Intermec DCS 300 Technical Reference Manual

DCS 300

P/N 067717-001

Technical Reference Manual

DCS 300 User’s Manual

Intermec Technologies Corporation

6001 36th Avenue West

P.O. Box 4280

Everett, WA 98203-9280

U.S. service and technical support: 1.800.755.5505

U.S. media supplies ordering information: 1.800.227.9947

Canadian service and technical support: 1.800.688.7043

Canadian media supplies ordering information: 1.800.268.6936

Outside U.S. and Canada: Contact your local Intermec service supplier.

The information contained herein is proprietary and is provided solely for the purpose of allowing customers to

operate and/or service Intermec manufactured equipment and is not to be released, reproduced, or used for any

other purpose without written permission of Intermec.

Information and specifications in this manual are subject to change without notice.

 1998 by Intermec Technologies Corporation

The word Intermec, the Intermec logo, JANUS, IRL, TRAKKER, Antares, Adara, Duratherm, EZBuilder,

Precision Print, PrintSet, Virtual Wedge, and CrossBar are either trademarks or registered trademarks of

Intermec Corporation.

Throughout this manual, trademarked names may be used. Rather than put a trademark ( or ) symbol in

every occurrence of a trademarked name, we state that we are using the names only in an editorial fashion, and to

the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement.

