Re: 5494, frame relay, and parms...

[Larry Bolhuis <lbolhuis@xxxxxxx>]

mcrump@ballfoster.com wrote:
> 
> We have 20+ 5494's that we just converted from a private pt to pt network...
> 
> To the AS/400 and the 5494's they look like they are attached to a LAN.  We
> are bridging the SNA traffic....
> 
  If the environment is as you describe it with SNA bridging I believe
you will never have solid reliability.  The problem being that SNA is
timing out when the 'clound' (frame relay network) gets busy -
Especially if your CIR is low and traffic is high.  Bridging will simply
carry the SNA polling over the cloud so when the clound is busy the
responses take too long and in some cases actually never get there.

  To solve this you really need routers that are using DLSW (Data Link
Switching) instead of bridging.  DLSW on the router nearest the AS/400
will 'lie' to the AS/400 by responding to the AS/400's polling, the
routers on the far end will do the same for the 5494's.  Only after the
routers finally give up on communicating to one another (such as when
CISCO stuff on AT&T's Frame go casters up) will the local router finally
tell the AS/400 that it cannot contact the 5494's.  In the mean time
even when the 'cloud' is swamped the AS/400 believes that the 5494's are
still there and happy.  This has the desireable side effect of reducing
WAN traffic because all those SNA polls don't hit the cloud.

  Now if you are already using DLSW or similair technology then I'm all
wet and you need to raise some of those time out values.....

  Larry Bolhuis
  Vice President
  Arbor Solutions, Inc
  Grand Rapids, MI

> 
> Michael Crump
> Technical Project Leader
> 
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