Auto Started TP Is Not Invoked if TP Has Mixed-Case TP Name (158515)

SYMPTOMS

The SNA Server logs the following events in the Microsoft Windows NT Application Event Log if the Autostarted Transaction Program (TP) fails to start because the TP Name contains any lower case letters:

   Event ID: 21
   Source: SNA Server
   Description: (1124) Negative Response Sent on Connection
                <connection name> (SENSE = 846)

   Event ID: 60
   Source: SNA Server
   Description: Failed to invoke APPC TP <TP Name in EBCDIC> (TP Name in
                ASCII), sense data = 84c0000

NOTE: Event 60, sense data 084C0000, is a common error that occurs when SNA Server receives an FMH-5 Attach (conversation startup request for a specified TP name) and the TP name is not configured in the SNA "subdomain" or cannot be started. It is very uncommon for the TP name to be defined in mixed-case format; the problem documented in this article is not a common cause of the above events.

CAUSE

This problem is only an issue for Autostarted TPs that have a mixed-case TP name. The SnaBase service reads the configured TP entries from the registry and adds them to SNA Server's Service Table to register them in the SNA Server Subdomain. SnaBase was automatically capitalizing the TP Name even if the TP had been configured in the Registry with a mixed-case TP Name.

When SNA Server tries to invoke a TP, it searches through the Service Table to match the TP Name that it receives in an Incoming Attach with one that is listed in the Service Table. In this case, the Incoming Attach specified a mixed-case TP Name, and because the Service Table only contained the upper-case name, the TP could not be started, resulting in the errors listed above.

Notes:

Operator started TPs with a mixed-case TP Name do not experience this problem.
TPSETUP automatically capitalizes the TP Name in the Registry when it is used to set up the TP. If you need to set up a TP with a mixed-case name, you will need to set it up manually. Please refer to Chapter 2 of the SNA Server [ASCII 147]APPC Programmer's Guide[ASCII 148] for more information on how to configure invokable TPs.

RESOLUTION

Use TP Names that contain only upper-case characters.

Because it may not always be possible to avoid mixed-case TP Names, a fix has been made to SNA Server so that TP Names are no longer automatically capitalized before they are put into the Service Table.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft SNA Server versions 2.0, 2.10, 2.11, and 2.11 Service Pack 1. This problem was corrected in the latest Microsoft SNA Server 2.11 U.S. Service Pack. For information on obtaining the service pack, query on the following word in the Microsoft Knowledge Base (without the spaces):

S E R V P A C K