Contents

iii

Contents

Before You Begin xi

Warranty Information xi

Safety Summary xi

Warnings, Cautions, and Notes xii

About This Manual xii

How the DCS 300 Works

DCS 300 Architecture 1-3

How an Application Is Identified as a Destination 1-5

How the Message Handler Routes Transactions 1-5

How the DCS 300 Ensures Data Integrity 1-10

Interactivity With Devices 1-10

Fully Interactive System 1-10

Partially Interactive System 1-11

Noninteractive System 1-11

Data Integrity Modes 1-11

Faster Mode 1-12

Safer Mode 1-13

Retaining Transactions in Memory 1-14

How the DCS 300 Sets Application Status 1-15

Active Applications 1-15

Nonactive Applications 1-16

Sending Hot Standby Messages 1-16

Changing from a Nonactive State to an Active State 1-17

Active Recovery Mode 1-17

About DevComms 1-18

External Intermec Controllers 1-19

Interpreting ASCII Characters 1-19

Inserting and Deleting DLEs 1-20

Sending Transactions to a Device 1-20

Receiving Transactions From a Device 1-21

Inserting a Transaction ID 1-21

Configuring and Sending Delivery Responses 1-22

About NetComms 1-23

TCP/IP NetComms 1-23

1

DCS 300 Technical Reference Manual

iv

APPC NetComms 1-23

Shutting Down a Send NetComm 1-24

Transferring Batch Files 1-25

Learning About Transactions

Understanding Transaction Structures 2-3

About the Transaction Header 2-3

Transaction Data 2-7

How Transactions Are Routed 2-7

Routing Transactions From Applications 2-8

Routing Transactions From Devices 2-10

How the DCS 300 Acknowledges Transactions 2-14

How Applications Acknowledge Transactions 2-14

How Applications Receive Transactions 2-15

How Applications Send Transactions 2-16

Solicited Transactions 2-16

Unsolicited Transactions 2-17

Fields in Transactions 2-17

Using the Transaction ID to Send Transactions 2-18

About System Transactions 2-18

DcmFilResp 2-21

FileXfer 2-22

Specifying a Value for “device” 2-23

Specifying a Value for “parameter” 2-23

Omitting “parameter” and “eof

|

targetfile

|

targetdrive” 2-24

Using BFT Command Files With a JANUS Device 2-24

Command File Examples 2-24

DcmHltTran 2-25

Inter 2-26

Master 2-26

DcmMstResp 2-27

NoInter 2-27

DcmRsmTran 2-28

DcmSysHalt 2-28

2

Contents

v

Communicating With TCP/IP Applications

Overview 3-3

Opening Connections 3-4

Opening a Requester Connection 3-4

Send Connection From DCS 300 to Application 3-5

Receive Connection From Application to DCS 300 3-5

Using TCP/IP Sockets 3-7

Establishing a Requester Connection 3-7

About Message Boundaries 3-8

Sending Data 3-9

Receiving Data 3-9

Understanding NetAck and NetError 3-11

How the DCS 300 Communicates With Applications 3-12

About Transaction Routing in a TCP/IP Network 3-14

Communicating Using the Direct TCP/IP Socket Interface 3-17

Using the Direct TCP/IP Socket Interface 3-19

About the $IPT Transaction ID 3-20

Using the $IPT Transaction ID 3-21

Format of OPEN Packet Sent From a Terminal to the DCS 300 3-21

Format of OPEN_ACK Packet Sent From the DCS 300 to a Terminal 3-21

Format of OPEN_NAK Packet Sent From the DCS 300 to a Terminal 3-21

Format of DATA Packet Sent From a Terminal 3-22

Format of DATA Packet Sent From the DCS 300 3-22

Format of CLOSE Packet Sent From a Terminal 3-22

Format of CLOSE Packet Sent From the DCS 300 3-23

Understanding Error Codes 3-23

Sample Program for JANUS 900 MHz RF Devices 3-25

Setting Up the Sample Program 3-25

Running the Sample Program 3-26

Sample Program for TRAKKER Antares UDP Plus Terminals 3-26

Setting Up the Sample Program 3-26

Running the Sample Program 3-27

Sample Program Examples 3-27

Using the Terminal Emulation Auto-Login Feature 3-29

Developing Auto-Login Scripts 3-29

Control Characters for Auto-Login Scripts 3-30

Sample Auto-Login Scripts 3-31

3

DCS 300 Technical Reference Manual

vi

Communicating With APPC Applications

Learning About APPC Applications 4-3

Allocating APPC Conversations 4-4

Receive Applications 4-4

Send Applications 4-5

Interactive Applications 4-5

Batch Applications 4-5

Learning About APPC Verbs 4-7

IMS Applications 4-8

NetComm Pairs 4-8

Verb Flow Diagrams 4-8

Host Receive Requester With a DCS 300 Send Server 4-9

Host Send Requester With a DCS 300 Receive Server 4-12

Host Batch File Transfer Application With a DCS 300 Batch File Transfer

NetComm 4-15

Host IMS Receive Requester With a DCS 300/IMS Send Server 4-18

Host IMS Send Requester With a DCS 300/IMS Receive Server 4-21

Host IMS Batch File Transfer Application With a DCS 300/IMS Batch File

Transfer NetComm 4-23

Creating Script Files for Screen Mapping

About Script Files 5-3

Using a Manual or Automatic Process 5-3

Validating Data 5-3

Synchronous vs. Asynchronous Communications 5-3

Using the DCS 300 to Manually Create Script Files 5-4

Creating a Screen Mapping Session 5-5

Creating a Standard Script File 5-6

Sample Screen and Script File 5-8

Editing Script Files 5-10

Design Considerations 5-11

Practical Advice for Editing Script Files 5-12

Skeleton Script 5-14

Sample Script 1 5-15

Sample Script 2 5-18

Checking a Script File 5-21

Using Script Variables 5-21

About String Variables 5-22

4

5

Contents

vii

About Integer Variables 5-22

Hard-Coding Integer Variables 5-23

Performing Integer Math 5-23

Using Variables to Get String Length (StrLength) 5-24

Using Variables to Concatenate Strings 5-25

Converting Variables from String to Integer (StrToInt) 5-25

Converting Variables from Integer to String (IntToStr) 5-26

Using Variables to Do a String Search (StrSearch) 5-26

Copying a String or Integer Variable 5-27

Copying the Middle Part of a String (StrCopyMid) 5-27

