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IBM Systems Network Architecture

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Main page Systems Network Architecture (SNA) is IBM's proprietary networking architecture created in
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1974. [1] It is a complete protocol stack for interconnecting computers and their resources. SNA
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describes the protocol and is, in itself, not actually a program. The implementation of SNA takes the
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form of various communications packages, most notably Virtual telecommunications access method
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(VTAM) which is the mainframe package for SNA communications. SNA is still used extensively in
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banks and other financial transaction networks, as well as in many government agencies. While IBM
Interaction is still providing support for SNA, one of the primary pieces of hardware, the 3745/3746
Help communications controller has been withdrawn from marketing by the IBM Corporation. However,
About Wikipedia there are an estimated 20,000 of these controllers installed and IBM continues to provide hardware
Community portal maintenance service and micro code features to support users. A robust market of smaller companies
Recent changes continues to provide the 3745/3746, features, parts and service. VTAM is also supported by IBM, as
Contact Wikipedia is the IBM Network Control Program (NCP) required by the 3745/3746 controllers.

Toolbox Contents [hide] 
1 Objectives of SNA
Print/export
2 Principal components and technologies
Languages 3 Advantages and disadvantages
Deutsch 3.1 Advantages
Español 3.2 Disadvantages
Français 4 Logical unit types
Italiano 5 Implementation and publication
6 Competitors
Nederlands 7 See also
日本語 8 Notes
Polski 9 References
Português 10 External links
Русский
Svenska Objectives of SNA [edit]
中文
IBM in the mid-1970s saw itself mainly as a hardware vendor and hence all its innovations in that
period aimed to increase hardware sales. SNA's objective was to reduce the costs of operating large
numbers of terminals and thus induce customers to develop or expand interactive terminal based-
systems as opposed to batch systems. An expansion of interactive terminal based-systems would
increase sales of terminals and more importantly of mainframe computers and peripherals - partly
because of the simple increase in the volume of work done by the systems and partly because
interactive processing requires more computing power per transaction than batch processing.
Hence SNA aimed to reduce the main non-computer costs and other difficulties in operating large
networks using earlier communications protocols. The difficulties included:
A communications line could not be shared by terminals whose users wished to use different
types of application, for example one which ran under the control of CICS and another which ran
under TSO.[dubious – discuss]

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IBM Systems Network Architecture - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Often a communications line could not be shared by terminals of different types, as they used
different "dialects" of the existing communications protocols. Up to the early 1970s, computer
components were so expensive and bulky that it was not feasible to include all-purpose
communications interface cards in terminals. Every type of terminal had a hard-wired
communications card which supported only the operation of one type of terminal without
compatibility with other types of terminals on the same line.
The protocols which the primitive communications cards could handle were not efficient. Each
communications line used more time transmitting data than modern lines do.
Telecommunications lines at the time were of much lower quality. For example, it was almost
impossible to run a dial-up line at more than 300 bits per second[dubious – discuss] because of the
overwhelming error rate, as comparing with 56,000 bits per second today on dial-up lines; and in
the early 1970s few leased lines were run at more than 2400 bits per second (these low speeds
are a consequence of Shannon's Law in a relatively low-technology environment).
Telecommunications companies had little incentive to improve line quality or reduce costs,
because at the time they were mostly monopolies and sometimes state-owned.
As a result running a large number of terminals required a lot more communications lines than the
number required today, especially if different types of terminals needed to be supported, or the users
wanted to use different types of applications (.e.g. under CICS or TSO) from the same location. In
purely financial terms SNA's objectives were to increase customers' spending on terminal-based
systems and at the same time to increase IBM's share of that spending, mainly at the expense of the
telecommunications companies.
SNA also aimed to overcome a limitation of the architecture which IBM's System/370 mainframes
inherited from System/360. Each CPU could connect to at most 16 I/O channels [2] and each channel
could handle up to 256 peripherals - i.e. there was a maximum of 4096 peripherals per CPU. At the
time when SNA was designed, each communications line counted as a peripheral. Thus the number
of terminals with which powerful mainframes could otherwise communicate was limited.

