Work with TCP/IP Network Status Menu

Chapter 2. TCP/IP: Operation, Management, and Advanced Topics

This chapter discusses managing your network by using the NETSTAT command, and the maintenance of host tables. In addition, this chapter covers other topics beyond those that are required to configure and use TCP/IP on iSeries 400. This information may help you to understand and maximize your usage of the iSeries TCP/IP support.

TCP/IP on an iSeries server can also be managed by Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). For information about SNMP, see resources in the Information Center: Supplemental Manuals.

Network Status

The network status function on the server allows you to get information about the status of TCP/IP network interfaces, routes, and connections on your local system. This function also allows you to end TCP/IP connections and to start or end TCP/IP interfaces.

Note: Network status functions may also be administered by Operations Navigator. Use the Operations Navigator interface for these functions if it is installed on your system. See the Operations Navigator (http://www.as400.ibm.com/oper_nav/index.htm) Web page for more information.

NETSTAT displays the current TCP/IP protocol stack information. This information does not necessarily match the configuration data you see when using the Configure TCP/IP (CFGTCP) menu. In most cases, the NETSTAT command displays more information than the configuration data. In some cases, the configuration data might even change.

The reason for such a change is that the iSeries TCP/IP dynamically creates some information, such as *DIRECT routes, when TCP/IP starts. A change may also occur if the configuration data that was sent to TCP/IP when it starts is changed dynamically by TCP/IP applications that run after you start TCP/IP. Several types of processing alter the initial TCP/IP configuration:

vInternet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) requests

vSockets ioctl system calls

vSimple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) requests

viSeries TCP/IP internal processing