IBM Host On-Demand v1.0 Readme

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The list of topics in the left column has been selected to enable you to start using IBM Host On-Demand as quickly as possible. Topics that require you to have internet access are denoted by . If you do not have internet access, a condensed version of this material is available in the remainder of this document.

About Host On-Demand

IBM Host On-Demand is a Java-based Intranet/web to SNA solution. It provides a high-performance, low-cost solution for Intranet and web users who need occasional access to their central computer applications or databases from any Java-enabled end-user platform. Valuable centralized host information is now available to web-centric end users.

Access is as simple as pointing and clicking on an SNA application hot link from within the user's Java-enabled web browser. No customer programming, additional hardware, or previously installed client emulator is required.

Host On-Demand boasts a number of powerful features and benefits, such as:

• Emulator functions on demand through the dynamic download of the Host On-Demand Java applet
• Automatic session connection to your central computer
• End user customization of default session options
• Dynamic session hotlinks
• Two 3270 host sessions
• Resizable session windows with dynamically adjusted fonts
• Dual built-in 3270 function keypads
• Menubar with pulldown menu items
• Iconic toolbar
• OIA display area
• End user and administrator help facilities

Supported clients

Host On-Demand supports any Java-enabled platform with an industry standard Java virtual machine level of at least 1.02. Examples of the platforms supported include Java-enabled Web browsers and Java-enabled network computers.

Our testing has determined that the following web browsers interact best with IBM Host On-Demand:

Supported Web servers

Host On-Demand is installed on a server and requires a web server; Host On-Demand does not include a web server function. Any web server capable of serving Java applets can be used in support of Host On-Demand.

Host On-Demand testing has focussed on web servers from these companies:

• IBM
• Lotus
• Microsoft
• Netscape
• Novell

Supported Communications servers

Host On-Demand requires an IBM Communications Server to be installed on the same logical server as the web server. These IBM Communications Servers are supported by IBM Host On-Demand:

• IBM Communications Server for AIX v4.2 or later (with IBM SNA Client Access for AIX v1.2 or later)
• IBM Communications Server for OS/2 v4.1 or later
• IBM Communications Server for NT v5.0
• Novell NetWare for SAA v2.2 or later

Installation

After download is completed, install Host On-Demand on the server according to these platform-specific instructions:

IBM AIX server

1. If Host On-Demand is already installed on the server, enter the following:
   installp -ug host_on_demand
2. The Host On-Demand code is packaged as an image file. Copy the image file into a temporary installation directory.
3. From this directory, enter the following:
   installp -acgNqv -d . -V2 all
4. Ensure that the installed Host On-Demand product directories and files are accessible to your web server.

IBM OS/2 server

1. The Host On-Demand code is packaged as a self-extracting ZIP file. Copy the self-extracting ZIP file to a directory that is accessible to your web server.
2. From this directory, enter the following 2 commands from an OS/2 command prompt:
   [heos2100.exe] install

Microsoft Windows/NT server

1. The Host On-Demand code is packaged as a self-extracting ZIP file. Copy the self-extracting ZIP file to a directory that is accessible to your web server.
2. From this directory, enter the following from a Windows command prompt:
   [hew3i100.exe]
3. The Host On-Demand code is also packaged with the IBM Communications Server for NT. From the CD installer, click on the Host On-Demand icon to install.

Novell NetWare server

1. The Host On-Demand code is packaged as a self-extracting ZIP file. Copy the self-extracting ZIP file into a temporary installation directory.
2. From this directory, enter the following from a DOS prompt:
   [henet100.exe]
3. From the NetWare console:
   1. Load the install NLM by enterring: LOAD INSTALL
   2. Select Product options from the menu.
   3. Select Install a product not listed.
   4. Press F3, and enter the path of your temporary installation directory (be sure you remove the a:\ before enterring the new path).
   5. Follow the installation instructions. Restart your NetWare server after installation is complete.
4. Ensure that the installed Host On-Demand product directories and files are accessible to your web server.

Getting started

System administrators or web masters can establish a hyper-link to he3270en.htm and immediately begin using Host On-Demand through this link.

However, administrators may elect to customize the appearance and invocation mechanisms of IBM Host On-Demand by modifying the <param> tags in he3270en.htm. A variety of appearances may be presented to end users by customizing the he3270en.htm page. The following values can be customized.

• Title and masthead used on IBM Host On-Demand's invoking web page
• Automatic connect to a fixed Telnet server
• Automatic start as a separate window or as part of the browser

Refer to the comments in he3270en.htm and the sample*.htm sample files for additional details concerning invocation customization.

