RE: QNTC issues -- MIDRANGE-L

Peter:

I have an ILE RPG module that contains procedures to CreateSTMF, OpenSTMF, 
WriteSTMF and CloseSTMF (plus error extraction procedures, etc.). I bound this 
with a test ILE CL module that calls the procedures in order, writing multiple 
lines, using different paths in order to test the various network paths.

I created these on a V4R4 system and got them working cleanly to Win2K Server 
and to V4R5 and V5R1 systems. I saved the program and restored on V5R1 and 
tried again. But trouble...

When the path went from the V5R1 to Win2K Server, the initial open() API call 
to create the streamfile would return a -1 for FD (file descriptor) which 
should indicate an error. But when I retrieve errno and convert it to the err 
string, errno is 0 (zero) and the string is "There is no error". Not very 
useful, eh?

Meanwhile, the streamfile _does_ get created correctly. Unfortunately, without 
a FD, I can't access it.

If my /QNTC path points to other AS/400s, it works on some but not others. If I 
restore on V4R5 instead of V5R1, results are similar but failures don't happen 
in exactly the same places.

Also, if I do the open() in TEXT mode, that's when it fails. It works if I 
open() not setting TEXT mode. If I run the same kinds of functions in Java 
using the exact same paths, it works whether it's TEXT mode or not.

Because it seems dependent on the combination of source and destination, I 
never can predict which will work. IBM has my test procedures, but hasn't been 
able to reproduce. (Naturally.) And because it works across every /QNTC path 
when it's in Java, I'm having a hard time determining where the failure occurs 
-- especially since errno is 0; I don't know how to reconcile that with FD=-1.

IBM supplied a slick procedure that prints a /QNTC trace from my sessions and 
I've learned a bunch from it. Just haven't learned anything that helps.

Hmmm... One thing I haven't tried (and I'm thinking "Duh!" to myself for it.) I 
haven't fully compiled and bound everything on V5R1 to see if it then works.

Anyway, that's the basics of it.

Tom Liotta

midrange-l-request@midrange.com wrote:

>   9. QNTC issues (Peter Dow)
>
>Could you give us some more details on the problems you've been having?
>
>I've read that if the PC is running NT or W2K, and is on the same subnet, it
>will show up automatically in /QNTC.  However, that only seems to be true if
>the user doing the looking (using WRKLNK '/QNTC') has a matching
>userid/password on the PC.  And Win2K can be set up to have case-sensitive
>userid/passwords; I'm not sure about NT.
>
>Peter Dow
>Dow Software Services, Inc.
>909 793-9050 voice
>909 522-3214 cellular
>909 793-4480 fax
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Tom Liotta"
>
>Vern:
>
>FTP direct to /QNTC, hum? If it works, I like it.
>
>However... I've been battling /QNTC issues for a couple months through PID
>(or PWD or whatever it's called this month) and no hint of resolution yet.
>The best defense I've seen is to have as many alternative sequences as you
>can possibly get. Different sequences seem to work depending on whether you
>go with text or binary, or AS/400 to AS/400, or AS/400 to Win2K, or V5R1 to
>any, or V4R5 to any, or Java versus ILE RPG, etc., etc.
>
>I began with the streamfile APIs in ILE RPG and expanded from there
>depending on the combination of source and destination systems and operating
>system version/release/fix levels. As long as I stick with a known source
>and a known destination, I can make it work. But once the solution needs to
>install on "any" AS/400 and transport through /QNTC to a destination that is
>dependent upon the network path given, the single solution becomes
>unpredictable.

--
Tom Liotta
The PowerTech Group, Inc.
19426 68th Avenue South
Kent, WA 98032
Phone  253-872-7788
Fax    253-872-7904
http://www.powertechgroup.com



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