HP 3000 Manuals HP 3000 Manuals
Introducing HP FTAM/XL
by Raghavan Seshadri
Information Networks Division
PRODUCT OVERVIEW
FTAM stands for File Transfer, Access, and Management. It is defined by
International Standards Organization (ISO) standard 8571, which specifies
the protocols and services required to facilitate transfer of files
between end systems linked through an Open Systems Interconnection (OSI)
network. All end systems must have an implementation of FTAM executing
to make this possible. The remote system may be Hewlett-Packard or
non-Hewlett-Packard.
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
FTAM/XL is the Hewlett-Packard implementation of FTAM on the MPE/iX
system. It requires either 802.3 LAN (LAN3000/XL) or X.25/XL to provide
link services, and OTS/XL (HP36971A, orderable with FTAM/XL) to provide
transport and session layer functionality. FTAM/XL is GOSIP 1.0
compliant. (GOSIP stands for Government OSI Profile. An important and
growing segment of the OSI market requires GOSIP compliance.) FTAM/XL
provides the following functions :
* transfer files to and from the remote system
* rename and delete files on the remote system
* read the attributes of a remote file
* FTAM responder for remote FTAM access
An interactive interface, FTAMXL, is provided with the FTAM/XL product.
The command interface is similar to that of the ARPA file transfer
program, FTP Commands can either be entered interactively, or put into a
script file and executed either interactively or in batch mode.
OTS/XL provides access over both 802.3 LAN and X.25. Transport classes 0
(TP0) , 2 (TP2) or 4 (TP4) may be configured directly over X.25 for
European OSI profiles. Transport class 4 can be configured over ISO IP
over either LAN or X.25 for U.S. GOSIP profiles.
FTAM/XL provides true multivendor interoperability with different end
systems, independent of their hardware platform or operating system. To
convert files with different formats and structures, FTAM/XL uses a
concept called the virtual file store (VFS). FTAM first converts a file
into the VFS format before transferring it to the end system, where it is
converted into the format compatible with that end system.
Typical applications for FTAM/XL may be found in the areas of distributed
database management, shared data/central file storage, specialized
message systems for long text, document retrieval and update . It is
especially suitable for transferring large amounts of structured data
files, making it ideal for large accounting, inventory, and payroll
applications.
FTAM/XL can coexist with current TCP/IP networks, thus providing a
graceful evolution to OSI. In this case, it can act as a server with
non-OSI nodes logging on using NS/ARPA services and then setting up FTAM
connections to local or remote OSI nodes.
PRODUCT BENEFITS
The benefits of FTAM/XL include the following:
* reduced costs due to elimination of network gateways and file
conversion software
* flexible and graceful conversion from current protocol environment
to OSI, which helps protect current investments
* reduced learning costs due to similarity with ARPA/FTP and
worldwide network interoperability
OPERATING ENVIRONMENT
FTAM/XL requires the following environment:
* HP 3000 Series 900
* XL Release 3.0 Retrofit operating system or later
* OTS/XL
* One or both of the following:
* ThinLAN 3000/XL Link (or its ThickLAN option)
* X.25 XL System Access and DTC/X.25 Network Access