Setting up the PEM client

When setting up your PEM client, note the following:
  • Use the basic (also known as unmapped) conversation type. In addition to sending the data you want the partner to receive, you must add control bytes (in Assembler language or C) to convert the data into an SNA-defined format called a generalized data stream (GDS).
  • The SNA service transaction program name for the sign-on transaction program is X'06F3F0F1', which is also the transaction id (XTRANID) that must be used for the CICS® transaction CLS4. You specify XTRANID in the CICS TRANSACTION definition.
  • Run the CICS PEM server sign-on transaction as a sync level 0 transaction. If it is initiated with a sync level other than 0, it sends an ISSUE ABEND and frees the conversation.
  • Translate the userid and password into EBCDIC; if they are not in this form, the ESM cannot recognize them and issues an error. See one of the example programs which is described in Introduction to APPC password expiration management, for an example of converting userids and passwords to EBCDIC.

    If the ESM is RACF®, the userid and password must also be in uppercase characters.

  • On the ATTACH request for the sign-on transaction program specify SECURITY(NONE). CICS ignores any ATTACH security fields passed in the ATTACH function management header, FMH-5, for this transaction.
  • CICS does not support the receipt of the PROFILE option in the sign-on transaction program. If data identifier (ID) X'00' is provided, CICS returns status value X'06' (incorrect data format) with formatting error X'0002' (precluded structure present). For information about status values and formatting error values, see PEM client input and output data.
  • The new password ID, X'06', is permitted and required only with the X'FF01' request data ID. If the new password is provided with a data ID other than X'FF01', CICS returns status value X'06' (incorrect data format) with formatting error X'0002' (precluded structure present). For information about status values and formatting error values, see PEM client input and output data.
  • CICS only supports userids and passwords up to 8 characters long. If the userid or password length (after stripping blanks and nulls) exceeds 8, CICS returns status value X'06' (incorrect data format) with formatting error X'000F' (data value out of range). For information about status values and formatting error values, see PEM client input and output data.
  • Program initialization parameter (PIP) data is optional on the ALLOCATE for the sign-on transaction, and is ignored if sent.
  • If the sign-on transaction receives a GDS ISSUE SIGNAL command, it is ignored.
  • If the CICS PEM server receives a GDS ISSUE ERROR command, it replies with ERROR and frees the conversation.
  • If the CICS PEM server receives a GDS FREE command, it frees the conversation. (It does not provide diagnostic information about the type of conversation error.)
  • The CICS PEM server transaction does not support the receipt of data exceeding the maximum buffer size. If the concatenation bit in the initial LL is set, the command is ignored; concatenated data is also ignored.