Terminal Emulation Software Sources
Many different telnet software packages will work properly to communicate with TimeShare400. This page contains links to some of the more popular packages. Some are more full featured than others (including file transfer or printer capabilities built in) and others are a real bargain.
TimeShare400 does not support any of these packages. We can provide some tips on setting them up, but we make no warranties as to their suitability.
Bargain Software
| Mochasoft- for Java, Windows, more… Easy to install. Single user licenses are about $25 – $30 for 5250 display support as of the time of this writing. Supports named devices. Printer support now works properly through my firewall. Printer software is offered separately, at $25 or so for a single seat. | |
| Nexus Terminal – Telnet 3270/5250/VT/ANSI – for Windows. A very nice package. Does 5250 and 3270 terminal emulation, includes a nice FTP client, and now supports 5250 and LPD printer emulation. Supports named devices. Price is currently $50 for a single license. The new 32 bit version installs very easily and is easy to configure. Now that 5250 printer features are added, this is an ideal package and inexpensive. The FTP client also has AS/400 specific features (supports the naming convention for libraries, files, members, etc). Most FTP clients can’t talk to an AS/400 due to the LIB/FILE.MEMBER naming syntax. The printer emulation works very well, even through a proxy server at the client end. Newly added – SSL support (no extra charge). With the addition of SSL, NMT is a well rounded package at a good price. | |
| TN3270 Plus Terminal Emulation – for Windows. Nice 5250 terminal emulation ($40) and printer support ($10). Also includes SSL support ($10). |
‘Full Retail’ Software
These packages all do most everything – named devices, printer connections, file transfer capabilities built in, etc. But, they are more expensive.
If you are looking for a more soup-to-nuts package, check out Rumba at http://www.rumba.com and find your way to Rumba Office. Shop around – pricing varies, and the software might be a good deal if you can do a competitive upgrade.
Another sturdy solution with lots of features would be Reflection. You can find their products at Attachmate’s web site http://attachmate.com/Products/Host+Connectivity/Terminal+Emulation/Reflection/ribm/ribm.htm .
Last but not least is Client Access Express. This works well, but is more difficult to get up and running than the other telnet solutions. All the other telnet software requires only port 23 (telnet). For some reason, you can’t get a connection with CAE with just port 23 open on your firewall. CAE requires several other ports to establish it’s connection to the AS400. It uses these ports for authentication and other purposes. These ports include:
| 23 – telnet | |
| 449 – port mapper | |
| 8470 – central server | |
| 8476 – signon server |
There are lots of other ports you’ll need if you are running other services, like print server or remote command server. For a complete list of these, see the FAQ page for more info on the various ports. CAE also supports SSL. Of course, CAE is required if you want to use Ops Navigator or some of the other GUI interface tools to the operating system.