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paddbear1975

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Major problem with my AS400 client access

I have a small network of windows 98 and 2k machines that connect via ethernet to a 150 series ibm server. Up until a couple of days ago the machines connected perfectly.(no changes have been made in the network except that a couple of new users were added and client access 4.4 was loaded on their machines) Now no machines will connect during the validation process with the as400. I can ping the as400 fine from all workstations, and i can access it with ops nav as well. But the terminal emulation software won't connect. I am running a mixture of 4.4 and earlier client access software. Upon reboot the problem clears up and runs for about 8 hours or so, then when i try to connect i get a port 449 10061 function error. I still can ping the 400 server, i just can't connect with client access. I then have to reboot again and the cycle continues. Our software is all that is running on the 400, it isn't serving any other function, such as dhcp, email etc. I'm sure i have left something out, but help please, I'm ready to pull my hair out and i don't have very much....
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Bob Butcher
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off the top of my head, is your system value set to automatically disconnect users from the AS400 for non-activity after 8 hours?

have you ensured that all of your Client Access host servers are running?

V4.4 is an older version of CA400? Have you tried loading CA Express and what were the results?

Also, did you try to telnet to your AS400 system? Telenet is what is running behind the scenes for CA400.

Go to the Start/Run box and type telnet 1.2.3.4 (where this is your AS400 IP address) and make sure that the telnet server in TCP is running too.
to start host servers on the as400 run STRHOSTSVR *ALL to ensure everything is running on the AS400.

I also believe that there is a system value that allows you to only have so many virtual users on your system. This may need to be increased as well. I'm not in front of my AS400 or else I would let you know what this sysval is.

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paddbear1975

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I was unable to telnet into the machine "Could not open a connection to host: Connect failed" message came up. STRHOSTSVR *all produced an error message on the 400 that said "HOST SERVER DAEMON JOBS UNABLE TO COMMUNICATE USING IPX". I haven't tried to reboot yet, but i am fairly sure that upon reboot the machine will start up and connections will be available. Which should last for 8 hours or so and then it will lose connection again.
Also i used client access version 5.1 last night and it refused to connect as well.
Our 400 is not set to disconnect after any period of time. The problem is it disconnects everybody, not just one individual workstation. It's almost like it loses it's tcp/ip settings or something. Again, i can ping it fine, i just can't connect via client access.
do this - STRTCPSVR F4 - and type in *TELNET. This should start up the telnet TCP server. Then try and telnet to it again.



 
are you familar with DHCP? possibly do you have this running on the AS400? where the addresses are renewed?
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dedy_djajapermana

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dedy,

great idea except if he cannot telnet to the AS400 without going thru CA400, I would think the telnet server might not be started.

samic,

agree, and as you've suggested to restart telnet server, it should have been started.
Check the joblogs of the interactive sessions that have been disconnected. They should show something on why they have been disconnected. Also do a DSPLOG [F4] and look arrount the time when everyone is being disconnected.
OK, I rebooted on Sunday and it has been running fine ever since (knock on wood). The only thing that I did different on Sunday than the other times I rebooted is that I selected power off instead of power off then restart. Is there a difference in the two? (I mean besides the obvious that the machine restarts after powering off) Does the machine keep some TCP/IP settings etc. when restarting that it doesn't keep when it is powered completely off? I'm perplexed, but happy that my machines can connect via client access.
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Paddbear,

rebooting (IPLing) doesn't really solve the problem, besides, considering the time it's taking, it's too painful.
if you really want to find the root of the problem, you should look further.
if you want a shortcut, you don't have to reboot, just do the following:
- endtcp *immed
- strtcp
- strhostsvr *all rqdpcl(*tcp)
paddbear1975:

You reIPL'd your AS/400 Sunday?

That could have easily fixed the problem, especially if you did a full power-down; of course, there are probably less disruptive ways of accomplishing the same goal. Do you have an idea of how long it had been since the previous IPL? Can you say what version of OS/400 you're running?

Tom
Tom,

quote:
"Upon reboot the problem clears up and runs for about 8 hours or so, then when i try to connect i get a port 449 10061 function error."
unquote

it'd be too painful if he really have to ipl every time he get the problem
The difference in startup between RESTART(*YES) and RESTART(*NO) is that if you do a RESTART(*NO) and do a manual start after that the system will do a full restart of the OS and the hardware, default with RESTART(*YES) it will check you IPL attributes (DSPIPLA) to see which restart type should be done (*SYS=Operating restart, hardware is only restarted if this is needed because of PTF's applied; *FULL=full hardware restart)
dedy_djajapermana:

The question is whether or not he has only tried IPLing the system once. His earlier comment that you quoted sounded as if he had been rebooting PCs in order to clear up the problem for 8 hours on individual PCs. When he mentioned IPLing his server, he said it was done on Sunday and the problem hadn't reappeared by Tuesday noon.

If an IPL of the server clears the problem for an extended time, then perhaps the server had been running for months and was seeing issues with loss of temporary space or an IOP had gotten somehow corrupted and refreshed by the IPL or any number of other possibilities.

If the IPL makes a significant difference, then we have an important clue on possible places to look. Let's see how long it took for the problem to appear again.

Mind_nl is right with his example on what an IPL might do to make a difference. That's the kind of info we can find out by learning how often IPLs have been done since the problem first showed up. Note that in the forum "IPL" and "reboot" might mean very different things. Hard to tell when client PCs are part of the problem.

Tom
Still going, no problems yet. I connected the final two machines to the server via the client access software that i had disconnected last Friday. I was trying to see if one of the client pc's was having problems with viruses or spyware that might be causing the AS400 problem, so i took the last three machines that i had added off. (they were added two weeks or more ago) They are back on now, and it seems to be running fine (again knock on wood). In reference to the power down, i entered the command "go power" and then selected "power off then restart" the first two times. The last time I selected "power off immediately" and it seemed to make the difference, since the 400 has been up and running ever since.
paddbear1975:

I'm getting the feeling that you're not an experienced AS/400 administrator???

Do you know how long this AS/400 has been in service at your site? As with any system, there are administrative and service tasks that need to be done. Your system might have any number of problems, ranging from disk controller battery failure to missing PTFs for hardware to who knows???

In general, a model 150 is not appropriate for use in a significant business environment; more useful to a site that develops and tests software for AS/400s or as a demonstration or test environment, possibly home (self-employed) development. It technically has the characteristics of all systems running OS/400 at similar release levels, but there are significant limitations. (For example, it cannot be upgraded to the current OS/400 V5R3 nor any later release.)

I'm not even sure what service/support options are available for model 150 if fixes from IBM are needed.

Anyway, there are steps you can take such as the WRKPRB (Work with Problems) command that might give us better clues. So far, it's hard to tell what to recommend.

Tom