Leased Line AS/400 access

[Jeff Crosby <jlcrosby@xxxxxxx>]

We have a 2nd building 7 blocks down the street.  For eons now we have
connected this 2nd building to our main building (here) via a leased
line.  At the other end is a Win 3.1 PC and PC printer.  We run Client
Access remotely.  The modems are IBM 3865s at 9600.  (I would have put
in faster modems long ago except the SDLC card is limited to 9600, so
why bother . . .)

I need to replace the PC for Y2K compliancy with a PC running Win98. 
This site needs a 5250 session and printer emulation.  I want them up
all day, not dial up.  They need to update a spreadsheet weekly that is
stored on the AS/400 in the IFS.  (It takes 5 mins to open this
spreadsheet at 9600, what a pain.)  We have twinax and ethernet (TCP/IP)
at the main site.  I want the flexibility to have other devices at the
remote location in the future.  In addition, there may very well be a
3rd site (2 blocks down the street in the _other_ direction) in the near
future that I would want connected to the main building as well.

What is the best way to connect these site(s) to us?  A remote LAN
access of some kind?  Frame relay?  I know enough about these things to
be dangerous.  In the old days, there was usually 1 way to do something
and that's how you did it.  Now there are many more options.  Microage
and other PC vendors know LANs and remote access and such, but don't
know squat about the AS/400.  IBM and IBM Business Partners may tend to
ignore some lower cost solutions in favor of an all IBM answer.  Any
help pointing me to places with answers is appreciated.

Thanks.

-- 
-Jeff
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