Copying the Left Part of a String (StrCopyLeft) 5-28

Copying the Right Part of a String (StrCopyRight) 5-28

Trimming the Left Part of a String (StrLTrim) 5-29

Trimming the Right Part of a String (StrRTrim) 5-29

Comparing Two Strings, Case-Sensitive (StrComp) 5-30

Comparing Two Strings, Case-Insensitive (StrCompI) 5-30

Converting a String to Uppercase (StrUpper) 5-31

Converting a String to Lowercase (StrLower) 5-31

Other Script Variables 5-32

Using Keystrokes 5-33

Using Audit Files 5-34

Script Calls 5-35

ACK_MESSAGE 5-35

BREAK 5-36

CALL 5-36

CAPTURE_POS 5-37

CURRENT_SCREEN 5-37

EXIT 5-38

FILL_FIELD 5-38

GET_DCM_TRANS 5-39

IF_BATCH 5-39

IF_EXIT 5-40

IF_

integercomparison

5-41

IF_

string | integer

5-42

IF_REGION 5-44

IF_SCREEN 5-45

IF_SEARCH 5-46

IF_TRANS 5-47

IF_WAIT 5-47

LOG_ERROR 5-48

LOOP 5-48

PAUSE 5-49

DCS 300 Technical Reference Manual

viii

PUT_MAPPED_TRANS 5-49

PUT_TRANS_FIELD 5-50

SEARCH_SCREEN 5-51

SEND_MESSAGE 5-52

USER_INPUT 5-53

WAIT_FOR 5-54

WAIT_FOR_LABEL_POS 5-55

WAIT_FOR_POS 5-56

Reserved Words 5-57

Working With Host Systems

Overview 6-3

Connecting to a Mainframe for 3270 TE 6-3

Connecting to an AS/400 for 5250 TE 6-4

Setting Up an SDLC Connection 6-5

Setting Up a Twinaxial Connection (6140, 5394, 5494) 6-9

Setting Up a Twinaxial Connection (6050, 266C) 6-14

Setting Up an Ethernet Connection 6-20

Setting Up a Token Ring Connection 6-25

Understanding LAN Adapter Address Formats 6-30

Setting the Local Adapter Address on the AS/400 6-30

Setting the LAN Remote Adapter Address on the AS/400 6-31

Setting the Address Parameter on the DCS 300 6-31

Byte-Flipping an Address 6-31

Testing the AS/400 Connection 6-33

Configuring the Virtual Devices for 5250 TE 6-34

Remotely Connecting the DCS 300 to an AS/400 6-35

Using a 5394 Controller 6-35

Using a 5494 Controller 6-36

Receiving a CPF4128 Error 6-37

Creating the #ACCNET Mode on an AS/400 6-38

Using Remote APPC Applications Instead of 5250 TE 6-38

Configuring the Terminal Over the Network 6-41

Configuring the Terminal From the DCS 300 6-41

Configuring the Terminal From the Host Computer 6-42

6

Contents

ix

Sample Programs

About the Sample Programs 7-3

About the VT100 Screen Mapping Demonstration 7-4

Setting Up the Sample Host Application 7-4

Downloading the Template to the TRAKKER Antares Terminal 7-6

Running the VT100 Screen Mapping Demonstration 7-6

LOOPTCP Program 7-8

TCPAPP and PICKTCP Programs 7-9

WRITETCP Program 7-9

Utility Functions for TCP/IP Communication 7-10

O200ECHO Program 7-10

WAIT_FOR Commands Screen Mapping Demonstration 7-12

Index

7

I

DCS 300 Technical Reference Manual

x

Before You Begin

xi

Before You Begin

This section introduces you to standard warranty provisions, safety precautions,

warnings and cautions, document formatting conventions, and sources of additional

product information. A documentation roadmap is also provided to guide you in finding

the appropriate information.

Warranty Information

To receive a copy of the standard warranty provision for this product, contact your local

Intermec support services organization. In the U.S. call 1-800-755-5505, and in Canada

call 1-800-688-7043. Otherwise, refer to the Worldwide Sales & Service list that ships

with this manual for the address and telephone number of your Intermec sales

organization.

Safety Summary

Your safety is extremely important. Read and follow all warnings and cautions in this

book before handling and operating Intermec equipment. You can be seriously injured,

and equipment and data can be damaged if you do not follow the safety warnings and

cautions.

Do not repair or adjust alone Do not repair or adjust energized equipment alone under

any circumstances. Someone capable of providing first aid must always be present for

your safety.

First aid Always obtain first aid or medical attention immediately after an injury. Never

neglect an injury, no matter how slight it seems.

Resuscitation Begin resuscitation immediately if someone is injured and stops

breathing. Any delay could result in death. To work on or near high voltage, you should

be familiar with approved industrial first aid methods.

Energized equipment Never work on energized equipment unless authorized by a

responsible authority. Energized electrical equipment is dangerous. Electrical shock from

energized equipment can cause death. If you must perform authorized emergency work on

energized equipment, be sure that you comply strictly with approved safety regulations.

DCS 300 Technical Reference Manual

xii

Warnings, Cautions, and Notes

The warnings, cautions, and notes in this manual use the following format.

Caution

A caution alerts you to an operating procedure, practice, condition, or statement that

must be strictly observed to prevent equipment damage or destruction, or corruption

or loss of data.

Conseil

Une précaution vous avertit d’une procédure de fonctionnement, d’une méthode,

d’un état ou d’un rapport qui doit être strictement respecté pour empêcher

l’endommagement ou la destruction de l’équipement, ou l’altération ou la perte de

données.

Notes: Notes are statements that either provide extra information about a topic or

contain special instructions for handling a particular condition or set of circumstances.

About This Manual

This manual contains technical information that may be necessary to install, operate,

configure, troubleshoot, and maintain the DCS 300. You should use this manual to learn

about the server before you add it to your network, and to answer questions that arise

while using the DCS 300 User’s Manual to perform tasks.

