Bret, Regarding "Is there a setting within TCP/IP that we are not aware of ...", you should know that the default for the "multipath" parameter of the IPCONFIG statement is NOMULTIPATH.
If you switch to MULTIPATH, you are going to have to choose between PERCONNECTION and PERPACKET. Some folk insist on PERCONNECTION since this can avoid problems associated with fragmentation. If you have so designed your network that you can see that there will not be problems with fragmentation (or full packets arriving out of sequence), you may well prefer PERPACKET. For example, if your printer is being driven within one TCP connection, you won't see any change from what you have right now obviously with PERCONNECTION. Regarding use of the other OSA interfaces when the one previously in use fails, if the failure is "seen" by the IP logic, then that interface will not be used and, assuming your route definitions allow - as applies also for the MULTIPATH specification, another OSA interface will be selected. In general, you should employ a dynamic routing protocol, such as OSPF, in order to exploit redundancy in your routes. Note that there is another "multipath" specification in the IPCONFIG statement. This applies to IP packets which are being *forwarded* by the IP logic rather than IP packets which originate in the IP node which is what I was referring to above and I believe is what you are talking about. What Pat O'Keefe was describing is a prerequisite to getting MULTIPATH to work in that all the routes from your IP node to the destination IP node need to have equal "cost" which, in simple terms, can simply mean that they are defined essentially with the same characteristics - "look much the same"/"do much the same thing". Note that Pat uses the word "weight" rather than "cost" but that's because he's a "died-in-the-wool" SNA man who just naturally uses SNA terminology. <g> The TCP/IP listserver goes by the name of IBMTCP-L: For IBMTCP-L subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: INFO IBMTCP-L Chris Mason ----- Original Message ----- From: "Hoesly, Bret" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Newsgroups: bit.listserv.ibm-main To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, 31 August, 2006 4:49 PM Subject: outbound TCP/IP question > Hello, > > We have 3 OSA ports (IP's) defined in our TCP/IP stack on our z890. We > recently converted our print center to TCP/IP printing. What we have > noticed is only the first port (IP) defined in the stack is being > utilized for outbound TCP/IP traffic. Is there a setting within TCP/IP > that we are not aware of that is limiting the use to the one port (IP)? > We really expected to see all 3 being utilized. > > Our main concern is if the first port has a hardware problem will TCPIP > use one of the other 2 ports (IP's) or will we have an outage to deal > with? > > Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. > > Thank you, > Bret Hoesly ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
