AST RESEARCH AST-3780 User manual

Data COI11I11lt1zicatiOllS Products
AST-3780™
AST-37801A ™
User's Manual

AST -378()rM
and
AST -3780/ATM
IBM 3780 Emulation
for the
IBM PC, XT, AT, Personal System/2 and
Other IBM-Compatible Machines
User's Manual
000667-001 A
October 1987
AST RESEARCH, INC.
Irvine, California
[phone]

First Edition (October 1987)
AST and AST Research are registered trademarks and AST-3780, AST-3780A,
CC-432, and CC-432A are trademarks of AST Research Inc.
IBM
is a registered trademark and Personal System/2 is a trademark of
International Business Machines Corporation. DEC, PDP-11 and VAX are
registered trademarks of Digital Equipment Corp.
AST periodically changes the information contained in this manual; changes are
incorpprated into new editions.
AST Research reserves the right to change
product specifications without notice.
In view of demonstrated product reliability and comprehensive warranty policies,
AST Research, Inc. does not normally provide schematics or material lists. AST
recognizes that some customers with a large installed base of AST products
want supportive documentation for their own service organizations.
In such
cases, customers should contact
AST Research corporate offices to consider an
appropriate nondisclosure agreement to obtain this documentation.
Copyright 1987
AST Research Inc. All rights are reserved, including those to
reproduce this book or parts thereof in any form without permission in writing of
AST Research Inc.
Warning
This manual and software are both protected
by United
States Copyright law (Title 17 United States Code).
Unauthorized reproduction and/or sales may result in
imprisonment of up to one year and fines of
up to $10,000
(17 USC 506). Copyright infringers may be subject to civil
liability.

CONTENTS
INTRODUCING AST-3780 ....................................................... ix
Features .................................................... '" .............................. ix
Hardware Overview....................................................................x
Software Overview.....:............................................................... xi
General System Overview........................................................ xii
ABOUT THIS MANUAL. ...................................•.................... xvii
To Get Started Quickly............................................................xvii
Howto Find What You're Looking For...................................xvii
Format Notation......................................................................xviii
Related Documentation........................................................... xix
PART I. GETTING STARTED
1. BEFORE YOU BEGIN ...................................................1-1
1.1 Checking the Contents..................................................... 1-2
1.2 Compatibility and System Requirements ........................ 1-2
1.2.1 Hardware.................................................................. 1-3
1.2.2 Software.................................................................... 1-4
1.3 Host System Software...................................................... 1-4
iii

CONTENTS
2. INSTALLING AST-3780 SOFTWARE ................................2-1
2.1 Floppy Diskette Drive Installation..................................... 2-1
2.1.1 Making a Back-Up Diskette ..................................... 2-1
2.2 Hard Disk Installation........................................................2-6
2.2.1 Creating Your AST-3780 Directory..........................2-6
2.2.2 Installing Your AST-3780 Files.................................2-7
3. SOFTWARE CONFIGURATION .........................................3-1
3.1 Reviewing the Default Configuration
File Parameters.............................................................3-3
3.2 Starting the Configuration Program.................................3-3
3.3 Selecting Configuration Parameters................................3-5
3.4 Selecting the Emulation Mode.........................................3-8
3.5 Configuring Transmission Parameters ............................3-8
3.5.1 Space Compression Feature...................................3-9
3.5.2 Records per Blocks..................................................3-9
3.5.3 Transmission Block Size........................................3-10
3.5.4 Gross Transmission Timeout.................................
3-11
3.6 Configuring Receive Parameters ................................... 3-11
3.6.1 Device Selection Codes.........................................3-12
3.6.2 Printer Initialization Characters..............................3-13
3.6.3 Gross Receive Timeout..........................................3-14
3.7 Setting Transparent Parameters ....................................3-14
3.8 Defining the Interrupt Request Line ...............................3-15
3.9 Editing the Translation Tables........................................3-16
3.10 Starting the AST -3780 Emulator...................................3-19
3.10.1 Keyboard Control.................................................3-19
iv

CONTENTS
3.10.2 Batch File Control.................................................3-20
3.11 InitiaJizing a Serial Printer.............................................3-20
PART II. USING AST-3780
4. INTERACTIVE OPERATION ..........................................•.. 4-1
4.1 General Information.......................................................... 4-1
4.1.1 Main Menu Selections............................................. .4-1
4.1.2 Communications Status...........................................4-2
4.2 Transmit Mode..................................................................4-5
4.2.1 Transmission From the Keyboard ...........................4-6
4.2.2 Transmission From the Diskette..............................4-8
Long File Transmission...............................................4-10
4.2.3 Reverse Interrupt....................................................4-12
4.2.4 Contention..............................................................4-12
4.2.5 Transmit Disconnect..............................................4-12
4.3 Receive Mode.................................................................4-13
4.3.1 Receive Device Selection.......................................4-13
4.3.2 Receiving
to the Display ........................................4-14
4.3.3 Receiving to the Diskette ................ '" ....................4-15
Automatic Receive File Specification.........................4-17
4.3.4 Receiving to the Printer..........................................4-18
4.3.5 Receive Termination.....................................,.........4-20
4.3.6 General Receive .....................................................4-20
4.4 Error Reporting.........,.....................................................4-20
4.5 System Finish.................................................................. 4-21
4.6 Transparent Data Feature ............................................. .4-21
4.6.1 Receiving Transparent Files................................... 4-21
4.6.2 System-Dependent Functions.............................. .4-21
4.7 Internal DiagnosticTest..................................................4-22
v

