Mapping SNA Resources to IP Addresses

SNA over TCP/IP access nodes must determine the IP address of the partner before an SNA session can be established. The SNA identifier of the partner is mapped to an IP address using the following steps:
  1. SNA over TCP/IP receives the SNA identifier from Personal Communications in one of the following formats:
    • For LU names, netid.luname
    • For CP names, netid.cpname
  2. SNA over TCP/IP takes the identifier and generates a domain name:
    • For LU names, luname.netid.snasuffix
    • For CP names, cpname.netid.snasuffix
    Note:
    The default value for snasuffix is SNA.IBM.COM. For additional information on the SNA domain name suffix, refer to the online help.

    Formats of the Domain Names That SNA over TCP/IP Builds shows examples of domain names generated by SNA over TCP/IP.

    Figure 1. Formats of the Domain Names That SNA over TCP/IP Builds

    Formats of the Domain Names That SNA over TCP/IP Builds
  3. SNA over TCP/IP requests that the domain name be translated into an IP address.
  4. TCP/IP uses the HOSTS file or domain name server to translate the domain name into an IP address (for example, 9.67.192.28).
When the IP network includes SNA over TCP/IP gateways, consider the following additional address mapping issue:
  • If the partner LU can be reached through a gateway, the domain name of the partner must be mapped to the IP address of the gateway. If there are parallel gateways, the domain name should be mapped to each gateway IP address.