emulators), NetView utilities
(NVAlert, NVRunCmd), and integration with Windows NT tools (Event Viewer, Performance
Monitor).
•Performance Monitoring. SNA Server's integration with Windows NT Performance Monitor
allows you to graphically monitor SNA objects (link services, PUs, LUs), to tune performance or
help diagnose difficulties in real time.
•Remote Administration. For flexible administration of distributed SNA servers, SNA Server
Admin can be used across routers and bridges, and remotely over a RAS

Enterprise Configuration Flexibility

SNA Server has the advantage of being able to be set up in a centralized configuration or a
distributed configuration, depending on customer needs. It functions equally well in either
configuration.

Branch Configuration

SNA servers can be located in branch offices on server systems that are also used for printing,
databases, electronic mail, and fax. This configuration reduces traffic on the WAN and increases
responsiveness to user needs through local management of connections, LUs, and security. A
distributed configuration would be a good choice for low-bandwidth WAN links (for example,
X.25 or low-speed leased line backbones) using multiprotocol routers, or when only an SNA
backbone is in place.

Centralized Configuration

Alternatively, SNA servers can be located at the data center to maximize reliability and security.
This configuration makes it easy to arrange load balancing and hot backup, makes it easier for MIS
personnel to manage the servers, and reduces the need for SNA expertise at remote sites.
Centralized configurations are good when you have high-bandwidth WAN links (for example,
high-speed leased line or frame-relay backbones). Centralization allows you to use a single,
routable protocol (for example, TCP/IP or IPX) on all WAN links in the enterprise. You can route
TCP/IP or IPX from clients over the WAN to SNA servers at the central site; in turn, the SNA
servers can be connected to the FEP or AS/400 via token ring, or directly attached to the
mainframe channel.
Network Security
Many MIS managers are used to having security programs on the mainframe (such as RACF and
Top Secret) to guard access to the host. Traditionally they have been reluctant to move applications
to LANs because of the lack of robust security.

Guards Corporate Data SNA Server guards against unauthorized access to corporate data by
providing security designed to meet the US government C2 level, via controlled logon to a
Windows NT Server domain. The logon must succeed before access is given to any services
provided by SNA Server.

Provides Flexible Control In addition, SNA Server provides the flexibility to allow an
administrator to control access from the LAN, the host, or both. In addition, remote access over
RAS is equally secure because it employs the same user account database. By using the user
accounts database in a Windows NT Server domain, SNA Server allows you to create user and
group accounts only once for use by both Windows NT and SNA Server. A simple dialog box in
SNA Server Admin allows you to specify which users and groups defined in the domain will be
granted access to SNA sessions.

Administrative Permissions The administrative permissions that you can set in SNA Server
Admin are read-only, read/write, full control, and no access. These permissions control access to
SNA Server tools as well as access to the configuration file.

Full Audit Tracking Full audit tracking is provided through integration with the Windows event
log. (The ability to track all activity that occurs on a server is a requirement for designs that meet
C2-level security.) The auditing capabilities compare to auditing capabilities common on hosts,
helping make MIS managers comfortable with moving to SNA Server and Windows NT Server.

Convenient Single Logon A product designed to meet C2-level security need not be
inconvenient. SNA Server provides a single network logon for greater user productivity. Users
only need to log on to an SNA server once to access all SNA servers. This also allows the network
administrator to manage each user account centrally. Access to network servers, printers,
applications and other services are defined for each user by the administrator from this single
control point. Once logged on, users have seamless access to all the network resources that have
been assigned to them. This single logon process makes it faster and easier for users to get the
information they need when they need it.

SNA Gateway Reliability

High reliability is another benefit that comes from the tight integration of Windows NT Server and
SNA Server. Within a Windows NT Server domain, SNA servers are able to recognize each other
transparently and are able to dynamically back each other up or route traffic to the least-loaded
server to increase throughput. These SNA Server features are known as hot backup (dynamic
session fault-tolerance) and load balancing. With them, SNA Server provides high reliability to
mission-critical data and applications. These two benefits are also a consequence of SNA Server's
advanced LU pooling feature, which allows administrators to group multiple LUs on a single
server or across several servers.

Hot Backup Hot backup helps ensure minimal downtime for host access by rerouting sessions
over alternate paths when a communications failure occurs. SNA Server implements hot backup
through multiple connections within a single server, or through multiple servers within a domain.
SNA Server's unique LU pooling feature facilitates hot backup. An administrator groups LUs
(from one or more servers) into a pool. If a data link on a server fails, SNA Server can dynamically
reroute lost sessions through other pooled LUs (using other data links). Similarly, if an entire
server in a multiserver domain fails, SNA Server can dynamically reroute sessions to pooled LUs
on other servers.

