Introduction to the RPC Server for Micro Focus

The EntireX RPC Server for Micro Focus COBOL allows standard RPC clients to communicate with COBOL servers written with Micro Focus COBOL. It works together with the COBOL Wrapper and the IDL Extractor for COBOL. This document covers the following topics:


Worker Models

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RPC requests are worked off inside the RPC server in worker threads, which are controlled by a main thread. Every RPC request occupies during its processing a worker thread. If you are using RPC conversations, each RPC conversation requires its own thread during the lifetime of the conversation. The RPC Server for Micro Focus provides two worker models:

  • FIXED
    The fixed model creates a fixed number of worker threads. The number of worker threads does not increase or decrease during the lifetime of an RPC server instance.

  • DYNAMIC
    The dynamic model creates worker threads depending on the incoming load of RPC requests.

For configuration and technical details, see parameter workermodel under Administering the RPC Server for Micro Focus.

Inbuilt Services

RPC Server for Micro Focus provides the following service for ease-of-use:

Deployment Service

The Deployment Service allows you to deploy server-side mapping files (EntireX Workbench files with extension .svm) interactively using the Server Mapping Deployment Wizard. On the RPC server side, the server-side mapping files are stored in a server-side mapping container (folder or directory). See Server-side Mapping Files in the RPC Server and Deployment Service for configuration information.

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Usage of Server Mapping Files

There are many situations where the RPC Server for Micro Focus requires a server mapping file to correctly support special COBOL syntax such as REDEFINES, SIGN LEADING and OCCURS DEPENDING ON clauses, LEVEL-88 fields, etc.

Server mapping files contain COBOL-specific mapping information that is not included in the IDL file, but is needed to successfully call the COBOL server program.

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The RPC server marshals the data in a two-step process: the RPC request coming from the RPC client (Step 1) is completed with COBOL-specific mapping information taken from the server mapping file (Step 2). In this way the COBOL server can be called as expected.

The server mapping files are retrieved as a result of the IDL Extractor for COBOL extraction process and the COBOL Wrapper if a COBOL server is generated. See When is a Server Mapping File Required?

There are server-side mapping files (EntireX Workbench files with extension .svm) and client-side mapping files (Workbench files with extension .cvm). See Server Mapping Files for COBOL and How to Set the Type of Server Mapping Files.

If you are using server-side mapping files, you need to customize the server-side mapping container with parameter svm. See Configuring the RPC Server.