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3 Administering SNAP-IX

The first step in administering SNAP-IX is configuring the node and its resources. Begin by planning for configuration as described in Planning for SNAP-IX Configuration.

Before you can configure SNAP-IX, you must enable the SNAP-IX software as described in Enabling and Disabling SNAP-IX on the Local System.

When SNAP-IX is enabled, you can run the Motif administration program (see Using the Motif Administration Program). The Motif administration program guides you through the configuration needed to support SNA communication using SNAP-IX. The Motif administration program is the recommended administration tool, because it minimizes the configuration information you need to provide and guides you through each step you must perform to support different types of communication (such as 3270 or APPC communication).

Alternatively, you can use the Web administration program as described in Using the Web Administration Program, or the command-line administration program as described in Using the Command-Line Administration Program.

For each administration task, this guide provides information you can use for either Motif or command-line administration. Other configuration methods are discussed in Administration Tools.

3.1 Planning for SNAP-IX Configuration

Before you make any configuration changes it is very important to plan thoroughly. Changes that you make can cause disruption, not only to the users of your local node but possibly to users all around the network.

You may find it useful to draw a diagram of any changes that you are making to the topology of the network. If you are adding or removing connections to other nodes, draw a picture showing your node and the other nodes. You can use the Motif administration program to gather configuration information about all of the existing connections and add that information to your diagram.

When you add new resources to your diagram, it is easy to see whether they duplicate existing ones, or whether any names clash. Similarly, your diagram can help you decide which resources you need to remove and help you avoid deleting essential ones.

If you are configuring a Client/Server SNAP-IX system with more than one node, ensure that you include all the SNAP-IX nodes and their connectivity resources in your diagram.

Once you determine the changes you need to make, you can collect the configuration information that you need. You can use the task sheets in the online help files for the Motif administration program, or the planning worksheets described in Planning Worksheets, to guide you in collecting configuration information for specific SNAP-IX functions.

3.1.1 Planning Worksheets

Before you begin to configure resources for SNAP-IX, gather all of the configuration data for the new resources. To record all of the information for a particular function or application that you need to support, use the planning worksheets in Configuration Planning Worksheets.

You will probably need to gather configuration information from several sources, such as network administrators, host administrators, application programmers, and end users.

If you are trying to connect to another node, the administrator at that node is a key contact. The administrator for a node can tell you names, addresses and characteristics of all the resources on that node. Often, you will need to ensure that matching configuration parameters are entered at the local node and the remote node.

3.1.2 Task Sheets

The online help screens in the Motif administration program contain task sheets that provide guidance for specific configuration tasks. The task sheets contain pointers to all of the help screens for the dialogs that you will use to enter the configuration information. You can use these to browse the help and see exactly what data you must collect.

The task sheets also refer to more detailed help for each of the individual windows and dialogs that you must use to enter configuration information. Those help screens explain each field that you must fill in or select.

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