IBM BC-203 manual CMCC Adapter Hardware, Benefits of CTRC, BC-245

Overview of IBM Networking

CMCC Adapter Hardware

For a TCP/IP host connection, the router with CTRC routes the DRDA packets over TCP/IP without protocol changes. To use this TCP/IP passthrough feature of CTRC, the host database version must support direct TCP/IP access. Figure 111 illustrates such a configuration.

Figure 111 Cisco Router Configured with the CTRC Feature for DB2 Communications (TCP/IP Host Network)

ODBC client

TCP/IP CTRC TCP/IP

DRDA server

RDBMS

27133

DB2 database

When configured for DB2 communications on a router, the CTRC feature enables desktop applications to access data in remote databases located on IBM hosts. CTRC receives database access messages from the client over a TCP/IP link. CTRC either converts the messages to SNA and transmits them to the host using APPC services provided by the Cisco SNA Switching Services, or routes the client messages to the TCP/IP-enabled host without protocol changes.

Benefits of CTRC

CTRC provides TCP/IP end-users and servers with fast, reliable, and secure access to IBM DB2 databases using the SNA protocol. CTRC replaces expensive and hard to manage UNIX and NT gateways for database access.

CTRC lets Windows or UNIX client applications call CICS transactions without requiring changes to the client or host software.

In addition, CTRC provides Cisco 7200 and 7500 series routers with the functionality previously available in CDBC, which gives ODBC client applications access to data in DB2 databases.

CMCC Adapter Hardware

A CMCC adapter is installed in a Cisco router to provide IBM channel attachment from the router to a mainframe host. The Cisco family of CMCC adapters consists of two basic types of adapters:

•Channel Interface Processor (CIP)—Installed on Cisco 7000 with RSP7000 and Cisco 7500 series routers

•Channel Port Adapter (CPA)—Installed on Cisco 7200 series routers

Each type of adapter (CIP or CPA) supports both ESCON and parallel channel attachment to the host and can eliminate the need for a separate FEP.

All CMCC adapters support the full range of channel software applications available in the Cisco IOS software including support for the Common Link Access to Workstation (CLAW) protocol, TCP/IP offload, IP host backup, Cisco SNA (CSNA), Cisco Multipath Channel (CMPC), Cisco Multipath Channel+ (CMPC+), and the TN3270 server.

Figure 112 shows the type of channel connections and environments supported by the CMCC adapters.

Cisco IOS Bridging and IBM Networking Configuration Guide

BC-245