Administrators may also elect to customize the IBM Host On-Demand administrator pages headmnen.htm and headm1en.htm contained in the \en directory. These pages may be customized to provide pointers for your end users to your company or organization help desk or technical support personnel.

If you anticipate Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 users accessing IBM Host On-Demand, you may want to consider signing the Host On-Demand cabinet file (he3270ap.cab) with your company or organization's credentials. The Host On-Demand cabinet file has space reserved for your signature. Please refer to the Microsoft web site for details concerning signing the Host On-Demand cabinet file.

Usage notes for Host On-Demand end users

Netscape Navigator 2.0-related

• Set "Image" and "Audio" to "no" on the startup panel when running NetScape 2.0. Otherwise, it may cause severe performance and display problems. If you want to run with these options, please consider upgrading to Netscape 3.0.
• Session windows running under NetScape 2.0 will not accept a "dot" (i.e. decimal point or period) keystroke input directly from the keyboard. If this becomes a problem, please consider upgrading to NetScape 3.0.
• There are JVM problems in painting the Host On-Demand session window when running Netscape 2.0 under Windows/NT 3.51. If these conditions become a problem, please consider upgrading to Netscape 3.0:
  • Graphical toolbar entries not being repainted.
  • Graphical toolbar entries overlapping with 3270 presentation space
  • The cursor not being painted on new host screens.

Microsoft Internet Explorer-related

• The resizable session window function does not always work for MSIE 3.0 on the Win95 and NT platforms. If you are using Microsoft Plus!, in your Display Properties, ensure that the Show window contents while dragging visual setting is disabled.
• The dotted ip address notation can not be used to specify your TN3270 server under earlier builds of MSIE 3.0. This is a known problem of MSIE 3.0.

IBM OS/2 client environment-related

• Users of the OS/2 appletviewer and Netscape for OS/2 should periodically check http://www.ibm.com/java/ for information on, and updates to, your environment.

Performance-related

• Host On-Demand runs in the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) environment of your browser or operating system, which provides its own garbage collection function for memory. Memory consumption for an active session in normal usage is about 1M bytes RAM. When the session is closed, about 1/8 of the memory is released immediately by Java and the rest freed gradually over a period of time. For normal usage, this should not be a problem. However if you continuously start up and shut down sessions over an extended period of time, it could cause memory resource shortages and appear to hang your system.
• You may establish sessions to your host for an extended period of time. When you resume activity on a long-idle host session, you may see a slight hesitation. This is normal because the host may have timed out and the desktop resources may have been consumed by the other activities. Host On-Demand will regroup and get your host session back to normal operational state quickly.
• The debugging facility is initially activated by setting the applet's Debug parameter="yes" in he3270en.htm. A Debug submenu item will then appear in the Help menu item and a Debug icon will appear on the toolbar of the session window. Only use this facility under the direction of your system administrator or IBM support personnel; certain debug settings significantly impact session performance.

Miscellaneous

• End user help information is available in two forms: browser HTML files and What is it support. If you are executing IBM Host On-Demand outside a browser (e.g. using an appletviewer), the HTML-based help facility is not directly available to you from Host On-Demand session windows. What is it support, selected from either the menubar or toolbar, is always available; to use, select What is it, then click the item for which you want help.
• The initial Host On-Demand htm page provides hot session links to sessions running in separate windows. Clicking on an active link will bring you to that active session window. However, if the session window is minimized, no action will occur. This behavior is a restriction for many Java virtual machines.
• The F10 key on the keyboard is often reserved for Java Virtual Machine use. When you need to use F10 to interact with host applications, select PF10 key on the keypad. Further, many Java virtual machines do not recognize all keyboard key values (e.g. the "Insert" key). As a result, no corresponding direct keyboard support for those keys can be provided. Select these keys from the keypad. Refer to the Keyboard help information for the list of keyboard key supported.
• A session window can be separate or embedded in the invoking browser window. If it is a separate window, it can be resized by pointing the mouse click at the border and dragging. If the window is embedded, it is not resizable and the scroll bar of the browser may be needed to view the entire session window.
• To minimize the amount of scrolling when running separate window=no, have your system adminstrator adjust the applet size in the Host On-Demand invoking web page to your display screen resolution size, e.g. 800x600 or 640x480. Turn off the options in your browser that show the browser toolbar, status area, location, directory buttons, etc. This will give you more 3270 display space and minimize the need for scrolling.
• This release of Host On-Demand does not implement character attributes. This means that character-by-character control of colors, reverse video, etc is not implemented. Colors, reverse video, etc is available at the field level.
• Base platforms may cause window repainting problem somtimes, such as toolbar icons or keypad becomes clipped when scrolling embedded window up and down in a browser. This problem can be corrected by forcing a repainting.