IBMlogo
IBM eNetwork Communications Server for Windows NT
Host Publisher Feature, Version 6.01
[Next|Previous|Contents]

Host Publisher Hints and Tips

Host Simulator

To help you experiment with our sample programs, a Java application called the Host Simulator is provided. This is a very limited simulation of a TN3270 server, playing back the host side of a recorded 3270 session.

Recorded sessions are provided for some of the samples in this document. You can run the samples without access to a host.

The simulator does not check keystrokes sent to it to determine if they are the same as in the original session; it just reads keystrokes up to the next Enter or other key that sends input to the host, and replies with whatever the reply was when the host session was recorded. This means, for example, that you don't have to use the same userid and password with the simulator that were used when the session was recorded, nor worry about additional spaces in the input. (In fact, you can just hit Enter repeatedly, with no other input, if you want!)

Downloading the Host Simulator and the samples

You can download the Host Simulator and the samples from the Host Publisher download web page. The Host Simulator and the samples are provided as a single self-extracting executable file. Copy the file to your Host Publisher installation directory and run it there.

Starting the Host Simulator

Start the Host Simulator by double-clicking the Host Simulator batch file (HostSimulator.bat) in the Host Publisher install directory from Windows Explorer.

Configuring the Host Simulator

You must configure an input file to run the Host Simulator. Some other settings are optional.

Input file

Input files are provided for some of the sample WBLs.

To set the input file, click the Input File button and select the input file to use. The input files are installed into the Library subdirectory of the Host Publisher installation directory.

Port

The TCP port number where the Host Simulator listens for connections is configurable. To use the Host Simulator with one of the sample WBLs, this port number must match the port number configured in the Host Access integration objects in the terminal configuration window.

The Host Simulator defaults to port 2300, and the sample WBLs are configured to port 2300. It should not be necessary to change this.

Delays

By default, the Host Simulator inserts delays in its playback of the original host session based on the original session timings in the input file. This is called File Dependent delay.

You can test your WBL with different delays. The Host Simulator supports use of random delays with specified minimum and maximum, or no delays at all.

In the lower left corner, you can select File Dependent, Random, or No Delay. If you select Random, you can set the minimum and maximum delays in seconds in the MINIMUM and MAX fields. The valid range is 0-600 seconds.

Tracing

To see all the interactions in the Host Simulator window, change Trace OFF to Trace ON at the bottom.

Running the Host Simulator

When you have configured the Host Simulator, click the GO button to start it. You must do this before the Host Publisher can to connect to it.

You can stop the Host Simulator from playing back a session at any time by clicking STOP. This does not terminate the Host Simulator application.

You can clear the window by clicking CLEAR.

You can exit the Host Simulator application by using the Windows exit button at the upper right corner.

Creating your own input files

You can record your own 3270 sessions for use with the Host Simulator. The input files are trace files of 3270 sessions through the TN3270e server of eNetwork Communications Server for Windows NT.
  1. Configure the TN3270e server
  2. Turn on tracing of Function Connectivity, Component TN3270E Server, Trace Options Transport Provider Calls.
  3. Run your session.
  4. Turn off tracing
  5. Save and format the trace.
The resulting file can be used as an input file for the Host Simulator.

There should only be one session active at the time you take the trace, and no other trace options should be used.

Warning - 3270 session traces are very specific to the TN3270e client (emulator) being used. If you want to use the Host Simulator with Host Publisher WBLs, be sure to record the session using the Host Publisher terminal windows rather than some other 3270 emulator.


[Next|Previous|Contents]
IBM eNetwork Communications Server for Windows NT
Host Publisher Feature, Version 6.01