Principal components and technologies [edit]

Improvements in computer component technology made it feasible to build terminals that included
more powerful communications cards which could operate a single standard communications protocol
rather than a very stripped-down protocol which suited only a specific type of terminal. As a result
several multi-layer communications protocols were proposed in the 1970s, of which IBM's SNA and
ITU-T's X.25 became dominant later.
The most important elements of SNA include:
IBM Network Control Program (NCP) is a communications program running on the 3705 and
subsequent 37xx communications processors that, among other things, implements the packet
switching switching protocol defined by SNA. The protocol performed two main functions:
It is a packet forwarding protocol, acting like modern switch - forwarding data packages to the
next node, which might be a mainframe, a terminal or another 3705. The communications
processors supported only hierarchical networks with a mainframe at the center, unlike modern
routers which support peer-to-peer networks in which a machine at the end of the line can be
both a client and a server at the same time.
It is a multiplexer that connected multiple terminals into one communication line to the CPU,
thus relieved the constraints on the maximum number of communication lines per CPU. A
3705 could support a larger number of lines (352 initially) but only counted as one peripheral
by the CPUs and channels. Since the launch of SNA IBM has introduced improved
communications processors, of which the latest is the 3745.
Synchronous Data Link Control (SDLC), a protocol which greatly improved the efficiency of data
[3]

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IBM Systems Network Architecture - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

transfer over a single link:

SDLC included much more powerful error detection and correction codes than earlier
protocols. [dubious – discuss] These codes often enabled the communications cards to correct
minor transmission errors without requesting re-transmission, and therefore made it possible to
pump data down a line much faster.
It enabled terminals and 3705 communications processors to send "frames" of data one after
the other without waiting for an acknowledgement of the previous frame - the communications
cards had sufficient memory and processing capacity to "remember" the last 7 frames sent or
received, request re-transmission of only those frames which contained errors that the error
detection and correction codes could not repair, and slot the re-transmitted frames into the
right place in the sequence before forwarding them to the next stage.
These frames all had the same type of "envelope" (frame header and trailer)[4] which
contained enough information for data packages from different types of terminal to be send
along the same communications line, leaving the mainframe to deal with any differences in the
formatting of the content or in the rules governing dialogs with different types of terminal.
Remote terminals (i.e. those connected to the mainframe by telephone lines) and 3705
communications processors would have SDLC-capable communications cards.
This is the precursor of the so called "packet communication" that eventually evolved into today's
IP technology[citation needed] , and SDLC itself evolved into HDLC [5] that is one of the base
technology for dedicated telecommunication circuit.
VTAM, a software package to provide log-in, session keeping and routing services within the
mainframe. A terminal user would log-in via VTAM to a specific application or application
environment (e.g. CICS or TSO). A VTAM device would then route data from that terminal to the
appropriate application or application environment until the user logged out and possibly logged in
to another application. The original versions of IBM hardware could only keep one session per
terminal. In the 1980s further software (mainly from third-party vendors) made it possible for a
terminal to have simultaneous sessions with different applications or application environments.

Advantages and disadvantages [edit]

SNA removed link control from the application program and placed it in the NCP. This had the
following advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages [edit]

Localization of problems in the telecommunications network was easier because a relatively small
amount of software actually dealt with communication links. There was a single error reporting
system.
Adding communication capability to an application program was much easier because the
formidable area of link control software that typically requires interrupt processors and software
timers was relegated to system software and NCP.
With the advent of APPN, routing functionality was the responsibility of the computer as opposed
to the router (as with TCP/IP networks). Each computer maintained a list of Nodes that defined
the forwarding mechanisms. A centralized node type known as a Network Node maintained Global
tables of all other node types. APPN stopped the need to maintain APPC routing tables that
explicitly defined endpoint to endpoint connectivity. APPN sessions would route to endpoints
through other allowed node types until it found the destination. This was similar to the way that
TCP/IP routers function today.

Disadvantages [edit]

Connection to non-SNA networks was difficult. An application which needed access to some
communication scheme, which was not supported in the current version of SNA, faced obstacles.

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IBM Systems Network Architecture - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Before IBM included X.25 support (NPSI) in SNA, connecting to an X.25 network would have
been awkward. Conversion between X.25 and SNA protocols could have been provided either by
NCP software modifications or by an external protocol converter.
A sheaf of alternate pathways between every pair of nodes in a network had to be predesigned
and stored centrally. Choice among these pathways by SNA was rigid and did not take advantage
of current link loads for optimum speed.
SNA network installation and maintenance are complicated and SNA network products are (or
were) expensive. Attempts to reduce SNA network complexity by adding IBM Advanced Peer-to-
Peer Networking functionality were not really successful, if only because the migration from
traditional SNA to SNA/APPN was very complex, without providing much additional value, at least
initially. SNA software licences (VTAM) cost as much as $10000 a month for high-end systems.
And SNA IBM 3745 Communications Controllers typically cost over $100K. TCP/IP was still seen
as unfit for commercial applications e.g. in the finance industry until the late 1980s, but rapidly
took over in the 1990s due to its peer-to-peer networking and packet communication technology it
deployed.
The design of SNA was in the era when the concept of layered communication was not fully
adopted by the computer industry. Applications, databases and communication functions were
mingled into the same protocol or product, to make it difficult to maintain or manage. That was
very common for the products created in that time. Even after TCP/IP was fully developed, X
window system was designed with the same model where communication protocols were
embedded into graphic display application.
SNA's connection based architecture invoked huge state machine logic to "keep track" of
everything. APPN added a new dimension to state logic with its concept of differing node types.
While it was solid when everything was running correctly, there was still a need for manual
intervention. Simple things like watching the Control Point sessions had to be done manually.
APPN wasn't without issues; in the early days many shops abandoned it due to issues found in
APPN support. Over time, however, many of the issues were worked out but not before the
advent of the Web Browser which was the beginning of the end for SNA.