Load Balancing Automatic load balancing across multiple servers automatically routes new LU
sessions to the least-busy SNA server to deliver maximum availability of corporate data and
minimum response time. SNA Server's ability to dynamically route traffic across multiple servers
minimizes response time between the desktop and the host, making users more productive.

Fault-Tolerant System Recovery Capabilities SNA Server's tight integration with Windows
NT Server provides numerous facilities that protect both data and the system from errant
applications or external issues such as hardware or power failure. There are recovery procedures
that protect data even if it is unsaved. Windows NT Server provides several tools that enhance
system reliability and aid in recovering from problems including: UPS, tape backup, registration
database, disk duplexing, disk mirroring, and disk striping with parity.

An Open Platform for SNA Connectivity

SNA Server supports all the popular desktop machines, is LAN protocol-independent, has a device
interface that allows you to choose from a wide variety of link types and adapters, and has open
3270/5250 emulator interfaces for ISVs.

Supports Key Corporate Desktops

SNA Server allows customers to maximize returns on their desktop investments by supporting
client or downstream systems running MS-DOS, Windows 3.x, Microsoft Windows for
Workgroups 3.1 and 3.11, Windows NT, OS/2, Macintosh, and UNIX operating systems.

Protocol Independence

SNA Server can meet a broad range of enterprise computing requirements, and is especially suited
to providing host access over heterogeneous networking environments. SNA Server provides
native support for most popular client-server protocols including named pipes, TCP/IP, IPX/SPX ,
Banyan VINES IP, AppleTalk, and RAS.

Open SNA Device Interface

SNA Server allows for a wide variety of data links from the server to the host. The SNA Device
Interface Specification (SNADIS) allows third parties to easily create SNA Server drivers for their
adapters. Data links currently supported by SNA Server include 802.2/LLC (Ethernet, token ring,
and FDDI), SDLC, X.25/QLLC, DFT, Twinax, and Channel attachment.

Open 3270/5250 Emulator Interfaces

The specifications for creating both desktop emulators and back-end link services are broadly
available. This ensures that as new technologies become popular, they will very quickly become
available to SNA Server customers.

Modular, Extensible Architecture

In SNA Server, the DMOD module provides network-independent communication between the
various components in the SNA Server system. Components use the same interfaces for both local
and remote access. Through the DMOD, SNA Server provides an extensible interface that can
easily grow to support more client-server transports.

A significant benefit of SNA Server is its ability to support client-server communications over a
wide variety of communications transport protocols. Each transport provider presents a consistent
message exchange interface to the DMOD. Each handles session establishment, user
authentication, and multicast message support in the unique manner of its transport. Equally
important, transport providers are responsible for "advertising" SNA Server in a native fashion on
each of their respective networks. Examples of the ways this is done are mailslots on Microsoft
LAN Manager (local area network software) networks, Service Advertising Protocol (SAP) and
Bindery queries on NetWare, and Name Binding Protocol (NBP) on AppleTalk networks.

Full Support for WOSA SNA APIs

All SNA Server APIs are fully compatible with the WOSA (Windows Open Service Architecture)
SNA API standard. Each SNA vendor provides client software in the form of a DLL driver to
translate WOSA SNA API calls into the native function calls of the respective services. This allows
a Windows-based application to communicate with another vendor's SNA product.

•WOSA provides a consistent interface to enterprise computing environments, thus hiding the
complexities of connectivity from applications and application developers.
•All the SNA Server's APIs are fully compatible with WOSA's SNA API standard.
•WOSA is endorsed by 20 leading SNA vendors, including: Andrew Corporation, Attachmate, Data
Connection Ltd., DCA, Easel, Eicon Technology, FutureSoft, IBM, ICOT, ICL, Microsoft,
MultiSoft, NCR®, Novell, NetSoft, Olivetti®, Siemens-Nixdorf, Systems Strategies, and Wall
Data™.
•WOSA provides the same API for 16-bit and 32-bit for more efficient multienvironment
development.
•WOSA is the SNA API standard for Windows.
•WOSA is IBM OS/2-compatible. In addition to the OS/2-compatible APIs, Windows API
extensions are available for asynchronous communications.
Downstream PU (DSPU) Support

Downstream connections and LUs allow an SNA Server to support clients (such as IBM
Communications Manager/2 systems) that do not use the SNA Server client-server interface.
Multiple DSPUs can connect simultaneously to a single SNA server. This function is also known
as PU concentration.

