Path: utzoo!attcan!sobmips!uunet!mhinfo!carrato
From: carrato@mhinfo.UUCP ( tony carrato)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.lans
Subject: Re: Seeking advice on a class project
Keywords: Internet, IBM, Sun, TCP/IP
Message-ID: <18@mhinfo.UUCP>
Date: 13 Nov 89 16:48:30 GMT
References: <123@centaure.UUCP>
Reply-To: carrato@.UUCP (mhis - tony carrato)
Distribution: na
Organization: Mile-High Information Services, Inc.
Lines: 68

In article <123@centaure.UUCP> cliff@centaure.UUCP (Clifford Dibble) writes:
>Dear NetXperts:
>
>I'm taking an "Introduction to LANs" class, and the instructor has
>suggested the following research topic: given an Ethernet full of Sun
>workstations and a stand-alone IBM mainframe, how best to connect them
>for simple applications such as file access and transfer, e-mail, and
>remote login.
>
>We think that hooking the IBM directly to the Ether and cajoling it run
>Internet protocols (ftp, smtp, Telnet, TCP/IP, ...) is a possible
>solution. I know that earlier this year IBM announced TCP/IP support.
>
>Is this reasonable? Would we be better off buying some sort of 
>gateway? Or perhaps setting up a direct serial link and
>making do with some simple file-transfer protocol like ZMODEM
>or Kermit?
>
>I'd be grateful for any pointers or advice.
>
>Thanks!!
>
>Cliff Dibble
>Irvine, CA.
>USA.
>714-859-1172 P.D.T
>uunet!centaure!cliff

I've done this a couple ways myself.  My preferred solution is to use
an Ethernet gateway with appropriate s/w on the IBM.  For a gateway,
Intel makes a unit called a Fastpath that IBM also sells as a 9770.
I've gotten in excess of 100 Mbytes/hour throughput through it to a 4381.
I've also be unable to max out the gateway with interactive sessions.
TSO on the 4381 started page faulting itself to death at about 40 sessions
and the gateway just kept humming along.

An alternative is one of the many SNA gateways that go through the IBM
front end.  Sun makes a product called something like Sunlink that goes
that route.  The disadvantage is that it will be much slower and limited
in the number of sessions it can support.

Things to look into:

ACC is the company we've used for s/w on the mainframe side of the
gateway that sits on the Ethernet.  The s/w is called Acces/MVS.
It supports a channel-attached gateway on the IBM side.  An IBM
channel has a speed of 3.3 Mbytes/second which beats the heck out of
a 19.2 KBPS line into a front end.  This assumes you are running MVS
on the mainframe.  The s/w supports TCP/IP with FTP and TELNET support.
LPR support is a bit weak.  I haven't tried the mail gateway, though
for political rather than technical reasons.  

If you assume the mainframe is running VM, IBM has equivalent s/w.  Their
MVS s/w is the VM stuff ported to MVS.

Sun offers their Sunlink product that goes through the front end, as I
mentioned above.  It does 3270 emulation and supports file transfers 
through the 3270 data stream

You also need to look at the public domain package TN3270.  It does
3270 emulation over a TCP/IP link.  You need that to get through
the Intel/ACC gateway as a terminal.

If you want more information please fell free to contact me.

Tony Carrato
Mile-High Information Services, Inc.
uunet!mhinfo!carrato