Logical unit types [edit]

Network Addressable Units in an SNA network are any components that can be assigned an address
and can send and receive information. They are distinguished further as follows: [6]
System Service Control Points, provide services to manage a network or subnetwork (typically in
the mainframe),
Physical Units, a physical device or communications link (relating to boxes),
Logical Units, an access point to the network (relating to applications or subsystems such as
CICS and TSO) or terminals.
SNA essentially offers transparent communication: equipment specifics don't impose any constraints
onto LU-LU communication. But eventually it serves a purpose to make a distinction between LU
types, as the application must take the functionality of the terminal equipment into account (e.g.
screen sizes and layout).

SNA defines several kinds of devices, called Logical Unit types:[7]

LU0 provides for undefined devices, or build your own protocol.
LU1 devices are printers.
LU2 devices are dumb IBM 3270 display terminals.
LU3 devices are printers using 3270 protocols.
LU4 devices are batch terminals.
LU5 has never been defined.

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IBM Systems Network Architecture - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

LU6 provides for protocols between two applications.

LU7 provides for sessions with IBM 5250 terminals.
The primary ones in use are LU1, LU2, and LU6.2 (an advanced protocol for application to
application conversations).
Within SNA there are two types of data stream to connect local display terminals and printers; there
is the 3270 data stream mainly used by mainframes (zSeries family) and the 5250 data stream
mainly used by minicomputers/servers such as the S/36, S/38, and AS/400 (now System i).
Starting from version 5.2 of OS/400, SNA for client-access is no longer supported.
The term 37xx refers to IBM's family of SNA communications controllers. The 3745 supports up to
eight high-speed T1 circuits, the 3725 is a large-scale node and front-end processor for a host, and
the 3720 is a remote node that functions as a concentrator and router.

Implementation and publication [edit]

SNA was made public as part of IBM's "Advanced Function for Communications" announcement in
September, 1974, which included the implementation of the SNA/SDLC (Synchronous Data Link
Control) protocols on new communications products:
IBM 3767 communication terminal (printer)
IBM 3770 data communication system
They were supported by IBM 3704/3705 communication controllers and their Network Control
Program, and by System/370 and their VTAM and other software such as CICS and IMS. This
announcement was followed by another announcement in July, 1975, which introduced the IBM 3760
data entry station, the IBM 3790 communication system, and the new models of the IBM 3270 display
system.
SNA was mainly designed by the IBM Systems Development Division laboratory in Research Triangle
Park, North Carolina, USA, helped by other laboratories that implemented SNA/SDLC. The details
were later made public by IBM's System Reference Library manuals and IBM Systems Journal.

Competitors [edit]

The proprietary networking architecture for Honeywell Bull mainframes is Distributed Systems
Architecture (DSA). Communications package for DSA is VIP. Like SNA, DSA is also no longer
supported for client access. Bull mainframes are fitted with Mainway for translating DSA to TCP/IP
and VIP devices are replaced by TNVIP Terminal Emulations (GLink, Winsurf). GCOS 8 supports
TNVIP SE over TCP/IP.

See also [edit]

Network Data Mover

Computer networking portal

Computer Science portal

Computing portal

Notes [edit]

1. ^ (Schatt 1991, p. 227).

2. ^ devices that acted as DMA controllers for control units, which in turn attached peripherals such as tape
and disk drives, printers, card-readers
3. ^ (Pooch 1983, p. 310).

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IBM Systems Network Architecture - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

4. ^ (Pooch 1983, p. 313).

5. ^ (Friend 1988, p. 191).
6. ^ (Schatt 1991, pp. 228–229).
7. ^ (Schatt 1991, p. 229).

References [edit]

Friend, George E.; John L. Fike, H. Charles Baker, John C. Bellamy (1988). Understanding Data
Communications (2nd Edition ed.). Indianapolis: Howard W. Sams & Company. ISBN 0-672-
27270-9.
Pooch, Udo W.; William H. Greene, Gary G. Moss (1983). Telecommunications and Networking.
Boston: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0-316-71498-4.
Schatt, Stan (1991). Linking LANs: A Micro Manager's Guide. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-8306-3755-9.

External links [edit]

Cisco article on SNA

APPN Implementers Workshop Architecture Document repository
SNA protocols quite technical
Related whitepapers sdsusa.com

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This page was last modified on 26 January 2012 at 20:59.

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