Scenario: Configure a remote PPP dial-up connection

Situation

Suppose you purchase an additional iSeries™ server for MyCompany, a small manufacturing company in Boone, Iowa. As part of providing support, you need to establish a connection between electronic customer support and MyCompany's iSeries server. Since this server does not include a modem and MyCompany does not have an Internet bound network connection, you could configure a remote connection through another iSeries server or HMC that already has a dial up point-to point connection to electronic customer services. For more information about set up for an HMC environment, see Setting up your service environment in the IBM Systems Hardware Information Center.

Solution

Create a remote Universal Connection to IBM® through the AT®&T Global Network Services (AGNS). In this case, you establish a connection through the Connection Manager on your remote iSeries server through an AGNS point-to-point connection to electronic customer support.

Advantages

This scenario provides the following advantages:

MyCompany does not need to invest in an additional modem, cabling, or software to receive benefit from electronic customer support. You can configure this connection through the Universal Connection wizard or CL commands.
The AGNS connection provides a simple means of ensuring that MyCompany has electronic customer support available for ease of troubleshooting server problems, tracking current system hardware and software, or receiving software updates and fixes.
The AGNS provides a secure connection between MyCompany and IBM by implementing its own security when making a connection. You do not need to provide additional security.

Objectives

In this scenario, the customer wants to ensure that IBM can support the remote MyCompany server over the network though a point to point connection through AT&T Global Network Services. The objectives of this scenario are as follows:

To create a remote point-to-point dial-up connection between the customer and ECS through AT&T Global Network Services
To automate customer support through electronic customer support and services
To allow remote electronic customer support to create an electronic hardware and software inventory of MyCompany's iSeries servers
To permit electronic customer support to send software fixes and updates to the remote MyCompany iSeries server over the network

Details

The following diagram illustrates creating a remote connection to another server to access electronic customer support through an AT&T Global Network Services connection.

Diagram that depicts a remote PPP dial-up connection

Prerequisites and assumptions

The prerequisites for enabling electronic customer support over remote AGNS connection include:

Ensure that the iSeries Access for Windows® and iSeries Navigator exist on your personal computer, as described in the iSeries Access for Windows: Installation and setup.
Ensure that you install all of the latest service packs for iSeries Navigator. The scenarios show using the V5R4 version of the software.
Ensure that TCP/IP is active. You can start TCP/IP through the Start TCP/IP (STRTCP) command.
You must have security officer (*SECOFR) authority with *ALLOBJ, *IOSYSCFG, and *SECADM special authorities in your i5/OS™ user profile and *USE authority to WRKCNTINF in order to configure the connection using the Universal Connection wizard.
You must install the TCP/IP Connectivity Utilities (5722–TC1).
You must install the Digital Certificate Manager (DCM) (5722-SS1 option 34).
Note:

This scenario is supported for V5R1, V5R2, V5R3 and V5R4 systems. However, V5R3 or later iSeries Navigator is required in order to configure this option. The VPN will only be used over AT&T if your server is at V5R3 or later.
Ensure that the QRETSVRSEC system value is set to 1. You can check this value with the Display System Value (DSPSYSVAL) command. If this value is not set to 1, enter a Change System Value (CHGSYSVAL) command.

The Universal Connection from the server with the modem must have been configured to provide AT&T connectivity to others before you can actually use this remote connection. If the modem is attached to an HMC, see Setting up your service environment in the IBM Systems Hardware Information Center for instructions on how to configure it to allow the use of its modem.
You must have configured TCP/IP connectivity between this system and the one containing the modem.

Remote server configuration steps

Assuming that TCP/IP configuration already exists and works, complete the following steps to set up the Universal Connection if you connect to electronic customer support through a remote system:

Scenario details: Configure a remote point-to-point dial-up connection

After you complete the prerequisites, you are ready to begin configuring the Universal Connection through the wizard.

Step 1: Complete the planning work sheet.

The following planning work sheet illustrates the type of information you need before configuring the AGNS connection. You use this information when running the Universal Connection wizard.

Planning work sheet	Answers
Service information Company Contact name Telephone number Help desk or pager number Fax number Alternate fax number	MyCompany Tom Smith 515–870–9990 515–870–9942 515–870–5586 515–870–5587
Company address Street address City or locality State or province Country (or region) Postal code National language version Electronic mail address Alternate electronic mail address Media for PTFs (fixes)	94 West Proctor St. Boone Iowa United States 55902 English (2924) myname@company.com myname@othercompany.com Automatic selection
Location Country (or region) State	United States Iowa
Connection method	Through a remote server
Connection type	A dial-up connection using AT&T Global Network Services
Dial gateway address of the remote server or host name	192.168.1.1. (As an alternative, supply the host name [charlie.mycompany.com]) if the system being configured is at V5R3 or later.

