Re: Applying configuration from IPL "Type A" to "Type B" on AS/400 9406-170

Hello Mr. Nameless, ;-)

Hi! I know I'm on the privacy side, at least for now :)

Maybe my AS/400-Wiki might be somewhat helpful, then.

https://try-as400.pocnet.net/

I'm also a hobbyist, so to say.

Ok there's a LOT of info there! I'm sure that'll come in handy, thanks!

What exactly constitutes a "virtual terminal"? Are you aware that the "native terminal tongue" of OS/400 is 5250 and not VT100? Just asking!

Yes, I meant a 5250 emulator, if that makes sense? I'm still trying to grasp the right terminology

This is really bad.

And this is why I assert that one needs a backup plan, a local terminal for
- emergency connection, if something goes wrong. A lost Ethernet Link can't be corrected without another way to access the machine, or a reboot.
- running a full backup, which must be done in something similar to "single user mode" you might know from Linux/Unix. Single User mode ends all jobs/tasks, so no TCP/IP.

There are multiple ways for console connections, depending on machine generation. I know about a serial cable thing with Client Access for Windows, but it is said to be somewhat unreliable. When you need it most, it doesn't work. :-) A Twinax terminal would be the most easy thing to set up and use, but nowadays also one of the bulkiest and most expensive. Alternative ways might be to obtain a PCI or PCMCIA Twinax card together with an old PC or laptop computer, and configure your own. The smartest thing you can to is obtain a Twinax-USB-Dongle, but its price tag is an effrontery. Depending on where you live, it might be sufficient to know where you can lend a terminal within a reasonable driving range if in doubt.

So first of all, I'm happy to say the issue is "resolved". Quoted because there was actually no issue, or at least not as bad as I imagined. I followed Larry "DrFranken" Bolhuis's suggestion and he was actually right. I think I just replied to him instead of the mailing list, hopefully this time my reply doesn't get lost. Anyhow, I didn't actually remove the whole interface, but just disabled it. Turns out I had to IPL on B and... wait. It took like half an hour for the connection to get back, but eventually it did as the interface was set to AUTOSTART.

Well at least now that I know what the pitfalls are, I'm paying extra attention on anything I change. The thing is, I got this system as a hobby out of curiosity, but didn't really know what I was getting myself into. I didn't even know if an OS was installed: thinking back, that would've been unfortunate not to have the OS already there and configured for ETH console.

After this "incident" I got scared, and was able to find some compatible tapes for a reasonable price, and I'm planning to take a backup. That's the other thing I wasn't prepared for: everything is either hard to find or extremely expensive, at least here (EU/Italy).

I've done some research and, as you suggested, to be safe I'd need to be able to secure at least one of:
- a serial operations console cable: I think the part I'd need is 97H7557-0745, but I've looked everywhere and it's nowhere to be found... I've only found one on eBay (though not 0745) and it was from the US. It would cost me more than what I paid for the AS/400.
- a physical terminal: these are extremely hard to find here, and more so at driving distance. The cheapest I found was still too expensive for me, and came with no compatible cables. It had a couple of round connectors, I believe those are twinax connectors, and so I'd need "something else" to connect it. I didn't do much research at that point, but I'm afraid that extra something is going to be yet another hard to find/expensive piece of equipment.
- a twinax usb card/dongle: as you said, they don't tend to be on the cheap side... There's a "Twinax 5250 Emulation Kit" on the TwinData website, but they don't provide prices so I doubt that's going to be cheap.

To be fair I don't even know if I have a Twinax controller, if that's even possible? I tried to have a look in the hardware info menu, and it says no twinax controller can be found... I need to do a bit more research to determine what kind of hardware I actually have installed though.

Yes, I know the problem. There is a lot of AS/400 slang which made my life miserable in the beginning also. I try to use usual PC terms and add the AS/400 specific language for explanation purposes.

If you lack to understand something, don't hesitate to ask.

Thank you! Very much appreciated, you've been extremely helpful :)


------- Original Message -------
On Tuesday, May 9th, 2023 at 10:17 AM, Patrik Schindler - poc at pocnet.net <zrcomefqwspjoyekkyrvxxbanmrxvjkbc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Hello Mr. Nameless, ;-)

Am 06.05.2023 um 10:08 schrieb s6qdx via MIDRANGE-L midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx:

This is my first post on this list, and I just wanted to say that I'm extremely new to AS/400, I just started out of curiosity for the system and its architecture.

Maybe my AS/400-Wiki might be somewhat helpful, then.

https://try-as400.pocnet.net/

I'm also a hobbyist, so to say.

I recently got an AS/400 9406-170 with V4R2 installed. The system came with no installation disks, terminal or cables, but I was able to start in IPL Type B and connect to it over ethernet cable from a virtual terminal.

What exactly constitutes a "virtual terminal"? Are you aware that the "native terminal tongue" of OS/400 is 5250 and not VT100? Just asking!

Unfortunately, while playing around with the TCP/IP settings, I accidentally deleted the TCP interface configuration, of course the connection immediately dropped and I was left without a way to connect to the system.

This is really bad.

And this is why I assert that one needs a backup plan, a local terminal for
- emergency connection, if something goes wrong. A lost Ethernet Link can't be corrected without another way to access the machine, or a reboot.
- running a full backup, which must be done in something similar to "single user mode" you might know from Linux/Unix. Single User mode ends all jobs/tasks, so no TCP/IP.

There are multiple ways for console connections, depending on machine generation. I know about a serial cable thing with Client Access for Windows, but it is said to be somewhat unreliable. When you need it most, it doesn't work. :-) A Twinax terminal would be the most easy thing to set up and use, but nowadays also one of the bulkiest and most expensive. Alternative ways might be to obtain a PCI or PCMCIA Twinax card together with an old PC or laptop computer, and configure your own. The smartest thing you can to is obtain a Twinax-USB-Dongle, but its price tag is an effrontery. Depending on where you live, it might be sufficient to know where you can lend a terminal within a reasonable driving range if in doubt.

After some digging I was suggested to load into IPL type A, and that actually worked: the system loaded with the TCP configuration still there.

Then you had very good luck and something else prevented the configuration change to be permanently applied.

Now for my question: is it possible to somehow apply the TCP/IP configuration from Type A to Type B? If not, is it an issue if I keep working from Type A for the time being?

To my knowledge, A and B differences are original (from install media), and patched (updates applied) "kernel". I have never experienced configuration differences.

Thank you and please correct me if I said something that doesn't make sense. Everything is new to me, and I'm struggling to even find the right terminology to make proper google searches.

Yes, I know the problem. There is a lot of AS/400 slang which made my life miserable in the beginning also. I try to use usual PC terms and add the AS/400 specific language for explanation purposes.

If you lack to understand something, don't hesitate to ask.

:wq! PoC



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