iSeries Navigator: A World of Wizards

February 18, 2004 Shannon O'Donnell

When learning to do something, whether programming on a computer or playing a song on the banjo, it is always easier when you have someone standing by to teach you all those little tricks and tips that make the task easier. When it is not possible to have such an expert on hand, the next best thing is to have a tool that can teach you. In iSeries Navigator, the experts are wizards.

A wizard is a piece of software or a program that was written to guide users through completing a task, usually by using a straight-forward, logical sequence of questions in plain-English. The iSeries Navigator has many wizards you can use to rapidly complete unfamiliar or not-often-used tasks.

AVAILABLE WIZARDS

The Add a Connection Wizard is perhaps the most familiar of all wizards. It’s used to configure a new connection to an iSeries from a PC client. That connection may take the form of a 5250 emulator or a local AS/400 printer, or even an iSeries Navigator connection. The Add a Connection Wizard is found in the task pad at the bottom of the iSeries Navigator utility when it first starts. You can also find the Add a Connection Wizard by right-clicking the Windows desktop and selecting “Add/AS/400 Desktop Icon” from the right-click context menu.

The Enterprise Identity Mapping Wizard is used to configure your system to participate in an Enterprise Identity Mapping (EIM) domain. Using this wizard, you can configure your system to join an existing EIM domain, or you can create a new EIM domain by using your directory server as the domain controller. You can find the Enterprise Identity Mapping Wizard by expanding the “Network” tree item in iSeries Navigator and clicking the “Enterprise Identity Mapping” tree item. (For more information on EIM, go to IBM’s Web site.)

The Internet Setup Wizard can be found by expanding the “Network” tree item in iSeries Navigator and clicking the “Internet” tree item. Once there, in the taskpad at the bottom of iSeries Navigator, you will find an item labeled “Internet Setup Wizard.” Click this item to start the wizard. With this wizard you can connect your iSeries system to a network by connecting directly to an Internet service provider; via a Web data or application server to a protected network; or via a Web data or application server to a private network.

The Security Wizard is found in the iSeries Navigator task pad after clicking the “Security” tree item. This wizard can be used to configure most of the security aspects of your iSeries server. From security system values to password lengths: You can do it all with this wizard. (There’s an example using this wizard below.)

The IPv4 Configuration Wizard (LAN) configures your iSeries Ethernet adapter for connecting to a Local Area TCP/IP network. This wizard will step you through setting up an Ethernet card on your iSeries to connect to a network. To locate this wizard, expand the “Network” tree item, then expand the “TCP/IP Configuration” tree item, and then click the “New Local Area Network (LAN) Interface” link in the task pad.

The IPv4 Configuration Wizard (WAN) configures your iSeries Ethernet adapter for connecting to a Wide Area Network TCP/IP network. If you have not yet set up an Ethernet card on your iSeries to connect to a WAN, this wizard will step you through everything you need to know to achieve it. You can locate this wizard by expanding the “Network” tree item, then expanding the “TCP/IP Configuration” tree item, and clicking on “New Wide Area Network (LAN) Interface” link in the task pad.

The Virtual TCP/IP Interface Wizard configures your iSeries to route all IP traffic for all of your iSeries systems across a single virtual interface. This is useful for load balancing, network address translation frame relay access, and unnumbered networks. You can locate this wizard by expanding the “Network” tree item, expanding the “TCP/IP Configuration” tree item, and clicking the “New Virtual IP Interface” link in the task pad.

The IPv6 Configuration Wizard prepares your iSeries for the newest technology to hit the Internet, IPv6. It configures a single Ethernet adapter in your iSeries to connect to a native IPv6 network. You can also use this wizard to configure a tunnel to allow IPv6 traffic to flow over an IPv4 network. Locate this wizard by expanding the “Network” tree item, expanding the “TCP/IP Configuration” tree item, then clicking the “Configure IPv6” link in the task pad.

The Dial-Up Connection Wizard is useful if you only want to access the Internet from your iSeries through a dial-up connection. It connects your iSeries to an Internet service provider. You can locate this wizard by expanding the “Network” tree item, expanding the “Remote Access Services” tree item, then clicking the “New Intranet or ISP Dial Connection” link in the task pad.