To the downstream system, there appears to be a direct connection to the host. SNA server
accomplishes this by passing detailed LU information back and forth between downstream systems
and host. SNA Server does require all the usual connection information for the host and
downstream connections. Communication via a downstream connection and downstream LU in
SNA Server is always controlled by the host.

Although use of the DSPU connection for clients does not provide all the benefits of the regular
SNA Server client-server connection, there are still significant benefits to employing SNA Server
for DSPU clients:

•A full range of client-server transports is supported for DSPU clients: 802.2/LLC over token ring
or Ethernet, SDLC, and X.25/QLLC.
•SNA Server performs PU concentration rather than PU pass-through. This reduces the network
configuration and administration workload as well as the memory consumption at the host.
•DSPU clients can share the SNA Server host connections.
•DSPU clients can be supported along with regular clients, allowing for easy coexistence of various
types of clients.

See full-sized image.

Downstream Physical Unit Connection

SNA Server as a PU Concentrator

SNA Server's ability to act as a PU concentrator allows multiple downstream physical units
(DSPUs) to be merged into a single upstream connection to the mainframe. SNA Server acts as
mini-SSCP, maintaining a full PU 2.0 protocol stack, which it uses to pass information from
downstream LUs along upstream connections to the mainframe. As a PU concentrator, SNA Server
leverages both mainframe and PC resources. On the mainframe side, operations can be simplified
because there are fewer distinct PUs to configure and manage, and more clients (users) can be
connected to the mainframe without having to upgrade. For example, three PUs, each using two
LUs, could instead appear to the mainframe as only one PU with six LUs on it. Other benefits of
PU concentration include providing a convenient demarcation point between responsibilities of
local personnel and IS personnel; allowing an SNA Server to accommodate a wide variety of SNA
devices and software; and performing link-level conversion (for example, from 802.2 protocol
downstream to SDLC upstream). PU concentration is appropriate only to dependent LUs.

DSPU mapping LUs to upstream connection

Complete SNA Protocol Coverage

SNA Server provides support for all SNA APIs, LU protocols, PU protocols, and data link
protocols. SNA Server's SNA API support provides very flexible development options. SNA
Server APIs, supported by 20 leading SNA vendors, have gained broad industry support from
established emulator, adapter, and gateway vendors. The SNA APIs support both synchronous and
asynchronous calls. Handling the client-server I/O using asynchronous calls improves performance
by improving pipelining of I/O operations. Asynchronous calls also return control to the
application immediately so that it can perform other tasks while the requested I/O operation
proceeds independently. This is particularly important in the non-preemptive environment of
Windows 3.x.

The APIs included with SNA Server are as follows:

•APPC: For developing 5250 emulators, as well as applications that communicate peer-to-peer with
other APPC applications using the LU 6.2 protocol. Management verbs are also supported.
•CPI-C: For developing applications that communicate peer-to-peer with other applications using
the LU 6.2 protocol.
•CSV: For developing applications that include tracing of API calls, communication with NetView,
 and EBCDIC to ASCII conversion.
•LUA: For developing applications (using LUA/RUI or LUA/SLI APIs) that need direct access to
the LU 0, 1, 2, 3 data streams. Supports ISV 3270 emulators via the open 3270 EIS API.
•EHLLAPI: For developing applications that interface with existing 3270 or 5250 applications.
Note that EHLLAPI is offered by ISVs, but not by Microsoft. (EHLLAPI is not included in the
3270 and 5250 applets in SNA Server.)

Complete SNA PU and LU Protocol Support

SNA Server provides transparent PC-to-host connectivity in a wide range of customer

environments. In addition, SNA Server allows you to mix any LU, PU, and data-link protocols
concurrently in the same server.

LU Protocols SNA Server supports LU 0, LU 1, LU 2, LU 3, and LU 6.2.

PU Protocols SNA Server supports PU 2.0, PU 2.1, APPN LEN Node, and DSPU (downstream
PU). Note that Low-Entry Networking (LEN) support is what allows SNA Server to participate in
an APPN network. (SNA Server does not have to support APPN Network Node or APPN End
Node to be able to gain full connectivity into an APPN network.)

Data Link Protocols SNA Server supports 802.2/LLC, SDLC, X.25/QLLC, DFT, Twinax, and
Channel attachment. For a complete list of compatible third-party data-link products from
ISVs/IHVs, see the Companion Product Catalog.

Comprehensive Client-Server Support

Client-Server Protocols SNA Server provides native support for a wide range of client-server
protocols: IPX/SPX, TCP/IP, RAS, Named Pipes, AppleTalk, and Banyan Vines IP.