If you prefer using CL Commands to create the configuration, use the Change Contact Information (CHGCNTINF) and the Create Service Configuration (CRTSRVCFG) commands.

Step 2: Start iSeries Navigator and select the Universal Connection wizard.

To start the Universal Connection wizard and begin establishing your connection:

Open iSeries Navigator software.
Select the server under the My Connections folder that you want to configure for electronic customer support.
Expand Network.
Expand Remote Access Services.
Right-click Originator Connection Profiles.
Select Configure IBM Universal Connection to start the Universal Connection wizard. The Welcome dialog appears.

Note:

A progress bar indicates that iSeries Navigator is loading the Universal Connection wizard. If you encounter problems while running the wizard, see Troubleshoot the Universal Connection wizard for a solution. Run the wizard again after solving the problem.

Step 3: Enter the service, address, and country (or region) information on the Universal Connection wizard dialogs.

To enter information about your company and connections:

On the Select Configuration dialog, select either Primary connection configuration or Backup connection configuration. The default is primary. Check the View and modify contact information box and click Next
On the Service Information dialog, enter the following information about MyCompany and click Next:
- Company – MyCompany
- Contact name – Tom Smith
- Telephone number – 515–870–9990
- Help desk or pager number— 515–870–9999
- Fax number — 515–870–5586
- Alternate fax number — 515–870–9942
If this information exists on your server, the company data already appears in the fields. For example, if MyCompany previously created a configuration, the wizard retrieves the data from the existing configuration.
On the Company Address dialog, enter MyCompany's address and click Next.
- Street address – 94 West Proctor St.
- City or locality – Boone
- State or province – Iowa
- Country or region – United States
- Postal code – 55902
- National language version – English (2924)
- Electronic mail address – myname@company.com
- Alternate electronic mail address – myname@othercompany.com
- Media for PTFs – Automatic selection
On the Location dialog, select the country (or region) and the state or province where your iSeries server resides and Click Next.
- Country (or region) – United States
- State – Iowa

Step 4: Under Connect through another system or partition, select the dialup connection using AT&T Global Network Services as a connection type.

Note:

There is a checkbox to Additionally configure a proxy connection. If this box is checked, Step 6 will appear. If using the modem on a remote i5/OS system or partition at V5R4 or above, the Service and Support proxy can be specified. If your enterprise contains an HTTP proxy, that can be specified instead.

Step 5: To create the remote connection to IBM, enter the dial gateway address or host name of the server that connects to IBM.

Enter the dial gateway address of the remote server or enter the remote server name and click Next. The dial gateway address is 192.168.1.1. The name of the MyCompany server is Charlie.mycompany.com in this scenario.

Step 6: For proxy option, configure a proxy destination.

Note:

This screen only appears if the proxy option was selected in Step 4.

To configure a proxy destination

Attempt proxy connection first
1. Choose this option if you want the proxy to take precedence over the configuration for this scenario.
2. If necessary, check the Proxy destination requires HTTP basic authentication box and fill in the User name and Password fields.
3. Click Next and proceed to the next Step.
Attempt proxy connection if previously defined configuration fails
1. Choose this option if the proxy is to be used only in the event that the configuration for this scenario fails.
2. Fill in the Proxy IP address or host name field.
3. Fill in the Proxy port field.
4. If necessary, check the Proxy destination requires HTTP basic authentication box and fill in the User name and Password fields.
5. Click Next and proceed to the next Step.

Step 7: Indicate that this server does not provide connectivity for other servers or partitions.

Click No to indicate that this server has a direct connection to electronic customer support without providing connectivity for other systems or partitions.

Step 8: Review the Summary window to ensure that the configuration meets your requirements, and click Finish to save your configuration.

To complete and save your server configuration:

Review the configuration summary. Click Back if you need to change a value on any of the wizard dialogs.
When the configuration is correct, click Finish to save the configuration. A progress bar indicates that the wizard is in the process of saving the configuration.

Step 9: Test the connection from your server to electronic customer support.

To test the configuration:

Note:

Ensure that the L2TP terminator is active on the remote server, or if the remote server is an HMC, ensure that it has been configured to allow dialing using the local modem.

Click Yes when the wizard prompts you to test the configuration. The Verify Universal Connection dialog appears.
Make note of any problems as the wizard displays verification progress.
Click OK when the wizard indicates that verification is complete.
If the wizard finds errors, restart the Universal Connection wizard, make necessary corrections, save, and retest the corrected configuration.

Step 10: Configure a backup configuration (optional).

If an additional connection method is available to you, it is suggested that you rerun the wizard to configure a backup. This backup will be used automatically in the event that the primary connection fails.