This manual was written for analysts and programmers who operate, program, and

connect the server to a network or system. A basic understanding of DOS, programming,

and data communications is necessary.

What You Will Find in This Manual

This table summarizes the information in each chapter and appendix.

Chapter What You Will Find

1 Summarizes how the DCS 300 operates.

2 Defines transactions and system transactions, and describes how they

are transmitted.

3 Discusses communications with TCP/IP applications.

4 Discusses communications with APPC applications.

5 Explains how to manually create the script files for screen mapping.

6 Provides guidelines for connecting to hosts systems.

7 Introduces the sample programs included with the server.

Before You Begin

xiii

Terminology

You should be aware of how these terms are being used in this manual:

Term Description

Server Refers to the DCS 300.

Data collection

device

Refers to the JANUS devices, TRAKKER Antares terminals, and other

devices that communicate through the DCS 300. Also called a device.

JANUS device Refers to all the readers and vehicle-mount computers (VMC) in the

JANUS® family of data collection computers. More specific terms,

such as the JG2050, indicate a specific type of JANUS device.

TCP/IP terminal Refers to all the devices and terminals that communicate using

TCP/IP, instead of UDP Plus.

TRAKKER Antares

terminal

Refers to the radio frequency and batch terminals in the TRAKKER®

Antares™ family of terminals. More specific terms, such as the

T2425, indicate a specific type of terminal.

UDP Plus terminal Refers to all the devices and terminals that communicate using UDP

Plus, instead of TCP/IP.

Format Conventions for Commands

This manual includes sample commands that are shown exactly as you should type them.

The manual also describes the syntax for many commands, defining each parameter in

the command. This table defines the conventions:

Convention Description

Special font

Commands appear in this font. You enter the command exactly as it is

shown.

Italic

text

Italics indicate a variable, which you must replace with a real value,

such as a number, filename, or keyword.

Bold text

Indicates the keys you must press on a PC, reader, or terminal

keyboard. For example, “press

Enter

” means you press the key labeled

“Enter.”

[ ] Brackets enclose a parameter that you may omit from the command.

Do not include the brackets in the command.

Required parameters If a parameter is not enclosed in brackets [ ], the parameter is required.

You

must

include the parameter in the command; otherwise, the

command will not execute correctly.

where This word introduces a list of the command’s parameters and explains

the values you can specify for them.

DCS 300 Technical Reference Manual

xiv

Other Related Manuals

You may need additional information when working with the DCS 300 in an Intermec

data collection network. Please visit our web site at www.intermec.com to access many

of our available manuals in PDF format. Your local Intermec representative or

distributor can help you order printed versions of Intermec manuals.

Manual Intermec Part No.

DCS 300 System Manual

067296

Communicating With TCP/IP Applications

3

DCS 300 Technical Reference Manual

Communicating With TCP/IP Applications

3-3

3

This chapter describes how the DCS 300 uses TCP/IP sockets to communicate with

remote applications.

Overview

The DCS 300 communicates with remote applications using Transmission Control

Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) sockets. TCP provides a method for creating

connection-oriented, error-free, full-duplex, byte-stream communications between two

processes. IP provides a method for transmitting blocks of data called IP datagrams

between hosts. Together, TCP and IP offer reliable, easy-to-use communications.

Applications communicate with the server through network communications processes on

the server called NetComms. NetComms are responsible for safely routing data from the

network through the server. They use the TCP/IP socket API to provide a standard

interface to TCP/IP Transport and Internet layers. The API supports the “streams”

socket-type interface, which is a reliable, connection-oriented service. When data is sent,

the transmission of the data packet is guaranteed and it is received in the same order as it

was sent. Built-in flow control avoids data overruns. No boundaries are imposed on the

data; it is considered to be a byte stream.

The NetComms are server applications that issue passive open commands to accept

connections from remote applications. The server mode send and receive NetComms are

each started as a single process that receives requests from remote applications for both

send and receive server connections respectively.

Each NetComm can handle a maximum number of connections before spawning off an

identical process to handle any new connections. You set the maximum number of

connections in the Max connections field in the System Parameters dialog box in the

GUI.

Figure 3-1 shows a typical client/server configuration using sockets. Server 1 runs on

Host 1, and Client 1 runs on Host 2. Server 1 listens on a socket that uses IP. Each

socket is identified by a socket address, which is a data structure that specifies the

address family, network address, and port number.

