Cannot Access Shared Folders with CA/400 (154103)

SYMPTOMS

When you use the IBM CA/400 client, and if Shared Folders is configured to automatically create a mapped drive to the AS/400, the conversation ends abnormally. The Shared Folders will not be available through File Manager.

If the drive letter is manually assigned in Shared Folders and the window is minimized, the Shared Folders can be accessed. However, if you close the Shared Folders application, the drive is lost.

CAUSE

In order to support IBM Client Access Shared Folders, the SNA Server Windows 3.x client must allow shared folders to share an APPC conversation and TCP/IP socket handle between different Windows tasks, which is not normally supported by Windows APPC or the Windows sockets interface. However, the SNA Server Windows 3.x client software treats CA/400 Shared Folders as a special application; however it was not handling all conditions properly.

To prevent a Shared Folders drive from being shut down, verify that the following line is in the WIN.INI file:

   CA400SHAREDFOLDERS=YES

Then add a new parameter called PersistentTasks under the [WNAP] section:

   [WNAP]
   PersistentTasks=WSTRPCS SFANSW

NOTE: The WSTRPCS parameter takes care of automatically mapping the connections, and the SFANSW parameter resolves the issue with closing the CA/400 Folders dialog box without losing the drives you created.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft SNA Server version 2.11.sp1. 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