Differences Between AIX Versions

The following table shows the main characteristics and differences between X.25 support on AIX versions 3 and 4.

Notes:

1. A port cannot be used for running both frame and packet layer applications - DLPI interface is enabled via SMIT.
2. With the X.25 licensed program product for AIX 3.2.5, xmanage allows the user to view, but not change, the connection status.
3. The Runtime software component is the minimum required for X.25 - all other components require the runtime software.
4. To run TCP/IP over X.25, the user must also install the TCP/IP software component.

Notes:

1. ARTIC PortMaster support is made of three components: a base PortMaster adapter with at least 1 MB memory, a V.24, V.35, or X.21 electrical interface board/daughter card (EIB), and the matching interface cable/fanout box.
2. ARTIC960 support is made of three components: a base ARTIC960 adapter with at least 4 MB memory, a V.24, V.36, or X.21 application interface board/daughter card (AIB), and the matching interface cable/fanout box.

   Note: The ARTIC960 adapter is supported on AIXLink/X.25 1.1.3 (and later).

3. The ISA and microchannel bus versions of the X.25 Interface Co-Processor adapters use the same modem cables (V.24, V.35, X.21).
4. Up to eight adapters are supported on systems with dual Micro Channel. Each microchannel supports 4 adapters.
5. 512 virtual circuits is the recommended maximum because the X.25 Interface Co-Processor adapters have only one port.
6. Packet per second (pps) values assume full 128-octet packets and were measured at the packet level.
7. The CCITT V.35 specification defines 56 Kbps as the maximum line speed.
8. The twd streams device driver is not used for X.25 ports configured over the 2-Port Multiprotocol PCI Adapter. Please refer to "Appendix H" for more information.
9. The ARTIC960 Adapter supports speeds up to Mbs on the V.35/V.36 and x.

Differences Between X.25 Licensed Program and AIX Version 3 Base X.25 Support

If you are migrating from the AIX Version 3 base X.25 support to the X.25 Licensed Program, read the following. This section explains what hardware, functionality, configuration and setup procedures have been changed with the new X.25 Licensed Program.

Hardware Differences

The X.25 Licensed Program supports the:

• X.25 Co-Processor/2 adapter (FC 2960)
• X.25 Co-Processor ISA-bus adapter (FC 6753), only on AIX version 4.1 or greater machines with an ISA-bus and AIXlink/X.25 Licensed Program.
• RIC Portmaster Adapter/A with 1MB (FC 7006)
• RIC Portmaster Adapter/A with 2MB (FC 7008)
• RIC Portmaster Adapters with 1Mb and 2Mb can now be used to connect to an X.25 network. They are multiport adapters which support V.24, V.35 and X.21 interfaces.
• ARTIC960 V.36 with 4MB (FC 2935)
• ARTIC960 X.21 with 4MB (FC 2938)
• ARTIC960 EIA-232E (V.24) with 4MB (FC 2929)
• 2-Port Multiprotocol PCI Adapter (FC 2962), only on AIX version 4.1.5, 4.2.1,4.3.0, or greater machines with PCI-bus and AIXlink/X.25 Licensed Program.

Functionality Differences

The X.25 Licensed Program provides the following new features:

• Support of the International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee (CCITT) 1988 X.25.
• Packet Layer Programming Interface Network Provider Interface (NPI).
• Frame Layer Programming Interface Data Link Provider Interface (DLPI).
• Compatibility application program interface (API) for applications written to the base AIX Version 3 X.25 support.
• Triple-X (X.3, X.28, X.29) Packet Assembler/Disassembler (PAD).
• Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) support for data items from the Management Information Base (MIB) for the packet and frame layers.
• V25bis support.
• Support for up to 512 logical channels per line.
• Automatic DTE configuration.
• Support for an aggregate sustained rate of 200 128-bytes packets per second (measured at the packet layer API) for each adapter in the system.

  Functionality differences
  Functionality	AIX Version 3 Base X.25 Support	X.25 Licensed Program
  CCITT Conformance	1984	1988
  NPI	NO	YES
  DLPI	NO	YES
  API Library	YES	YES*
  PAD Support	NO**	YES
  SNA Support	YES	YES
  TCP/IP Support	YES	YES
  SNMP Support	NO	YES
  Automatic DTE Configuration	NO	NO
  Logical Channels per line	64	512
  Packets per second (128-bytes packets)	35	200

  Notes:

  1. Applications based on the API library are only supported when the COMIO emulator is configured on the port.
  2. Only with third-party software.

Packet Layer

The main differences between CCITT 1984 and 1988 X.25 recommendations at the packet level are:

Frame Layer

The main differences between CCITT 1984 and 1988 X.25 recommendations at the frame level are:

Installation, Configuration, and Setup Differences

• You need to order and install the X.25 Licensed Program.
• You do not need to install the adapter microcode.
• You do not need to use the xmanage command to connect to the network.
• Several SMIT fast paths are changed.
• Several attributes names are changed.

Since X.25 is a licensed program, the first step in your configuration and setup procedure is to install the X.25 code. You do not need to install the microcode from diskette anymore; it is now installed with the licensed program.

The next step is to configure the device driver and the X.25 port. As soon as the X.25 port is configured and available, the X.25 licensed program software tries to bring up the frame and packet layer, which means that you don't have to use the xmanage command to connect to the X.25 network. The xmanage command is not supported by the X.25 licensed program.

You'll probably need to change some attributes such as number of virtual circuits and throughput. If you are going to use SMIT fast paths, be aware that many of them have changed.

The xroute command works only with X.25 ports that have COMIO emulation configured and must be used only when you have applications which use this emulation (such as xtalk and SNA ). The new TCP/IP implementation does not use the COMIO emulation, so you no longer need to add xroute entries when using more than one X.25/IP interface.

The X.25 licensed program allows you to enable or disable only these two facilities:

• Fast Select.
• Reverse Charging.

Command Differences

Many commands that were used for management and configuration purposes have changed.

• The x25mon command is now used for tracing an X.25 port.
• The x25ip command is now used for managing the NUA/IP table.
• The lsx25 command has been added for listing the configuration of the X.25 support on the system.
• The xmonitor command does not exist any more; the x25mon command is now used to trace an X.25 port.

  Differences Between xmonitor and x25mon Commands
  	xmonitor	x25mon
  Frame Layer	-frame	-f
  Packet Layer	-packet	-p
  Port	x25s n	-n sx25a n

The x25ip command has the same syntax as the x25xlate command. The lsx25 command uses information available from the system configuration database to display the relationship between adapters, drivers, ports, and other components. that are configured to use X.25.

Attributes Differences

The following table shows the differences in attribute names.

Default Values of Important Parameters

The default values of several important parameters have changed, the following table shows the differences between the AIX Version 3 Base X.25 support and the X.25 Licensed Program.