The IBM Universal Connection Wizard is found by expanding the “Network” tree item, expanding the “Remote Access Services” tree item, then clicking the “Configure IBM Universal Connection” link in the task pad. It’s used to configure a connection to IBM for electronic customer support (ECS).

The iSeries NetServer Configuration Wizard configures your server for Windows Network Neighborhood support, for mapping network drives on Windows PCs. You can locate this wizard by expanding the “Network” tree item, expanding the “Servers” tree item, and then clicking the “Configure iSeries NetServer” link in the task pad.

The DHCP Configuration Wizard configures your iSeries as a DHCP server when you want to serve IP addresses to IP clients on your network from your iSeries. Locate this wizard by expanding the “Network” tree item, expanding the “Servers” tree item, and clicking the “Configure System as DHCP Server” link in the task pad.

The Directory Services Configuration Wizard configures your iSeries as a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) directory server. You can locate this wizard by expanding the “Network” tree item, expanding the “Servers” tree item, and clicking the “Configure System as Directory Server” link in the task pad.

The Install and Configure Domino Wizard is useful if you need to install and configure Domino on your iSeries server. Locate this Wizard by expanding the “Network” tree item, expanding the “Servers” tree item, and clicking the “Install and Configure Domino” link in the task pad.

A SECURITY WIZARD EXAMPLE

Take a look at how easy a wizard makes a hard-to-understand task. In this example, we’ll use the Security Wizard to configure the security of an iSeries system.

To begin, click the “iSeries Navigator Security” tree item, then double-click the “Configure the Security of the Server” link in the task pad. You’ll see a panel like the one shown in this figure.

Click the “Next” button. You will be asked to characterize the general security policy of the server. You will indicate whether you require a very strong security policy for your server, possibly because it will be available on the Internet, or a less secure security policy, perhaps because your system never connects to a network. Answer this question, then click the “Next” button. You then will be asked what types of applications you most often run.

Answer appropriately here, based on your own use, and click the “Next” button.

You are next asked if you have terminals that are easily accessible by individuals not authorized to the system. A good example is if you have applications that run on public access terminals, or if your AS/400 display stations are in a public environment where anyone can gain access to them. Answer appropriately and click the “Next” button.

Next, you are asked if you are on an SNA network. In years past, this answer would have always been yes if you communicated with other AS/400 systems. Today, this answer will most often be no, since most AS/400 systems communicate via TCP/IP, rather than SNA. Answer appropriately here and click the “Next” button.

In the next panel, you are asked if your AS/400 is on an iSeries network. Answer appropriately here and click the “Next” button.

In the next panel you are asked if your AS/400 is connected to the Internet. Answer appropriately here and then click the “Next” button.

The next question involves whether your system is part of–actually managed by–another system on your local or a non-local network. Answer appropriately here and click the “Next” button.

You are next asked if your users will be using NetServer to manage and work with your iSeries from a Windows PC. If you have users who map network drives to your iSeries, for example, answer yes to this question. If you are not sure, answer yes anyway. Answer appropriately and click the “Next” button.

The next question is whether your AS/400 is networked to other AS/400s at OS/400 V5R1 or below. If you are working with operating systems below V5R1, you will not be able to take advantage of the new password lengths introduced in V5R1. Answer appropriately here and click the “Next” button.

The next question, “Do you want to audit security-related actions on your server?” is used to control how the QAUDLVL system security value is set. Answer appropriately and click the “Next” button.

Next, you are asked if you want to automatically run security reports. It is always a good idea to answer yes to this question. Answer appropriately and click the “Next” button. Next, select the report interval you need, on the following question.

Finally, you are ready to view the settings that will be configured, based on the choices you made with this wizard, by clicking the “Details” panel from the next panel. When you do, you will see a panel like the one shown in this figure.

Take a look at the various settings that will be configured by the Security Wizard if you choose to leave them as shown here. If you don’t like a particular setting, you can change it here by selecting or deselecting the option in this panel.

The last options you are given are to print a couple of different reports of the security options that the wizard chose (or that you chose on the last panel), and whether to commit the changes to your iSeries server. What’ nice here is that, if you do not want to make these changes immediately, you can choose to save them here and come back in at some later time to put them into effect.

EASY AS 1, 2, 3

Wizards are a great way to solve a difficult task in a simple way by stepping through a series of questions in plain-English. Take a look at some of the other wizards in iSeries Navigator. It is a great way to learn how things work.