FAQs

Q: What is the recommended dispatch level?

A: Set the dispatch level to below VTAM and the TN3270 Server, but higher than applications that CA TPX communicates with (CICS, IMS, TSO, and so on), regardless of whether CA TPX is defined as a generic resource.

Q: Does a new service pack require that I reinstall the software?

A: No.

Q: What are the requirements to enable system managed rebuild and the ALTER command for the Coupling Facility structure used by CA TPX?

A: All instances of CA TPX connected to the structure must be r5.3 or r5.4. The operating system and CFLEVEL must support this functionality.

Q: When signing on, I get message IENS008A (THE SECURITY SYSTEM IS INACTIVE), but RACF is active. What is wrong?

A: CA TPX has called RACF to validate the user ID and password submitted during signon. An abend occurred in RACF processing that was percolated up to CA TPX. CA TPX recovers from the abend and indicates the external security system is unavailable. This condition should be reviewed. It is likely that the security file was locked at the time and normal processing will resume when the condition is cleared. If it becomes necessary to obtain a dump of this condition, a SLIP trap should be set for the appropriate abend code with the address spaces to be dumped.

Q: Do I need to code the new switch-in exit (TPXUSWIN)? CA TPX successfully refreshed the screen in my shop.

A: You do not need to code the exit. CA TPX will use the current methods (that is, those used in r5) to refresh the screen image. The exit is intended for those applications that make heavy use of graphics and have the capability of refreshing the screen image on their own.

Q: Qualified pass ticket works when my application is running on the same instance of the operating system as CA TPX, but if I move it to another instance, the logons are rejected by the application. What did I do wrong?

A: The pass ticket profile in the external security system used for pass ticket generation and validation for any given application must be identical. When security systems do not share the same security database, a mismatch can occur resulting in a validation failure for a good ticket.

Q: Can CA TPX use qualified pass tickets when RACF is the security system on the operating system image on which the target application resides?

A: Yes. To generate qualified pass tickets, CA TPX requires CA Top Secret or CA ACF2 to be the active security system on the operating system image on which CA TPX is active. An appropriate pass ticket profile must be defined to the eTrust solution. When the appropriate pass ticket profile is defined to RACF for an application, RACF can interpret a qualified pass ticket generated by CA TPX in conjunction with one of the previous eTrust solutions.

Q: I already have a TN3270 Server from a vendor other than CA. Can CA TPX communicate directly with that server?

A: No. CA developed a high-speed protocol between CA TPX and TCPaccess Telnet Server to provide the fastest means with the least overhead for transferring data between the solutions and moving the data to its final destination. CA TPX can use standard VTAM LU0 or LU2 sessions to communicate with TN3270 servers from other vendors.