Troubleshooting Guide

Table of contents

Redirector troubleshooting checklist

  1. Check the configuration of the Redirector.
  2. Check to see if the Redirector is active.
  3. Check for messages.
  4. Test the Redirector connections.
  5. Check the status of the telnet ports.
  6. Check your system configuration for Java.
  7. Verify key databases.
  1. Check the configuration of the Redirector.
    1. Verify that the inbound IP address and ports defined for the Redirector path are correctly defined as the destination in the client configuration.
    2. Verify that the outbound IP address and port defined for the Redirector path is the correct IP address and port of the Telnet server.

  2. Check to see if the Redirector is active.
    1. With the Service Manager started, use the Administrator client to log on to Host On-Demand and check the status of the Redirector. If you can successfully log on, the Host On-Demand Service Manager is already active and you will not need to start it. The Redirector can only be active when the Service Manager is active.
    2. Check to see if the Redirector is listening on the defined port by using the netstat command for your operating system.

    3.
  3. Check for messages.
    1. Check for messages issued on the client, especially COMM messages in the emulator OIA.
    2. Check for messages on the Telnet server. Refer to your Telnet server documentation for more information regarding Telnet error messages.

  4. Test the Redirector connections.
    1. Test both segments of the Redirector connection using the ping command:
      1. On a Host On-Demand client workstation, ping the Redirector IP address and host name to verify that the workstation TCP/IP configuration is working. For example, if the Redirector workstation has an IP address of 255.123.123.3, type ping 255.123.123.3. If the workstation has a host name of redirecotrws, type ping redirectorws.
      2. On the Redirector workstation, ping the Host On-Demand client IP address and host name to verify the server TCP/IP configuration is working.
      3. On the Redirector workstation, ping the TN3270 server machine by IP address and the host name to verify the server TCP/IP configuration is working.
      4. On the TN3270E server machine, ping the Host On-Demand Redirector by IP address and host name to verify that the TCP/IP connection is working from the server end.
      5. Make appropriate changes to the server, the client, or the Redirector based on the results you receive. All network connections must be accessible by host name and IP address.
    2. Test both segments of the Redirector connection using your operating system's native Telnet command if you are not able to connect to an SSL Telnet session:

      On the Redirector and client computers, use Telnet to see if the ports defined on the Telnet server or on other Redirectors configured in series are accessible through the firewall and network. This process can help determine the source of the problem if the client workstation fails to connect to the Telnet server through the Redirector or the connection between the workstation and the Telnet server drops. If your Telnet session also fails to connect, or it also disconnects in a similiar way that the Host On-Demand client disconnects, the problem may be a network or Telnet server problem that is unrelated to the Redirector. If this Telnet session from the Redirector server to the Telnet host stays connected even when the client workstation disconnects, this may indicate a problem between the Redirector server and client workstation.

      1. On the Redirector workstation, use Telnet to check the connection. For example, on Windows NT, take the following steps:
        1. Click Start > Run on the Redirector workstation.
        2. Type telnet and click OK.
        3. Click Connect > Remote system on the Telnet window menu bar.
        4. Type the host name of the Telnet server or other Redirector host and the port you want to connect to in the Host Name field and Port field on the Connect window.
        5. Accept the default TermType.
        6. Click Connect.

        Consult your operating system documentation for instructions on how to run Telnet on other platforms.

        If you receive no messages, the port is open. If you receive Connect failed with 'Host name', then the port is not active. Remember to disconnect after you test each port by selecting Connect > Disconnect from the Telnet window menu.

      2. Do a similar test from the client workstation.

  5. Check the status of the Telnet ports.
    1. Type Netstat -a at a command prompt on the Redirector workstation to see if the ports are active.
    2. Type Netstat -a at a command prompt on the Telnet server to see if the ports are active.
    3. On the client workstation, if you are not able to connect to an SSL-enabled Telnet session, use Telnet to see if the ports defined on the Redirector are accessible through the firewall and network from the client workstation. Consult your firewall documentation for more information. For example, on Windows NT:
      1. Click Start > Run on the client workstation.
      2. Type telnet and click OK.
      3. Click Connect > Remote system on the Telnet window menu bar.
      4. Type the host name of the Redirector in the Host Name field on the Connect window.
      5. Type the Redirector port (as defined in the Host On-Demand Session properties on the client) in the Port field on the Connect window.
      6. Accept the default TermType.
      7. Click Connect.

