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Overview of IBM Networking
Cisco Transaction Connection
BC-240
Cisco IOS Bridging and IBM Networking Configuration Guide
78-11737-02
The CTRC software feature provides the following functionality:
• CTRC allows Cisco routers to use the intersystem communication (ISC) protocol to provide a
gateway between Customer Information Control System (CICS) clients (also known as common
clients) running under Windows or UNIX on TCP/IP networks and CICS online transaction
monitoring systems on IBM hosts.
• CTRC supports two interfaces to common clients: the Extended Call Interface (ECI), which lets
non-CICS client programs call CICS transactions, and the Extended Presentation Interface (EPI),
which lets distributed applications call CICS transactions that were originally accessed via 3270
terminals.
• CTRC supports the ability to configure routes for CICS transaction. Each transaction can be routed
to a specific CICS region.
• In addition to its CICS-related functionality, CTRC includes the feature previously known as Cisco
Database Connection (CDBC), which allows Cisco routers to use IBM's distributed relational
database architecture (DRDA) protocol to provide a gateway between client workstations running
Open DataBase Connectivity (ODBC) compliant applications on TCP/IP networks and IBM DB2
databases on SNA networks. ODBC is a call-level interface developed by Microsoft Corporation that
allows a single application to access database management systems from different vendors using a
single interface. SNA is a large, complex, feature-rich network architecture developed by IBM.
• CTRC adds support for TCP/IP passthrough, allowing the use of a TCP/IP network, rather than a
SNA network, between a Cisco router and a DB2 database if the database version supports direct
TCP/IP access.
• To match functionality provided in DRDA over TCP/IP, CTRC adds support for Password
Expiration Management (PEM) in SNA networks where PEM is supported.
• CTRC supports the following MIBs:
–
CISCO-DATABASE-CONNECTION-MIB.my - 93
–
CISCO-TRANSACTION-CONNECTION-MIB.my - 144
For descriptions of supported MIBs and how to use MIBs, see the Cisco MIB website on Cisco.com.
CTRC and CICS
CTRC is a Cisco IOS software feature that is available in two environments:
• CICS
• DB2
When a router is configured to use CTRC for communications with CICS systems, the router converts
ISC packets over TCP/IP to ISC packets over Advanced Program-to-Program Communications (APPC)
LU 6.2 and then routes them to the appropriate CICS region. CTRC converts CICS client messages
received via TCP/IP to SNA messages and uses Cisco SNA Switching Services to send them to the host.
CTRC runs as a TCP/IP daemon on the router, accepting ISC client connections over TCP/IP. When a
client connects to a CICS region on an IBM mainframe host, CTRC allocates an APPC conversation over
SNA to an IBM server and acts as a gateway between ISC over TCP/IP and ISC over APPC.
Figure 109 illustrates how CTRC lets CICS client applications on TCP/IP networks interact with CICS
transaction monitoring systems on IBM hosts.