Clients Supported Windows 3.x, Windows for Workgroups, Windows NT, MS-DOS, Macintosh,
UNIX, and OS/2 1.x and 2.x are clients that are all supported by SNA Server. In addition, SNA
Server's flexible client support allows you to mix NetWare clients, Microsoft clients, TCP/IP
clients, Banyan clients, Macintosh clients, TN3270 clients, and DSPU clients in any way on the
same server.

Highest Capacity of any SNA Gateway

SNA Server provides the highest capacity of any SNA gateway on a PC platform at every level
(LUs, PUs, clients, and sessions). It also allows servers to be added to meet the high demands of
large enterprises linking thousands of PCs. SNA Server supports:

•Up to 250 simultaneous connections (PUs) per server, in any combination of upstream (host), peer-to-
peer, and downstream (DSPU) connections.
•Up to 2,000 clients per server.
•Up to 10,000 LU sessions per server.
•Up to 50 SNA servers working together in a Windows NT Server domain for load balancing and hot
backup.

NetView Integration
A variety of diagnostic tools can be used with SNA Server that allow you to collect information
about the sequence of events leading up to a difficulty and the exact state of the system when the
difficulty occurred.

Response Time Monitor

Response Time Monitor (RTM) is an IBM NetView function that measures the length of time it
takes a host to respond during a 3270 session. The SNA Server Admin tool lets you specify the
times at which RTM should send data, and also lets you define the triggers that will cause RTM to
register that the host has responded. Note that in order for your 3270 users to use RTM, their
emulators must support it.

NetView Support

NetView is a network management system that runs on an IBM host. It receives alerts and helps a
NetView administrator manage operations, diagnose problems, and improve system performance.
Additional NetView services provided by SNA Server include NVAlert and NVRunCmd.

NVAlert. Allows alerts generated by the Windows NT system or by Windows NT-based

applications to be forwarded to a host system. This means that not only SNA Server events, but
also system events such as a disk becoming full, or an application failing to find a file, can cause
an alert to be sent to the host. Examples of information that can be forwarded to a host include data
on connection failures, session statistics from 3270 emulators, and information from LUA
applications

NVAlert Service

NVRunCMD. Allows Windows NT commands that are typed at a host-system NetView console to
be carried out on any Windows NT Server running SNA Server, with results being sent back to the
host. The NVRunCmd service runs as a background process on the SNA server, waiting for a
command to be sent from a NetView console. If, as in the preceding example, the NetView
operator receives an alert that an application did not find a file, the NetView operator could
execute a command on the Windows NT Server system to copy the file from one directory to
another (so the application would find it).

Optimized Server Design

SNA Server offers 32-bit implementation, multithreaded architecture, and tuned scalability on
SMP systems, extensive use of asynchronous I/O, maximum SNA RU sizes and LAN protocol
packet sizes, and dynamic management.

•Preemptive multitasking. Provides the responsiveness required to support multiple applications and
multiple users on a single server.
•Multithreading. Facilitates the design and development of responsive applications.
•Symmetric multiprocessing (SMP). Provides scalable processing power, effectively without limits,
meeting the needs of large enterprises while providing small organizations with room to grow. SMP
scalability also delivers superior price/performance, since performance can be increased without adding
new servers.
•Portability. Offers portability across Intel, MIPS R4x00, and Alpha AXP RISC-based systems, to provide
a choice of hardware architectures. SNA Server supports the platforms Windows NT supports, which will
soon include the PowerPC platform.
•Advanced fault tolerance. Provides the data integrity required for important business applications.
•Virtual memory. Ensures that the system will always run without running out of memory under peak
loads. This also allows SNA Server to run with less memory than would otherwise be required.
•Distributed interprocess communications. Enables client-server applications to be written easily and
independently of the underlying network.
•Security designed to meet the C2 level. Provides full discretionary access so that business data can be
accessed by the right people in the right way.
•Support for multiple network interface cards on one segment. Provides extra network bandwidth that
can be added to support additional users.
•Multiple applications. Allows a Windows NT Server running SNA Server to simultaneously support
other Windows applications such as database software. SNA Server does not have to run on a dedicated
machine.

Integration with Windows NT

SNA Server is tightly integrated with Windows NT Server in ways that provide an easy, flexible,
efficient, reliable, scalable, and secure platform for MIS and LAN administrators to manage the
host/PC interconnection. Windows NT Server provides the administrator with consistent and easy-
to-use graphical tools to perform all administrative tasks on SNA Server and the Windows NT
Server. The primary tools offered are the Control Panel applets, User Manager, Performance
Monitor, and Event Viewer.

Control Panel The Control Panel on the Windows NT Program Manager contains many useful
tools for controlling different components of SNA Server.

