Universal Connection

With Universal Connection, you control how your business connects to IBM support services.

After the connection, you can access a variety of support options. Universal Connection is TCP/IP-based, and can be automatically or manually configured. Automatic configuration of the connection is attempted if the following conditions are true:

• The Universal Connection is not configured.
• A command, such as SNDSRVRQS or SNDPTFORD, or action is performed that requires a connection to IBM.
• The user initiating the connection to IBM has *IOSYSCFG authority.
• /QIBM/UserData/OS400/UniversalConnection/eccBase.properties contains the property AUTO_CONFIGURE_CONNECTIVITY=YES, which is the default value shipped with the system. Setting AUTO_CONFIGURE_CONNECTIVITY=NO will disable automatic configuration.

Automatic configuration only attempts to configure a direct LAN connection to IBM. If a direct LAN connection to IBM can not be successfully established, automatic configuration will fail and manual configuration of the Universal Connection is required. Manual configuration of the Universal Connection is also required for a connection other than direct LAN, such as a dialup connection or a connection through an HTTP/HTTPS proxy.

Manual configuration is performed using the Universal Connection Wizard or the CRTSRVCFG CL command. You select how to connect to IBM from the following choices:

• Direct dial-up through the AT&T Global Network Services (AGNS).
• An existing Internet service provider (ISP) connection.
• A direct local area network (LAN) connection to the Internet using HTTP/HTTPS or virtual private network (VPN).
• A remote dial-up through the AT&T Global Network Services.
• A remote virtual private network (VPN) multi-hop connection.
• A local area network (LAN) connection through an HTTP/HTTPS proxy.

The flexibility of multiple choices allows you to choose the most convenient solution for your organization while still providing a secure connection. In most situations, the Universal Connection option is the fastest and most convenient method of accessing Electronic Customer Support.