Configuring the Natural Web I/O Interface Server CICS Adapter

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# Configuring the Natural Web I/O Interface Server CICS Adapter

This document describes how to configure the CICS connection for a Natural Web I/O Interface server (product code NWO) running on z/OS.

The following topics are covered:

- Configuration File

- Configuration Parameters

## Configuration File

After the installation of the Natural Web I/O Interface Server CICS Adapter is complete, the configuration of the Natural Web I/O Interface Server CICS Adapter has to be done in the configuration file of the corresponding Natural Web I/O Interface server.

To enable the CICS Adapter, specify the remote front-end module in the NWO configuration parameter `FRONTEND_NAME` (`FRONTEND_NAME=NATCSRFE`).

## Configuration Parameters

The following CICS-relevant configuration parameters exist:

- RFE_CICS_TA_NAME

- RFE_CICS_FE_NAME

- RFE_CICS_TA_HOST

- RFE_CICS_TA_PORT

- RFE_CICS_TA_INIT_TOUT

- RFE_CICS_KEEP_TA

- RFE_CICS_TRACE

### RFE_CICS_TA_NAME

This configuration parameter specifies the CICS transaction to be used for starting the remote front-end in CICS. This transaction must be defined in CICS and must refer to the program `NATCNRFE`. See also Installing the Natural Web I/O Interface Server CICS Adapter under z/OS.

Note
At logon, this transaction name can be overridden by the user in order to switch to a different CICS transaction on a mainframe. See the section Dynamically Changing the CICS Transaction Name, Host Name, and Port Number when Starting a Session in the client documentation for the Natural Web I/O Interface server.

Default Value | none
Example | `RFE_CICS_TA_NAME=NRFE`

### RFE_CICS_FE_NAME

This configuration parameter specifies the Natural CICS nucleus you have installed with the applicable Natural for Mainframes installation under CICS. This program must be defined in CICS.

Default Value | none
Example | `RFE_CICS_FE_NAME=NCIvrNUC`

See also the Natural Installation for Mainframes documentation, Installing the Natural CICS Interface, Customize CICS.

### RFE_CICS_TA_HOST

This configuration parameter specifies the TCP/IP address of the host the desired CICS is running. This parameter can be omitted if the Web I/O Interface server and CICS are running on the same TCP/IP node.

Default Value | The host address of the server.
Example | `RFE_CICS_TA_HOST=node1` or `RFE_CICS_TA_HOST=157.189.160.55`

### RFE_CICS_TA_PORT

This configuration parameter specifies the TCP/IP port of the CICS supplied listener.

You can acquire this port number using the CICS supplied transaction EZAC. The CICS command `EZAC DISPLAY LISTENER` shows the definitions of the CICS standard listener.

Note
This port number is not used in the Web I/O Interface client to connect to a Web I/O Interface server. This port number (and the `RFE_CICS_TA_HOST` definition) is used internally by the Web I/O Interface server to communicate with the CICS region.

Possible Values | 1 - 65535
Default Value | none
Example | `RFE_CICS_TA_PORT=3010`

### RFE_CICS_TA_INIT_TOUT

If the Web I/O Interface client sends a request to a Natural Web I/O Interface server that is configured to use the CICS remote front-end, the remote front-end launches a CICS transaction (`NRFE`) for processing the request. The CICS transaction in turn listens to the TCP/IP to receive the data from the Web I/O Interface server required for processing the request.

This configuration parameter specifies the timeout value (in seconds) a launched transaction waits until the expected request data arrive from the server. If this timeout expires, the request aborts with a NAT9940 error.

Default Value | 5
Example | `RFE_CICS_TA_INIT_TOUT=20`

Note
Do not define a value below 5.

### RFE_CICS_KEEP_TA

For each request sent by Natural, the Natural Web I/O Interface server opens a TCP/IP connection to the CICS region and launches a CICS transaction (`NRFE`) for processing the request. With `RFE_CICS_KEEP_TA=YES`, the CICS transaction remains active for processing further requests of the same client. This saves the overhead for creating the TCP/IP connection and transaction initialization for successive requests, but consumes more resources within the CICS region due to waiting transactions.

The transaction wait time (for successive requests) is limited by `RFE_CICS_TA_INIT_TOUT`. That is, if the time slice between two successive requests exceeds the time specified by `RFE_CICS_TA_INIT_TOUT`, the CICS transaction and the TCP/IP connection is terminated independent of the `RFE_CICS_KEEP_TA` definition.

`RFE_CICS_TA_INIT_TOUT=5` is a reasonable value to reuse transactions for multiple requests initiated by a single action in Natural Studio and to save CICS resources if Natural Studio waits for the next action of the user.

Default Value | `NO`
Example | `RFE_CICS_KEEP_TA=YES`

### RFE_CICS_TRACE

This configuration parameter specifies the trace level for the remote front-end.

The trace level is similar to the trace implemented for the Web I/O Interface server. It is a bit string where each bit is responsible for a certain trace information:

Bit 31 | Trace main events (transaction initialization/termination, request processing).
Bit 30 | Detailed functions.
Bit 29 | Dump internal storage areas.
Bit 27 | Dump buffer header exchanged between Web I/O Interface server and CICS.
Bit 26 | Dump entire buffer exchanged between Web I/O Interface server and CICS.
Bit 25 | Dump the Natural Web I/O Interface server relevant buffer only (remote gateway buffer).
Bit 23 | Trace error situations only.
Bit 07 | Activate trace in the Web I/O Interface server region.
Bit 06 | Activate trace in the CICS region.
Bit 00 | Reserved for trace-level extension.

The trace destination is the data set defined for `STDOUT`.

Default Value | 0
Example | `RFE_CICS_TRACE=31+27+7` Dump main events and buffer header in the CICS region (Bits 31 + 27 + 7).

The following is a sample server configuration file using the Natural Web I/O Interface Server CICS Adapter:

       # The Web I/O Interface Server parameter.
    SESSION_PARAMETER=PROFILE=(NWO,10,930)
    FRONTEND_NAME=NATCSRFE         # Use the CICS Adapter front-end.
    PORT_NUMBER=4711               # The port number used by the Web I/O Interface Client.

       # The CICS Adapter parameter.
    RFE_CICS_TA_NAME=NRFE          # The CICS transaction for remote front-end.
    RFE_CICS_TA_PORT=3010          # The port of the CICS listener.
                                   # No RFE_CICS_TA_HOST is defined. This requires
                                   # that CICS runs on the same node as the server.
    RFE_CICS_FE_NAME=NCIvrNUC      # The name of the installed Natural CICS nucleus.
    RFE_CICS_TA_INIT_TOUT=20       # Transaction timeout is 20 seconds.

Note
The server parameters `THREAD_NUMBER` and `THREAD_SIZE` are obsolete when the Natural Web I/O Interface Server CICS Adapter is used.

### On this page

- Configuration File
- Configuration Parameters