Citrix WinView Application Notes EICON OSI Gateway for OS/2 This application note is for informational use only. Citrix Systems, Inc. makes no representations or warranties with respect to the contents or use of this document or of any third-party products discussed within. September 1, 1994 Citrix Systems, Inc. 210 University Drive,Suite 700 Coral Springs, FL 33071 (305)755-0559 FAX:(305)341-6880 OVERVIEW This application note discusses the use of the EICON OSI Gateway for OS/2 product (referred to as Eicon) with the Citrix WinView Application Server (referred to as WinView) product. Eicon is an XPAD (X.25 Packet Assembler-Disassembler) daemon that allows DOS clients to communicate with WinView using an asynchronous X.25 connection. The intended audience for this document is an engineer who has had hands on experience with WinView and Eicon products. The scenarios described in this document have been tested by Citrix and Citrix believes you should have no problems using Eicon with WinView if you follow carefully the information and steps in this document. Other variations to the scenarios described in this document may in fact work fine; however, they have not specifically been tested by Citrix. In order to maximize your chance for success, you should use the specified revision levels of all software products described in this document and stay within the bounds of the features and functions described in this document. Please note that this application note document is a living document and will be modified as new information and versions of the software described herein become available. Make sure you have the latest version of this document before you begin. The latest version is always available in the Citrix Forum on CompuServe. Benefits of the WinView/Eicon X.25 solution ------------------------------------------- The Eicon product allows the remote user another method of reaching the WinView server and services. Using the OSI Gateway for DOS and the RLINK piece provided by Citrix, the remote user has the ability to reach the WinView server via an X.25 "cloud" (using the X.25 packet-switching protocol). The X.25 solution is a low cost alternative very popular in Europe and some parts of the US as well. In addition, the X.25 layer is virtually transparent, making the user feel as if he is simply "dialing in" via a normal phone line. Requirements ------------ To use Eicon on a WinView application server you will need to have the following: Software Requirements: - Citrix WinView 2.2 or 2.21 - Eicon OSI Gateway (OS/2 version) V3R1 - Eicon patches (see section on obtaining patches) - Eicon OSI Gateway (DOS version) V3R1 - Novell NetWare 3.11, 3.12, or 4.01 Hardware Requirements: - Eicon supplied interface board > 1 for client and 1 for WinView server - WinView server > 486DX-25 CPU or larger > 12MB memory or more > NetWare supported network adapter - DOS client machine > 286 CPU or better (386 recommended) > 2MB memory or more (4MB recommended) Configuration Notes ------------------- Each Eicon card installed in the application server is capable of supporting up to 16 Virtual Circuits (VCs), or X.25 connections, simultaneously. The required number of concurrent Eicon users will determine the hardware configurations of the application server. The maximum number of concurrent Eicon users supported on a single application server is determined by the hardware configuration of the system. Memory is the most critical resource for an application server in determining the number of users. Use the following rule of thumb: 8MB base memory plus 3MB per Windows session, plus 1MB per DOS session, and 0.5MB per OS/2 session. For example, a five-user system might require the following: User Average sessions Mem.Required ---- ---------------- ------------ 1 1 Windows 3.0MB 2 1 OS/2 0.5MB 3 1 DOS 1.0MB 4 1 Windows, 1 OS/2 3.5MB 5 2 OS/2, 2 DOS, 1 Windows 6.0MB ---------------------------------------------------- Total suggested memory required: 14MB (16MB) NOTE: Round up to the next number divisible by 8. Remember, to go beyond 16MB, you will need either a EISA system or a 32-bit MCA system. Also, you should increase the CPU size as the user count goes up. Limitations of Eicon under WinView ----------------------------------- Not all features and functions of Eicon are supported at this time. Although the Eicon product supports other connection types, only the X.25 Gateway functionality is supported at this time. Installation ------------ The Eicon installation for both the application server and the DOS client follows the Eicon documentation in most details. Since there are several special considerations, a step by step install is described below. WinView Server Installation: 1) Configure the Eicon EC interface card to a non-conflicting I/O address, the interrupt will be configured by the installation program. The Eicon manuals give detailed instructions on how to change the I/O address (page 5, EiconCard PC Installation Guide). 2) After booting the WinView server (with the new card installed), login as an Administrator and start an OS/2 session. Place the OSI Gateway disk in a floppy drive, switch to the drive letter (for example, CD A:), and type: INSTALL 3) Select the "Gateway Install" option. 4) Next you will be asked if you want to make changes to the STARTUP.CMD file. You must MAKE CHANGES as it is REQUIRED that the Eicon processes be started from the STARTUP.CMD file. See the notes later in this document detailing the changes to the STARTUP.CMD and CONFIG.SYS files. 