Services applet The Services applet controls Windows NT Networking services individually.
Services can be started, stopped, paused, and continued. For example, you can stop the
NVRunCmd service if you don't want a NetView operator to run commands on the SNA server.

Network applet The Network applet is the tool you use to install and configure your network
cards, and to install and configure network protocol stacks. This is also the tool you would use to
join a workgroup or a domain. The networking architecture within Windows NT Server lets you
support multiple simultaneous network cards and multiple simultaneous protocols in a single
machine. You can have one card and multiple protocol stacks, or one protocol stack and multiple
cards.

Devices applet With the Devices applet, you can stop, start, and set the startup value for system
drivers, adapter drivers, and network protocols. This applet also reports the status of devices.

Server applet The Server applet allows you to monitor who is connected to your machine and
what shared resources are in use. This tool is also used for setup, directory replication, and
administrative alerts.

Event Viewer This utility allows you to record and view significant events generated by the
Windows NT Server system or Windows NT-based applications such as SNA Server. Event Viewer
can notify administrators of critical events with pop-up messages, or add event information to log
files. The information allows you to better understand the sequence and type of events that led up
to a particular state or situation.

Performance Monitor Performance Monitor is a graphical tool which can be used to measure the
performance of any SNA server accessible over the network. It allows you to monitor several
aspects of your server's performance in real time in the form of charting, triggers (causing alerts to
be sent or programs to be started), tables of values, and logs. Performance Monitor is very useful
for system tuning and diagnosis. The parameters that can be monitored for SNA servers include
throughput and transmission volume (in bytes, or in some instances, frames), and can be measured
for connections, LUs, or adapters.

User Manager All user and group accounts are managed with the User Manager. The accounts
established through User Manager are also used by SNA Server, so that you need only create an
account once for use by Windows NT Server or SNA Server. A simple dialog box in SNA Server
Admin allows you to specify which users and groups defined in the domain will be SNA Server
users and groups.

Account Management and Domains Windows NT supports managing accounts by logical

groups of servers, called domains. While the primary server holds the user account database, users
can log on to other servers in the domain that have a copy of that database. Requiring only a single
account in the entire domain is an effective way to manage an enterprise that includes hundreds of
servers and thousands of users.

Advanced Features of SNA Server

LU Pooling SNA Server implements a feature called LU pooling to maximize access to the
resources available via 3270, LUA, or downstream LUs. A user, LUA application, or downstream
system using the pool can get LU access as long as one of the pooled LUs is available. Pooling of
LUs is handled differently for APPC LUs but provides the same capabilities. LU pooling can
provide a variety of benefits.

Session Efficiency Pools allow groups of intermittent users to use resources efficiently. For
example, ten 3270 users who only need intermittent access to more sessions may find that a pool
of five 3270 LUs is adequate for their needs.

Hot Backup Hot backup is a benefit of SNA Server's LU pooling capability. LU pooling (and
thus hot backup) can be implemented across multiple SNA servers and across multiple adapters
within the same SNA server. If one server or adapter stops working, SNA Server can reestablish
user sessions in just a few seconds. Users may lose their session temporarily but when they
reconnect they will immediately get a new session.

Load Balancing Load balancing is also a benefit of SNA Server's LU pooling capability. An LU
pool is set up to contain LUs from more than one SNA server. When a new user who has been
assigned pool resources logs on, SNA Server automatically assigns LU resources based on the
number of users accessing each server. This balances the load between servers and makes efficient
use of SNA servers (as compared to using up the capacity of one server before assigning resources
from another).

Administrative Efficiency Using SNA Server Admin, the administrator can assign LU pools to
users or groups. This eliminates the time that would be required to assign LUs individually. And
with SNA Server's drag and drop capability, constructing pools and assigning users to them can be
done with a few mouse clicks.

RAS (Remote Access Service) Support

RAS works with SNA Server in two ways.

•First, RAS can provide connectivity to SNA Server using asynchronous, X.25, or ISDN
connections. This provides a remote connection to an SNA network or LAN by the use of a
modem, X.25 card, or ISDN adapter as a network card.
•Second, RAS can run over SNA using LU 6.2 as a transport. This provides a way to connect to and
manage an SNA server using the SNA network as the physical connection.

Remote Access Service (RAS) for the Windows NT Server enables users to participate fully as a
network client from remote locations. RAS can be set up on any machine that can run Windows
NT. With RAS, a number of functions can be performed transparently on remote workstations,
including:

•Network
management
•File and print sharing
•Electronic mail
•SQL database access
•Emulation

Because RAS is supported as just another transport, all SNA Server functions, emulation,
application-to-application communications, and administration can be performed over an
asynchronous connection.