CONTENTS
4.8 Line Monitor Dump.........................................................4-22
5.
COMMAND PROCESSOR OPERATION.................•........•5-1
5.1 Purpose............................................................................. 5-1
5.2 File Format........................................................................ 5-1
5.2.1 Input File Format......................................................5-2
5.2.2 Output File Format...................................................5-2
5.3 Commands .......................................................................5-3
5.3.1 Transmit....................................................................5-3
5.3.2 Receive .....................................................................5-3
5.3.3 Print...........................................................................5-5
5.3.4 Exit............................................................................5-5
5.3.5 Exit Maintain Link .....................................................5-5
5.3.6 Set Transparent Mode .............................................5-6
5.3.7 Set Normal Mode.....................................................5-6
5.3.8 Set
ETX Mode...........................................................5-6
5.3.9 Set
ETB Mode ..........................................................5-6
5.3.10 Set EOT Mode.........................................................5-7
5.3.11 Set
TID Mode..........................................................5-7
5.3.12 Connecting Incomlng Call ......................................5-7
5.3.13 Disconnect...............................................................5-8
5.3.14 Wait For Incoming Call............................................5-8
5.3.15 Displaying Parameters............................................5-9
5.4 General Discussion -Receive ..........................................5-9
5.5 General Discussion -Transmit.......................................5-10
5.6 Sample Command Files.................................................5-10
5.7 DOS Batch File Interface................................................ 5-11
5.7.1 Starting Command Line......................................... 5-11
Setting Command Line ........................................... 5-11
Line Monitor Dump..................................................5-12
5.7.2 Stopping the Command Sequence.......................5-13
vi

CONTENTS
5.8 Error Handling............................................................ 5-13
PART III. APPENDICES
A. TROUBLESHOOTING ....•.........................................•...... A-1
B. ERROR MESSAGES .....•............•..................................... B-1
C. TECHNICAL SUPPORT CHECKLlST.•.............................. C-1
vii

CONTENTS
FIGURES
Figure 1. Local Connection Using Null Modem................. iv
Figure 2. Local Connection Using Limited
Distance Modem........................................................ v
Figure 3. Remote Connection Using Modem .................... vi
Figure 1-1. Installation Overview ....................................... 1-1
Figure 2-1. CC-432/CC-432A Board Layout......................2-4
Figure 3-1. AST -3780 Product Configuration Overview ... 3-1
Figure 3-2. Configuration File Edit Menu........................3-17
Figure 3-3. Item Selection Parameters...........................3-18
Figure 3-4. EBCDIC to ASCII Translation Tables...........3-29
Figure 3-5. ASCII to EBCDIC Translation Tables........... 3-31
Figure 4-1. Main Menu Selection Screen ......................... 4-1
Figure 4-2. Terminal Device Select Screen......................4-5
Figure 4-3. Receive Output Device Screen....................4-16
Figure 4-4. Receive Session Control Screen .................4-18
TABLES
Table 3-1. Address Selection ............................................3-4
Table 4-1. EBCDIC Code Table ......................................4-20
viii

INTRODUCING AST-3780
AST-3780 and AST-3780A are remote job entry (RJE) station
emulators that enable you to transfer data from an IBM PC, PC
XT, PC AT, Personal System/2 (or compatible) to any computer
system supporting a binary synchronous (BISYNC)
communication interface. This gives you the ability to transfer
information between a personal computer and a mainframe
computer system (host).
The
AST -3780 emulation software is designed for use with the PC,
XT, AT, and PS/2 Model 30. AST-3780A is designed for use with
the PS/2 Models
50, 60, and 80.
NOTE
Unless otherwise noted, the term AST-3780 used
throughout this manual refers
to both AST -3780
and AST -3780A.
Features
The AST -3780 enables you to:
• Transmit data to and receive data from a host.
• Emulate a wide variety of standard IBM RJE terminals
including the 3780,2780,2770, and 3741.
• Automatically translate between ASCII and EBCDIC
values.
• Exchange of binary-coded files in transparent (column
binary) mode.
• Modify all data to match the type of equipment.
ix