DCS 300 Technical Reference Manual

3-4

Figure 3-1: Typical Server/Client Configuration Using Sockets

Address Family: IP

Network Address: 192.5.7.9

Host 1 Host 2

300R.013

SocketSocket

APP 1

UDP

TCP Port 4400

APP 2

UDP

TCP Port 4401

Address Family: IP

Network Address: 192.5.7.10

Address family The address family (or protocol family) determines the communications

protocol used to deliver the transaction and the structure of the addresses used to

represent the end point of the communication.

Network address With the communications protocol, the network address value

uniquely identifies a host on one or more interconnected networks.

Port number This value specifies a communication end point within the host. The port

number is 4400 for the send connection, and 4401 for the receive connection.

Opening Connections

For an application to become interactive with the DCS 300, it must have a send and a

receive connection.

• The send connection sends data to the server.

• The receive connection receives data from the server.

The server only supports requester (client) connections. The remote application initiates

both connections.

Opening a Requester Connection

The DCS 300 acts as a TCP/IP server. It opens connections to the network, but it

passively waits for an application to connect with it and create an active client. An

application uses requester connections to initiate communications with the server. To

open a requester connection, the application needs to know:

• The server’s location (host address).

• The server’s port numbers for the send (4400) and receive connections (4401).

Communicating With TCP/IP Applications

3-5

3

The call sequence of a requester connection using a TCP/IP Berkeley socket interface is:

socket()

connect()

When the receive requester connection is started, the application should send its name to

the server on this connection. The server will respond in one of two ways: with a network

acknowledgment (NetAck) if the channel is successfully created or with a network error

(NetError) that closes the connection if the channel cannot be created.

You must configure the destination name that the application sends to the server as a

peer-to-peer destination. If you have not configured the name, the application receives a

NetAck, but no data will be received. If another application is using that same name, the

application may receive a NetError. Only one application may use a name at any given

time.

Send Connection From DCS 300 to Application

The send connection interacts with the DCS 300 receive NetComm. The application

determines where the NetComm will write the transaction by setting the fNetAck flag in

the header portion of the transaction.

• If the fNetAck flag is blank (<SP>), the transaction is written to the receive (input)

channel on the server. This channel is used for data transactions that the server will

route.

• If the fNetAck flag is set to A, the transaction is written to the ACK channel that is

used for acknowledgments to transactions the server has sent.

Once data is sent on the send connection, the application needs to wait on that connection

for a NetAck or a NetError. A NetAck indicates the transaction was written successfully,

and a NetError indicates the transaction could not be written to one of these channels and

that the application should send the data again.

Note:

Do not confuse a NetAck (network acknowledgment) with the fNetAck flag of the

transaction header.

Receive Connection From Application to DCS 300

The receive connection interacts with the server send NetComm. This NetComm is

responsible for forwarding data from the application receive (input) channel to the

network connection. A NetAck should be sent back on this connection after the data is

received.

DCS 300 Technical Reference Manual

3-6

Intermec recommends that the application open the receive connection first to ensure that

when the application sends an Inter system transaction to the server to enter an active

state, the application input channel has been created. If an application receives a

NetError on the receive connection after sending its name to the server, the channel may

not have been created. A common reason for this NetError is that another process is

using the same application name, so the IPC channel already exists.

These communications tables provide an outline of the interaction between the

NetComms and the remote application.

Connecting to the Server Send NetComm (the Application's Receive Socket)

DCS 300 Side - Server Mode Direction Application Requester Mode

Wait for connection

:

Connect

RecvData (application name) Send Data (app name)

Create application channel and send NetAck Receive NetAck

[Create application channel for input] [While connection not shutting down]

[While server not shutting down and connections not

shutting down, wait for data from channel]

NetRecv (server transaction)

:

NetSend {data transaction} [Data received - process data]

Receive NetAck Send NetAck

[Server acknowledgment will be sent through

send connection (local receive NetComm)]

[End while loop] [End while loop]

Connecting to the Server Receive NetComm (the Application’s Send Socket)

DCS 300 Side - Server Mode Direction Application Requester Mode

Wait for connection

[Accept connection] Connect

[Open connection to the server then open receive and

ACK channels]

[While connection not shutting down]

[While the server not shutting down and connections

not shutting down]

NetRecv (data transaction for the controller) NetSend (server transaction)

[If the transaction header has the fNetAck flag set to

A, write the transaction to the ACK channel, else

write it to the receive (input) channel]

SendResponse (NetAck) RecvResp (NetAck)

[End while loop] [End while loop]

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Intermec DCS 300 Technical Reference Manual

Intermec DCS 300 Technical Reference Manual

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