Secure APPC Communications

APPC communications can occur between any two APPC-capable systems: mainframe-to-mainframe, mainframe-to-workstation, or workstation-to-workstation. Some of these configurations provide better security than others. If two systems communicate using a physically secure connection, you can be certain of the identity of the system at either end of the connection. Communicating across a Local Area Network (LAN) or Wide Area Network (WAN), on the other hand, may legitimately raise concerns about the identity of the communications partners.

As in all communications, APPC application programmers and network administrators must be sensitive to the security needs of their customers. Both have a responsibility to understand the two primary aspects to APPC security: authentication and authorization.