Explore point to point virtual Ethernet networks

Each integrated server has a point to point virtual Ethernet network connection with the iSeries™, which allows the iSeries to control the integrated server. Here you can learn how to view or change these connections, although they are automatically configured during installation.

View point to point Ethernet connections from i5/OS

point to point Ethernet connections in i5/OS are composed of a line description and an entry in an integrated server's NWSD.

1. To view the line description issue the command WRKCFGSTS *NWS from the i5/OS character-based interface.
2. Find the cascade of entries corresponding to your integrated server. One of the entries in the Line Description column will have the same name as your NWSD and end with the characters PP. Enter 8 to its left and press enter.
3. Now you are in the Work with Line Descriptions menu. Enter a 5 to the left of your line description and press enter to display its information.
4. Press F3 until you return to the base menu.
5. Now issue the command CFGTCP and select option 1, Work with TCP/IP interfaces.
6. One entry in the Line Description column should have the same name as your NWSD and end with the letters PP.
7. Option 5 will display the TCP/IP Interface information, while options 9 and 10 will allow you to enable and disable it. Note the internet address. It will be used later.
8. Now we will take a quick look at the entry in the integrated server's NWSD. Issue the command WRKNWSD. Find your integrated server's NWSD and enter 5 to display it. Press enter to page through the NWSD attributes.
9. One of the screens will be titled Attached lines and will display Port number *VRTETHPTP and the name of the line description that the network is using.
10. Back in the Work with Network Server Descriptions menu you can use option 2 to change this information.

View point to point Ethernet connections from the integrated Windows server console

1. At the console of your integrated server, click Start —> Settings —> Control Panel. Then select Network and Dial-up Connections.
2. One of the icons will be named virtual Ethernet point to point. Double-click it.
3. Click Properties in the dialog box which appears.
4. Double-click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) in the next dialog box.
5. In this final dialog box you should see the IP address associated with the integrated server side of the point to point virtual Ethernet connection. It should be the i5/OS's IP address augmented by one so as to be even instead of odd.
6. Close all of the windows that you opened, click Start —> Run, and enter the command cmd. Press enter. This will start an instance of the Windows command prompt.
7. At the C:\> command prompt which appears, enter the command ping followed by the i5/OS IP address which you remember from the last step. For example ping 192.168.3.1. The command should return Reply from ..... That's good. The ping command sends a packet of data to a certain internet address and times how long it takes to make a round trip.
8. (optional) Return to the i5/OS character-based interface and enter the command call qcmd. (This will increase the display space so that you can see the results of your commands.) Use the i5/OS command to ping the integrated server. For example, ping '192.168.3.2'. Congratulations! If all went correctly we have proved that you have a properly functioning point to point virtual Ethernet network.