APPC Application Works on SNA 2.11, Fails on SNA 4.0 (214614)

SYMPTOMS

After upgrading from SNA Server 2.11 to SNA Server 4.0, an APPC application started failing with the following allocation error:

primary_rc = AP_ALLOCATION_ERROR (0x0003)
secondary_rc = AP_SECURITY_NOT_VALID (0x080F6051)

When the application attempted to allocate a conversation by specifying security = AP_SAME and a user ID, SNA Server 4.0 no longer sent any security information to the host, causing the host to reject the FMH-5 Attach request.

CAUSE

Under SNA Server 4.0, SNA Server no longer sends security vectors in the FMH-5 Attach request if the APPC application specifies security = AP_SAME, and the host indicates no support for "already verified" or "persistent verification." Byte 23 of the host BIND indicates the security options supported by the host for an LU6.2 session. In this particular case, the host BIND indicated support for receiving security information in FMH-5 Attach requests, but no support for "already verified" or "persistent verification."

RESOLUTION

SNA Server 4.0

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for SNA Server version 4.0. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

215838 How to Obtain the Latest SNA Server Version 4.0 Service Pack

SNA Server 3.0

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for SNA Server version 3.0. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

184307 How to Obtain the Latest SNA Server Version 3.0 Service Pack

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in SNA Server 3.0 SP3, 4.0, 4.0 SP1 and 4.0 SP2. This problem was first corrected in SNA Server version 3.0 Service Pack 4 and SNA Server version 4.0 Service Pack 3.

MORE INFORMATION

When this fix is applied, SNA Server reverts to 2.11 behavior and includes the user ID *and* password in the FMH-5 Attach request, when the application requests security = AP_SAME, and the host indicates support for receiving access security information in the FMH-5 Attach request.