Host On-Demand Version 6.0 Readme

This file contains information that became available too late for inclusion in the publications or the Help. This file also contains important support information.

For the latest information, please visit the US or Japanese Host On-Demand Web site.

For hints and tips and other support, please visit the Host On-Demand support page.

For a list of APARs fixed in this release, please refer to the apars.txt file located in the root directory of the CD.








Getting Started Guide printable file

To print a complete copy of the Getting Started Guide, with page numbers and a table of contents, use install.pdf, which is located on the CD in this path:

/doc/[language]/doc/install/install.pdf

None of the external links (URLs) in this file will work. To use external links on a Windows workstation, open the HTML version from Start > Programs > IBM Host On-Demand > Information Library > Getting Started.




Checking and setting the JVM level for clients running Internet Explorer

Under Internet Explorer, the Host On-Demand client applets require a minimum JVM level of 3165. When the client applets run on Internet Explorer, Host On-Demand checks if this minimum JVM level is met. If the minimum JVM level is not met, a message appears and the applet will not continue.

If the administrator wants to increase the minimum JVM level for his environment, he can add the following parameter statement to the HTML pages:

<Parameter Name=JVM_Minimum  Value="xxxx">

where xxxx is the desired JVM level, such as 3240.

The administrator can also increase the required JVM level using the Deployment Wizard. In the "Additional Parameters" tab under "Advanced Options", specify Name=JVM_Minimum and Value=3165.

When you add the value for the minimum JVM level, only use the last four digits of the version number. For example, if Internet Explorer says the JVM version is 5.0.0.3802, only enter 3802 for the version number because the field will only take integer values.



Install Screen Customizer if using Host On-Demand in Internet environment

If users access Host On-Demand from the Internet using different servers that have different releases or functions enabled, Screen Customizer should be installed. When users access the Host On-Demand server their Cached clients may be upgraded to the most recent level. If the existing Cached client has Screen Customizer cached, then they will be unable to upgrade.



Netscape 6.0 and Java 2 limitation with Host On-Demand sessions

Host On-Demand sessions will be terminated when Netscape 6.0x is directed away from the Host On-Demand server. This is a known change in the way Java2 and Netscape 6.0x handle Java applets. The work around is to keep the browser session that started the Host On-Demand session(s)pointed to the Host On-Demand server and open a new browser window to go to other Web sites.

Netscape 6.0 console messages during 5250 session file transfer

You may see the following message after performing a 5250 session file transfer:

Netscape security model is no longer supported.
Please migrate to the Java 2 security model instead.

You will see these messages only if your browser is running Java2 JVM. These messages are only warnings and do not affect Host On-Demand functionality.



Running the User-Defined Character (UDC) Editor on non-Windows platforms

The UDC editor is a Java application that runs on the machine where the Host On-Demand server or standalone client is installed. On Windows, you can start the UDC editor by selecting Start > Programs > IBM Host On-Demand > Administration > User-Defined Character Mapping Editor. However, on a non-Windows system, you must start it from the command line. Use the following steps:

  1. Check whether your system has Java Runtime Environment (JRE) installed. If the Host On-Demand server or standalone client is running correctly, the JRE should be there.
  2. Change the current directory to the Host On-Demand code base directory (for example, "C:\hostondemand\hod" or "/usr/local/hostondemand/hod".
  3. Run the com.ibm.eNetwork.ECL.util.dbcs.UDCMappingEditor with your Java command, such as:
    java com.ibm.eNetwork.ECL.util.dbcs.UDCMappingEditor

    Depending on your configuration, you may have to add the path name to the command and add the proper class path using the -classpath parameter.

Note that the UDC editor cannot be used on a character-based system because it requires a graphical user interface.



Running Host On-Demand from a local installation

When running Host On-Demand from a local installation, the HTML page that is started is HODDebug.html, not HOD.html.

This was changed to better support Java2-enabled Web browsers.



Display screen is narrow when using Netscape 6.0 on double-byte machines

Netscape 6.0 returns values different from other JVMs when Host On-Demand calculates the display screen layout. This causes the session screen to be more narrow than other browsers. To work around this, you may comment out the following line in the font.properties file, which is used by Netscape 6.0 JVM on your locale. For example, if your locale is Japanese, you may change \JavaSoft\JRE\1.3.0_01\lib\font.properties.ja file by adding:

#monospaced.plain.1=Courier New,ANSI_CHARSET


Programmer's Guide for the AS/400 Toolbox for Java

The Programmer's Guide for the AS/400 Toolbox for Java is located on the Toolkit CD in the as400 directory. The guide is available in zip files for the following languages: English, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, and Russian.