5) Communications Protocol Configuration: Press "F4" to get to the "Hardware Configuration" menu. Change the settings on this screen to match your hardware. Make sure you choose the I/O address that matches the settings you chose in Step 1 (above). Select IRQ and memory segment address settings that do not conflict with other adapters in your system. Press "F4" again to "Protocol Configuration" menu, and move the cursor to "Dialer Selection." Change this value to match which connection hardware you are using. Press "F4" again to "Dialer Configuration" menu. Consult the "OSI Gateway Reference Guide" for information on these settings. Press "F4" again for the "Sync Driver Configuration." Consult the "OSI Gateway Reference Guide" for help with these settings. Press "F3" until you return to the Protocol Configuration screen, move the cursor up to the "Line protocol module," and select "X.25." Press "F4" for the "X.25 Configuration" screen. The required changes on this screen are the "Maximum packet size" and "Default packet size." They should both be set to 1024. Note any other changes you make should be noted, as you will have to mirror these settings in the DOS client configuration. 6) Now that the installation program is complete, you will need to verify the changes made to the STARTUP.CMD, and modify the CONFIG.SYS and ECXPAD.INI files. The following lines should have been added to the STARTUP.CMD file: REM Eicon statements begin here C: cd C:\OSIGATE\BIN ECCARD START ECLAN START SERVER SET ECXPAD=C:\OSIGATE\BIN ECXPAD START REM Eicon statements end here Unless you are also setting up an ECLAN server, you can REM that statement or delete it entirely: REM ECLAN START SERVER 7) The following lines will need to be added (or modified) in the CONFIG.SYS file: SET LIBPATH=C:\OSIGATE\DLL;... SET PATH=C:\OSIGATE\BIN;... SET DPATH=C:\OSIGATE\CONFIG;C:\OSIGATE\BIN;... Place the following lines somewhere before the NetWare section of the CONFIG.SYS: REM *** Eicon CONFIG.SYS statements *** DEVICE=C:\OSIGATE\BIN\ECBIOS.SYS CONFIG=C:\OSIGATE\BIN DEVICE=C:\OSIGATE\BIN\ECXPAD.SYS REM *** End Eicon statements *** 8) The ECXPAD.INI file contains the configuration information for the ECXPAD program. This file requires the following changes on the application server: In the [DEFAULT] section, the following changes should be made: packetsize=1024 initialprofile=6 auto_connect=ANSWER citrix=yes In the [PROFILE] section for "name=6" (profile 6), make the following changes: cdelete=0 ldelete=0 ldisplay=0 At the end of the file, add bracketed lines for each COM port you wish to have automatically defined. For instance, in order to define COM ports 4, 5, 6, and 7, add the following lines: [COM4] [COM5] [COM6] [COM7] This concludes the setup of the WinView server. The installation of the DOS server (the machine acting as the client), is also important, because the two machines must use compatible parameters to connect to each other properly. The differences from the standard install for the Dos client are detailed below. DOS Server Installation: 1) Go through the different screens for both the "Comm Protocol Configuration" as well as the "Gateway Installation," mirroring the changes in the screens for the DOS side. 2) In REMOTE LINK, configure the Appserver entry with the following settings: Phone Number. . . [] Connection Type . [ASYNC ] Emulation Mode. . [INT14 ] Modem Type. . . . [ ] Device Name . . . [] Baud Rate . . . . [19200 ] Device Parameters [NONE,8,1] Flow control. . . [] Error correction. [] Compression . . . [] The above settings will enable you to connect to the application server through the Eicon X.25 software and appear as a conventional RLINK session to the user. Operation --------- Once connected with the application server via REMOTE LINK, there should be no difference in operation from a standard DOS connection. Compatibility ------------- At this time, there are no known hardware incompatibilities when using Eicon and WinView. When selecting a hardware platform for WinView, make sure you choose from the list of supported hardware devices in the "Citrix Compatibility Guide." Obtaining Patches ----------------- The patches to V3R1 of the Eicon OSI Gateway for OS/2 are currently available from either the Eicon BBS or on the Citrix forum on Compuserve ("GO CITRIX") as EICON.ZIP. Diagnosing Problems ------------------- Common Problems (and Solutions): 1) If the Eicon adapter will not initialize, try changing the I/O address of the adapter using the "ECCARD CONFIG" program. Check that the adapter does not conflict with other hardware in the system. 2) If the X.25 ports do not activate, make sure that the modem being used is properly connected and turned on. The ports will not initialize if they do not receive the proper signals from the modem. 3) If the DOS client cannot connect to the application server, check the ECXPAD.INI file to verify that the "x25_address" parameter is set correctly. 4) If workstation initialization on the application server complains that the port is already in use, then something already tried to use the port and failed. The ECXPAD.SYS process will not work correctly after this, and the server should be rebooted. Watch the initialization messages to determine the source of the problem. The workstation initialization must happen AFTER Eicon is started by STARTUP.CMD. If the workstation initialization for the Eicon ports happens before Eicon is started (i.e., if the required startup commands are not in the STARTUP.CMD), workstation initialization will fail, the ECXPAD.SYS process will be corrupted, and the system will have to be rebooted. 5) REMOTE LINK displays the "Connecting" line on the screen, but the connection is never established. This could mean that a previous connection did not properly disconnect. Run QUERY TERMINALS to see if any Eicon workstations are in a disconnected state. If they are, execute RESET TERMINAL to reset the connection. If you still have problems, contact Eicon Technical Support for assistance. If they cannot help, contact Citrix Technical Support.