>How did it out grow your RS/6000?
Same reaction here. As long as you're using the "Cached Client," HOD
doesn't impose much workload on the Web (HTTP) server that's delivering
it. In principle you can support a vast enterprise on a pair (for
redundancy) of relatively tiny HTTP servers.
If the RS/6000 is also handling the TN3270 encryption, then I might
understand.
>Do you perform you TN3270 server function on the HOD server or are you
using
>your mainframe as the TN3270 server?
>The HOD server just is there to download the client, or are you doing
>sometype of server side function on the HOD server also?
>>What is the recommended server platform for Host On Demand given that I
>>can't use the mainframe?
>From a cold, hard architectural point of view, here's my recommended
choices in terms of platform selection:
1. z/OS (assuming your HOD clients are connecting back to that system)
2. Linux on zSeries
3. The most robust distributed platforms (redundant pair) you can find
As mentioned above, HTTP HOD workload with HOD's caching (the default) is
quite small. This is not MIPS-intensive workload. Your users will expect
the mainframe to be up, and if HOD is down the mainframe is down. This is
workload that properly belongs right on the mainframe. Failing that, at
least put it on a Linux LPAR or guest (pair) on the zSeries.
Same principles apply if you're connecting to iSeries as the host system.
You may wish to consider having "baseline" ("business-critical") HOD
service from a host-based HTTP server and then augmenting that with
distributed HTTP servers, but frankly that seems like a lot of work. :-)
>>We originally had it on RS/6000 but outgrew that. It was "assimilated"
>>by the Windows people and HOD V7 is still running on a Windows 2000
>>server. However, new PC's and Java have conflicts with HOD V7. The MS
>>people "hate" any IBM product and say they can't make V9 work. They
>>will only look for web support and won't call IBM support.
>>I may have get HOD dumped back on me, and would like to be quickly
>>successful.
Note that HOD 8.04 and above and 9.01 and above -- I think those versions
are correct -- now allow you to specify specific workstation Java levels.
There are many cases where users have multiple JVMs installed, and they're
worried about supporting particular applications that have specific JVM
requirements. HOD isn't so fussy, but now you can set HOD to look for a
specific level and use that. It should eliminate that "Java version
clash" concern.
Making HOD V9 work is, well, not hard. So I won't make any comment about
the "MS people." :-)
Now, about TN3270 encryption. There is a TN3270 SSL encryption "engine"
called the HOD Redirector that ships with HOD. If you're using SSL/TLS
encryption for your TN3270 traffic, this will work, but only for (circa) a
couple hundred users per server. It's a "light duty" TN3270 redirector.
If you need something with more performance you have a couple choices:
1. The architecturally elegant solution is to turn on 3270 encryption
right on the host -- and to make sure you are taking maximum advantage of
the encryption coprocessor hardware on whatever host system you've got.
There will be some MIPS consumed here, but if at all possible it's the way
to go. It's also the most likely to pass security audit. (Many
organizations require end-to-end encryption.)
2. Second best would be to run Communications Server for Linux on zSeries
as your TN3270 redirector. Encrypt on the "front side" (to the client)
from there. This is also going to pass security audit because the final
hop to the z/OS side can be via Hipersocket, and that's secure.
3. Third best would be to install a Cisco CIP that supports TN3270
encryption or comparable router-type hardware device.
4. Fourth best would be to run Communications Server for AIX, Linux X86,
or Windows. You're adding another point of failure, though, so be aware
of that. (Again, I don't like the idea of adding "mainframe down"
possibilities. Let the mainframe be the mainframe, basically.)
With all due respect to my Hummingbird colleague, I don't see how there's
going to be any CPU advantage to any other solution. HOD is cached
(minimizing HTTP work -- and the HTTP can/should be unencrypted) and SSL
is SSL (i.e. industry-standard computation) if you turn on 3270
encryption. That's all HOD does (in terms of server resources), and you
can put both those units of work wherever you want (cross-platform),
separately or together.
Finally, I rarely see any good reason to leave the HOD Service Manager
(a.k.a. Configuration Manager) running. That's because I see no good
reason to use anything other than the "HTML Model" (in the HOD Deployment
Wizard). If you knock out the License Use Manager (LUM) from HOD and add
the Additional Parameter DISABLE = LUM in the Deployment Wizard, then you
can take down the HOD Service Manager completely. I know I went through
that fast, so holler if it doesn't make sense.
Hope that helps!
- - - - -
Timothy F. Sipples
Senior Software Architect, Enterprise Transformation
IBM Americas zSeries Software
Phone: (312) 245-4003
E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (PGP key available.)
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