Logon to AS400 IFS from XP workstations???

[jellybeenz]

I posted the following in the IBM Servers forum, but perhaps this is a more appropriate place for it. Hopefully all the XP gurus can give me some insight into this problem.

Our net admin is upgrading our NT workstations to WinXP Pro. These machines are currently unable to access the IFS, although they were able to previously. The admin denies changing any settings on the network and I have no way of independently verifying that. I've checked our netserver config on the AS400 and it looks okay. The domain name, WINS servers, etc are all accurate. I can see the AS400 on the network, but when I get the logon prompt it doesn't seem to recognize the user name. I enter just the name and password but when the logon prompt redisplays, it automatically includes the domain name (I seem to think that it did not do that before...). I thought that it may be passing the "domain/user" as the username and the AS/400 was not recognizing it. However, when I try too many times, the profile becomes disabled for netserver access so it must(?) be recognizing the profile. We are running Client Access Express V5.0, although I thought we had been upgraded to 5.1. Is this a case of requiring an upgrade for CAX?

Upon further thought, I wouldn't think that the version of Client Access would have anything to do with it since the purpose of the netserver is to allow Windows machines to access the IFS without needing special software.

I'm at a loss. Anyone here have any ideas? Thanks.

 

[bcastner]

Possible:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;306037

 

[jellybeenz]

We have no 3270 terminals and only one IBM 5250 (console). All others use Client Access for 5250 emulation.

I've discussed various protocols with the net admin and he has said that only TCP/IP is in use here on our network. There is no problem with our older (NT 4.0) workstations accessing the IFS and at one point the XP machines were also able to access those folders.

 

[bcastner]

Interesting.

http://support.microsoft.com/defaul...port/kb/articles/q308/4/21.asp&NoWebContent=1

 

[Ddraig]

Can you tell me what IFS is exactly? If I read your post correctly, it sounds like you're connecting OK, but it is asking for your login and password to the AS400 over and over?

 

[jellybeenz]

I have security set up on the folders in the IFS to deny or limit access unless the user has proper authority. The root directory however has public authority, so if they have a valid AS400 profile accessing the IFS itself should not be a problem. I have no admin rights on the network or other workstations to allow me to try your suggestion. Likewise, the net admin has only basic user rights on the AS400. (It's really a weird IT setup here. Two camps who operate almost independently of each other.) I don't think it would be possible for the Windows admin profile to take ownership of anything on the AS400, since it's not REALLY a Windows file system. While the AS400 is a member of the domain and I've enable file and print sharing, it doesn't fall under the same rules as a Windows server.

I really think it's an authentication issue arising from some incompatibility that's been introduced recently. Whether it's how the XP machine is passing the username/password or something that I'm missing in the netserver configuration, I don't know. There's really not that much involved in configuring a netserver though....

 

[jellybeenz]

Ddraig,

The IFS stands for "Integrated File System" and is an area of the AS400 where you can store Windows type objects, documents, etc. I have set up departmental folders so that staff can access shared spreadsheets. Windows executables that I've written can be run directly from there also. The netserver is what enables basic file and print sharing for these objects on the network.

I can see the AS400 in Network Neighborhood, but when the XP users try to access, it just keeps redisplaying the logon prompt. Up until recently, XP users had this access. Now it seems to be "broken". I'm trying to troubleshoot, but I have no way of checking the configuration of the workstations. And I will not be allowed to, I might add. So being unfamiliar with XP Pro, I was hoping that you all might help shed some light on the way XP authenticates and whether it is incompatible with the way the netserver accepts usernames/passwords passed to it. Of course, I could be WAY off base and it could be something else ENTIRELY.