Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!bbn!gatech!udel!udccvax1!anderer
From: anderer@vax1.acs.udel.EDU (David G Anderer)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: tn3270 for PCs with Excelan cards
Message-ID: <2797@udccvax1.acs.udel.EDU>
Date: 7 Feb 89 17:18:49 GMT
Reply-To: anderer@vax1.acs.udel.EDU (David G Anderer)
Distribution: all
Organization: University of Delaware
Lines: 48

Here's a convoluted problem:

We've got several classrooms of IBM PCs (and ATs and PS/2s) each running
on their own Novell SFT 2.1 LAN.  The machines are connected via Thin
Ethernet and use Excelan cards (205Ts, 215Ts for MCA.)  This is a
'supported' setup from Novell and works nicely.

Some of these LANs are also connected out to our ProNet-80 campus backbone.
This backbone connects to the computing center where most of the central
mainframes are located.

We bought the Excelan cards because they would allow the PCs to maintain
simultaneous sessions to the Novell servers (XNS) and to the mainframes
(Excelan telnet, tcp/ip).  Again, this all works nicely.

However, one mainframe we need to connect to is an IBM 3090.  It seems
that machine only knows how to talk to 3270 terminals over a telnet
(WISCNET) connection.  The version of telnet Excelan ships can only
pretend to be a VT-52, -100, or -220.  Thus the problem.

I can see a couple of solutions here:

	1. Have the 3090 (running VM) understand how to handle a VT-100
	via telnet.  I'm told there is a package called SIM3270 that
	does this, but I'm also told people here are uncomfortable with
	the way it's implemented.

	2. Obtain a version of telnet that runs on the Excelan card and
	does 3270 emulation.

	3. Obtain source for a PD version of telnet that does 3270 emulation
	(but doesn't support the Excelan card) and add Excelan support.
	Excelan does sell a socket library for their card which might
	make this easier.

#1 seems unlikely from here.  I'd like to find something for #2 or #3.
Are there answers out there for these, or other solutions I haven't
thought of?

Dave Anderer
Academic Computing and Instructional Technology
University of Delaware

anderer@vax1.acs.udel.edu
-- 
Dave Anderer
Academic Computing and Instructional Technology
University of Delaware