      Consult your operating system documentation for instructions on how to run Telnet on other platforms.

      If you receive no messages, the port is open. If you receive Connect failed with 'Host name', then the port is not active. Remember to disconnect after you test each port by selecting Connect > Disconnect from the Telnet window menu.

    6.
  6. Check your system configuration for Java.
    You may possibly bypass some potential Java problems that can occur when running the Redirector by passing some additional paramters to Java.
    1. If you are running the Redirector on the AIX platform, in the NCServiceManager-AIX.sh file, comment out the (#) default Java command and use the following Java command instead: 
            #######################################################################
      # If running on AIX 4.3 and expect more than 1000 connections, use the
      # following invocation
      #######################################################################
      # ulimit -f unlimited
      # ulimit -d unlimited
      # ulimit -s unlimited
      # ulimit -m unlimited
      # ulimit -n unlimited
      java -DSSL_HANDSHAKE_TIMEOUT=8 -ms16M -mx128M -ss1600k -oss1600k 
      com.ibm.eNetwork.HODUtil.services.admin.NCServiceManager 
      /usr/opt/hostondemand &
    2. If you are running the Redirector on one of the Microsoft Windows platforms, update the JAVA options as follows. Make the following changes directly in the Windows Registry:
      1. Open a command window and run regedit.
      2. Locate the AppParameters key.
      3. Add the following parameters to the key before the -classpath parameter. (Make sure that you leave a space before -classpath and the additional parameters.) For example, on a system with one Gigabyte of memory, issue the following command:

        -Xrs -Xms256M -Xmx768M HKEY_Local_Machine system CurrentControlSet services ibmservicemanager

        where:

        -Xms<size> - Sets the initial Java heap size. Adjust this value based on the total memory on your machine.

        -Xmx<size> - Sets the maximum Java heap size. Adjust this value based on the total memory on your machine.

        -Xrs - Reduces the use of operating system signals

      4. Exit Regedit.
      5. From the Windows Control Panel, stop and restart the Host On-Demand Service Manager to make the changes active. If the Host On-Demand Service Manager fails to stop, go back and recheck the parameters you have changed.

    7.
  7. Verify key databases.

    If you are using SSL on the Redirector under Windows or AIX with a self-signed certificate, verify that the Host On-Demand server key database and the CustomizedCAs.p12 file or CustomizedCAs.class have been created. Note that with a public authority, you do not need to create the the CustomizedCAs.p12 or CustomizedCAs.class files. On AIX, be sure that the certificate files have the correct access authority of 755.

    1. To create the Host On-Demand server key database file, take the following steps:
      1. If any existing HODServerKeyDb.kdb, CustomizedCAs.p12 file, or CustomizedCAs.class files exist, back them up to a different directory or delete them.
      2. Use Certificate Management to create a new CMS key database file, for example, HODServerKeyDb.kdb. Enter the password hod for the key database. Make sure that you select to store the password to a file.
      3. Select Personal Certificates from the drop-down and create a New Self-Signed Certificate.
      4. Extract Certificate as a Base64 .arm file or binary .br file to /hostondemand/bin.
      5. Save the file to HODServerKeyDB.kdb in the \hostondemand\bin directory.
    2. To create the CustomizedCAs.p12 file, take the following steps:
      1. Select Key Database File > New. Create a PKCS12 file (for example, CustomizedCAs.p12 in /hostondemand/HOD with the default password hod).
        When creating CustomizedCAs.p12, you must use the default password hod. Do not change this password.
      2. Select Signer Certificates from the drop-down menu and add the .arm certificate file. Label the certificate appropriately.
      3. Select Key Database File and save it as CustomizedCAs.p12. Replace the old file if it exists.
      4. Restart the Host On-Demand Service Manager.
      5. Modify or create a Redirector service with client-side security.
      6. Modify or create a session to connect to the above configured redirector with SSL enabled.
      7. Prior to connecting at the client, delete the temporary cache prior to starting the session and restart the browser.

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