Problem with Mozilla 0.9.1, Mozilla 0.9.2, and Netscape 6.1 PR1 on Windows and Linux

These browsers have a problem rendering HTML files when applet tags list HEIGHT and WIDTH as a percentage. No problems occur when HEIGHT and WIDTH are given as absolute numbers. Host On-Demand users will experience this problem with HTML files generated by the Deployment Wizard.

The work around is to use the Deployment Wizard Advanced Options and change the Applet Size from Autosize to browser to Small, Medium, or Large. Mozilla is tracking this bug on Bugzilla. See Bugzilla Bug 86045.



Database On-Demand with Arabic, Hebrew, and Thai hosts

If you are using Database On-Demand to connect to an Arabic, Hebrew, or Thai iSeries host, you need to modify the HTML file to include the appropriate jar or cab files according to the table listed in the Database On-Demand Overview section of the Getting Started manual.

If you are using Database On-Demand as a Download Client with a Java2-enabled browser such as Netscape 6.0, then HODDatabase.html must be modified. Look for the line that starts with the "APPLET archive=" tag and add the appropriate jar filename from the table.

If you are using Database On-Demand as a Cached Client with a non-Java 2 enabled browser (such as Internet Explorer 5.x), then you must edit HODDatabaseCached.html. In the line starting with "PARAM NAME=PreloadComponentList," add the correct component from the table.

If you are using Database On-Demand as a Cached Client with a Java2-enabled browser such as Netscape 6.0, you must make two changes to HODDatabase_J2.html. First, look for the line that begins with PARAM NAME="cache_archive". In the list of jar files following this tag, add the appropriate jar filename from the table. For the second change, look for the line which begins with "document.writeln". This line will contain a number of instances of the string "HODVersion + ','" . This list indicates to the JRE 1.3 each jar file version. If a jar file is added to the list of cache archives, an additional cache_version must be specified. So, for every jar file you add to the cache_archive, make sure to add another instance of the string "HODVersion + ','".

Please refer to the Database On-Demand Overview section of the Getting Started manual for an example and other details on how to edit these HTML files.



Using Integrated Windows domain logon and Database On-Demand with Netscape 4.x

When using Host On-Demand integrated Windows domain logon with Netscape 4.x, the Just In Time (JIT) compiler must be turned on. This is the default setting. The Database On-Demand function requires the JIT to be turned off. You will not be able to take advantage of both functions with Netscape 4.x.

Attempting to run integrated Windows domain logon with Netscape 4.x causes the browser to exit.



Smart Card requirements

For the most current Smart Card information, see technical notes on the Host On-Demand support page.



Certificate management utility limitation on AIX

The certificate management utility on AIX requires JRE 1.1.8. If you are running JVM 1.3, you will receive the following error message:
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.VerifyError

To use the certificate management utility on AIX with JRE 1.1.8, set the JAVA_HOME environment variable to point to the Java 1.1.8 installation before running the "CertificateManagement" script.



Error using the Host On-Demand Proxy Server service for AS/400 File Transfer

If you receive a ECL0261: Transfer error;security.fd.write when using the Host On-Demand Proxy Server service to perform AS/400 File Transfer, add ha5250xn.jar to your start up HTML file as follows:

<APPLET archive="hod.jar, ha5250xn.jar, sccbase.jar" CODE="com.ibm.eNetwork.HOD.HostOnDemand.class" WIDTH=584 HEIGHT=450>
<PARAM NAME=cabinets VALUE=hod.cab,sccbase.cab>
<PARAM NAME=BookmarkPage VALUE=AutoHOD.html>



National Language character corruption in the Table of Contents for the online helps

If you are experiencing National Language character corruption in the Table of Contents for the Host On-Demand online helps, you can change it to a Non-Java version. Click the Non-Java icon (a piece of paper with the right corner folded down), which is located to the right of the Java icon (a steaming coffee mug).



Code page conversion for FTP Session

The FTP Protocol logic assumes that ASCII communication between the host FTP Server and client FTP Session will occur in a code page compatible with the client.

A code page mismatch may corrupt the display of messages and file information on the client. The host FTP server will need to be configured to "speak" in the client's code page.



Corrupted National language characters

If the National Language characters displayed or typed into a text entry field are corrupted when using a Host On-Demand client with a Netscape 4.x browser, copy the font.properties.xx file from the hostondemand/hod/samples/fonts/win32/ directory to the netscape/communicator/program/java/classes directory (where xx is the two letter language code for your language).

