Wrestling with the Move from Twinax to TCP/IP? Still Trying to Support a Multi-Protocol Network? The iSeries World is Going IP... Are You?!

If you currently are using legacy Display Stations and Printers connected to the System i, iSeries or AS/400s in your organization, you are probably considering a move away from SNA and SDLC communications to a pure TCP/IP connectivity infrastructure or a new Power6.

There are many good reasons to evaluate this move:

Is there a downside? Well, if you have Twinax devices connected to your iSeries and are thinking of moving to a LAN environment, you have a lot to think about. For example, will your trusty Twinax IPDS printers continue to perform? Will your data entry personnel continue to be productive? Will your network be as reliable? Can you justify the potentially high cost of re-wiring an entire facility?

Following is a discussion of four different options available to you. Click the links to learn the pros and cons of each option, and to discover which solution is right for your organization:

Option 1: Replace Twinax equipment with PCs and LAN based printers

Pros	Cons
Share printers with LAN users and PC applications	Possible complex networking issues
More expensive to manage, cost of PC management very high	Disruption / lost production
Access to multiple applications	Cost of replacement
Improved performance for WAN users	Retraining of personnel

Solution 1: Twin Data Corporation offers two TCP/IP-based solutions that meet the host access and TN5250e display/printing emulation requirements of this option: 

Net-2000 TN5250e Emulation Software - LAN-based, small footprint, feature-rich TN5250e Emulation Software. Based on concurrent user licenses, not individual desktop licenses.

TwiNetTC100 Gateway - TN5250e Gateway Appliance for Internet Explorer Web Access and PDF Printing (A great alternative to IBM's Web-on-Demand)

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Option 2: Replace the dumb Twinax terminals with Ethernet terminals and use a Twinax to Ethernet Protocol Converter for Twinax printer(s)

Pros	Cons
Less expensive than option 1	No additional applications supported
Remote management keeps cost of ownership lower	Cost of replacement
No retraining required	Disruption / lost production
Keep investment in Twinax Printers
Improved performance for WAN users

Solution 2: Twin Data Corporation offers Ethernet text-based terminals from various manufacturers ? supporting the AS/400 & Mainframe style 122-key keyboards.  For connecting your legacy Twinax and Coax Printers we offer the XIP Twinax Controller and the LANRPC to support a smooth transition from Twinax and Coax: 

Ethernet Terminals - Hhigh performance Ethernet text-based terminals to replace 5250 and 3270 dumb terminals

XIP Twinax Controller  - To maintain the investement in your current Twinax Display Stations and expensive workhorse Twinax printers

LANRPC - To maintain expensive workhorse Coax printers

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Option 3: Replace Twinax terminals with Thin Clients

Pros	Cons
Access to server based applications	Cost of replacement
Low cost of ownership (software maintained only on server)	Disruption / loss of production
Embedded Terminal emulation for server independence	Cost of Fat Server
122-key keyboard option comforts users	Cost of Server access
Lower power requirements than PC
Better MTBF than PC, no moving parts
Lower security risks (control download of data to diskette)
Better virus protection (control upload of unwanted programs)
Improved performance for WAN users

Solution 3: Twin Data Corporation offers a wide selection of Thin Client Terminals for all environments including Desktop Virtualization. Various models include an embedded browser, TN5250e/TN3270e emulation, and an RDP client for Windows Terminal Server and an ICA client for Citrix Metaframe:

• Thin Client Terminals

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Option 4: Preserve Twinax devices and integrate them into your IP network with a pure IP controller.

Pros	Cons
Maintain existing Terminals and Printers	No access to windows based applications
Little or no disruption / loss of production	Older technology (Twinax is not sexy)
Lower replacement cost in most cases
Improved performance for WAN users
Only one IP address required
No retraining required
Text based email available
Smoother implementation of disaster recovery (Dial back up, Hot spare, IP Rollover)
Ease of management (https:// access to controller)

Solution 4: I-O Corporation offers a true TCP/IP controller, allowing enterprises to maintain the current investment of existing Twinax equipment while ensuring bandwidth efficiency, optimum network performance, and built-in capabilities to work in disaster recovery scenarios.

• XIP Twinax Controller - A true Twinax-Over-TCP/IP Controller (local or remote) for supporting Twinax Terminals and Printers on the Power6 and all models of i5, iSeries and AS/400s (above V3R2)

 

For more information about these solutions or to discuss the specific needs of your enterprise, please contact us at:

(800) 597-2525 (toll free) ♦ (908) 855-8100 International

info@twindata.com