INTRODUCING THE IBM 3270 EMULATION CREDIT CARD ADAPTER ______________________________________________________ The IBM* 3270 Emulation Credit Card Adapter (Credit Card Adapter) is a compact version of the IBM 3270 Connection Adapter. It can be used on personal computers with slots conforming to the PCMCIA Release 2.0 Standards. (PCMCIA is the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association.) The Credit Card Adapter must be "enabled" before it can be used with a terminal emulator software product. No enablers have been included in this package. They are available from other sources, which are mentioned later in this file. An enabler is a program that assigns computer system resources (memory space, I/O ports, and interrupt level) to the Credit Card Adapter. Different types of enablers are available that are included with various types of software products. The following list describes some of the available enablers. CARD SERVICES ENABLERS Enablers of this type communicate with the Card Services software layer, which manages PCMCIA cards and system resources. Card Services communicates with another software layer called Socket Services, which is specific to the hardware in the system. Both of these software layers are required for a Card Services Enabler to work. Card Services Enablers provide the most flexibility in resolving resource conflicts (Memory, I/O, and IRQ). Card Services Enablers are most likely to be included in terminal emulator applications, such as IBM PC/3270 (Personal Communications/3270 Workstation Program). Other terminal emulators may also have Card Services Enablers as well. These emulators are said to be "Card Services aware". Card Services Enablers may be started by the CONFIG.SYS file or by the terminal emulator itself. SUPER ENABLERS Enablers of this type communicate with Card Services just as Card Services Enablers do. Super Enablers are also said to be "Card Services aware". The difference is that Super Enablers recognize many different types of Credit Cards such as modems, memory cards, and LAN adapters. Many of the Super Enablers currently available recognize the Credit Card Adapter. Super Enablers generally can only configure the device at fixed resources used by the ISA counterpart devices. In addition, no means of communication is provided between the Super Enabler and the actual application (required for proper handling of Hot Insertion and Removal). Super Enablers are often packaged with Card Services. They have names such as "Super Client Driver" or "Card Installation Client". Some operating systems, such as IBM DOS 6.1, include Card Services, Socket Services, and a Super Enabler. Super Enablers are usually started by the CONFIG.SYS file, and there may be specific parameters that are required to enable the Credit Card Adapter. Check the documentation that came with a particular Super Enabler. POINT ENABLERS Enablers of this type should be used only as a last resort. Point Enablers were created for a time when Card Services interfaces were not generally available. Point Enablers have several disadvantages that will cause problems if they are used with Card Services. Point Enablers should not be used with Card Services under any circumstances, since the results are very unpredictable. Point Enablers communicate directly with the PCMCIA hardware in a system. Since there are different PCMCIA chip sets available, there had to be a Point Enabler for each and every computer system/ credit card combination. Card Services eliminates the need for many different enablers by providing one common interface for all Card Services Aware Enablers to use. Point Enablers do not perform any resource management. Point Enablers leave it up to the user to insure that the resources being requested are available. Card Services performs this function for the user. There will be conflicts if a Point Enabler is used with Card Services. This should not be attempted since the results are very unpredictable. Point Enablers do not support "hot pluggability" or "dynamic resource allocation", which in the context of PCMCIA mean the same thing. It means that you can insert a credit card at any time and it will automatically be enabled (have resources assigned to it). Also, when a credit card is ejected, the resources are released (returned to the system). Card Services will perform these functions provided that a properly designed Card Services Aware Enabler has been installed. Point Enablers have been included with versions of IBM PC/3270, but should be used only if Card Services is not available and the Credit Card Adapter is the only credit card installed in the system. There are different 3270 Point Enablers for different computer systems. RUNNING THE DIAGNOSTIC PROGRAM ______________________________ The Diagnostic Program on the diskette is used to test the hardware components of the Credit Card Adapter. This program is optional but can be used if the Credit Card Adapter is not functioning as expected. The Diagnostic Program runs through a series of tests and displays the results. If the Credit Card Adapter hardware test fails, there may be a problem with the Credit Card Adapter hardware. (The testing process requires about 10 seconds to run.) If you are running OS/2* or Windows,** be sure to exit these and go into DOS before running the Diagnostic Program. If you are running a 3270 terminal emulator software product, be sure to exit that, also. The Diagnostic Program may report false errors if a terminal emulator and the Diagnostic Program are active at the same time. The Credit Card Adapter must be enabled before it can be tested. The Diagnostic will try to do this using Card Services. If the Credit Card Adapter can not be enabled using Card Services then the Diagnostic will try to determine if the Credit Card Adapter was enabled by some other application or enabler. If the Credit Card Adapter was enabled properly then it will be tested. The Diagnostic will test the first Credit Card Adapter that is found. To avoid confusion while running the Diagnostic do not install more than one 3270 Credit Card Adapter at a time. STEPS FOR RUNNING THE DIAGNOSTIC PROGRAM Complete the following steps to test the Credit Card Adapter: Step 1. Verify the cable and network connections. Step 2. Make sure that the Diagnostic Program is in the current path and type the following at the DOS prompt: test3270 Press ENTER. Step 3. In most cases the Diagnostic Program will be able to determine which resources to assign to the Credit Card Adapter, and run the tests. However, there may be cases in which the resources must be specified. For example, if Card Services is not aware of resources that are in use, then the Diagnostic Program may not be successful in enabling the Credit Card Adapter. You may also want to test the Credit Card Adapter using specific resources that will be used by a terminal emulator or enabler. In these cases the desired resources can be specified on the command line when the Diagnostic Program is started. See the Diagnostic help screens. You can view the Diagnostic help screens by typing the following at the DOS prompt: test3270 ? Restart the Diagnostic Program with the required options by typing the following at the DOS prompt: test3270 Press ENTER If the Diagnostic Program detects a failure (or creates a "hang" condition), check the following conditions: o Make sure the card and cable connections are secure. o Make sure your terminal emulator software is not active. o Make sure the correct options are being used when the Diagnostic Program is started. Try running the Diagnostic Program again. If the problem continues, return the Credit Card Adapter to the place of purchase. * Trademark of IBM Corp. ** Trademark of Microsoft Corp.