For Netscape 6.0, copy the font.properties.xx file from the hostondemand/hod/samples/fonts/ns6/ directory to the lib directory of the JRE. For Windows, this directory is typically:
C:\Program Files\JavaSoft\JRE\1.3x\lib.



Starting a download client on Linux 7.1 using Netscape Communicator 4.76 or 4.77

The Host On-Demand client may stop responding when a user starts a download client on the Linux 7.1 platform using Netscape Communicator 4.76 or 4.77 if the user has cleared the browser's disk and memory cache on the previous invocation of Netscape.

This occurs when the user has completed the Host On-Demand logon screen and before the configured sessions are displayed on the Host On-Demand desktop. The Host On-Demand desktop background is displayed, but no configured sessions are displayed. The browser appears frozen and does not accept input. Other running applications are not affected.

After the client stops responding and Netscape terminates, the user can restart Netscape and successfully log on to Host On-Demand. If the problem re-occurs after several tries, the user should set both the browser's disk and memory cache to "0".



Stopping the Service Manager before upgrading on AIX

You must stop the Service Manager before applying Host On-Demand CSD on AIX.



Resizing browser on Linux client may log off HODAdmin

You may not be able to resize the Administration window when you are working to configure Host On-Demand on a Linux client. If you resize the Administration window, you may either be logged off the Host On-Demand server, or will see a message in the browser stating "Your browser does not have JavaScript support or the support is not enabled." Upgrade your browser to resolve this problem.



Euro currency symbol in Double-Byte Character Sets (DBCS) on AIX

Due to browser restrictions in AIX, Host On-Demand may not display the Euro currency symbol in the DBCS environment.



Java console exception during file transfer using AS/400 on Internet Explorer 5.5

If you use Internet Explorer 5.5 to transfer files to or from an AS/400 machine, after you enter your user ID and password in File Transfer Screen you'll see the following exceptions in the Java console but it will not affect the transferred file.

com.ms.security.SecurityExceptionEx[com/ibm/as400/access/AS400ImplRemote.signonConnect]:
java.io.IOException: bad path: E:\hod6_0705\HOD\netscape\securit\PrivilegeManager.class


Transferring large UTF-8 files to a host hangs the session

Due to a limitation in the Netscape 4.x JVM, transferring large UNICODE UTF-8 files to a host may cause the emulation session to hang.



Completing the Cached client download on OS/2

When using the Cached client on OS/2 with Netscape Communicator V4.61, you must wait for the download complete prompt before restarting the browser. It may take a few minutes for you to receive the prompt, however, this allows the Cached client to finish any updates completely.



AS/400 File list is not readable on Netstation

When using the AS/400 File browse on Netstation, the file list is not readable. The file list is blacked out because the text color matches the background color, but is still selectable. This is a limitation of the Netscape browser, which does not process the AWT control "List" correctly.



IndexOutOfBoundsException with Korean Netscape browsers during file transfers with an AS/400

When using a Korean Netscape browser during AS/400 file transfers, you might see the error message "ECL0261:java.lang.Array.IndexOutOfBoundsException." This is a problem with the JDK and has been fixed in JDK 1.1.7b and higher. This error does not occur while using Internet Explorer.



VT emulation parameters

For a list of the most current VT parameters, see technical notes on the Host On-Demand support page.



VT 420 emulation limitations

VT 420 emulation limitations are contained in the following areas:

Not Implemented

The following VT 420 features are not implemented:

Keyboard

Some local function keys cannot be enabled or disabled in Host On-Demand VT sessions, and menu keys that are mapped to menu commands are not available as local function keys. These functions include:

The following VT modifier keys are not visible to Host On-Demand VT sessions:

The DECEKBD report is not supported due to technical limitations regarding the determination of the state of the keys on the keyboard.

Due to limitations in Java keyboard handling, Host On-Demand does not map by default the numeric keypad keys so that they can differentiate between numeric mode and application mode.

Character Set

All characters in the terminal screen must be stored as Unicode values. The following character sets contain characters that can not be matched to a Unicode value:

Character SetPosition
Dec Technical Character set2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F, 30, 31, 32
PC Multilingual/International - Left Side08, 17
PC Multilingual - Right Side9B
PC SpanishA9, AA
PC Danish/Norwegian9B

Host On-Demand does not support the use of Raster fonts for VT emulation. VT emulation is dependent on the Java Virtual Machine’s available set of fonts for rendering the VT terminal screen. Each operating system and browser combination is missing some of the characters contained in a few of the new character sets. The number of non-renderable characters and their positions varies by operating system and browser, so they are not listed here.

Limited GB18030 support

Host On-Demand provides limited GB18030 support and is pending certification approval from the Chinese government.