Uploading to a Z/OS or OS/390 HTTP Server

Overview

The BlueZone Web to Host Web Server Files can be "served up" from any web server including the IBM HTTP server that ships with Z/OS and OS/390.  The IBM HTTP server is based on Apache and runs in Open MVS.

On an IBM HTTP web server, all HTML files (all files that end in .htm) and the fixActiveX.js file located in the \shared folder, must be uploaded to the mainframe as ASCII so they are converted to EBCDIC properly.  All other files should be uploaded as binary data.

This procedure is written under the assumption that HTTP services are already configured and running on the host.  This procedure only covers the transfer of the BlueZone Web-to-Host Web Server Files to the HTTP Web Server.  It does not cover the configuration of BlueZone Web-to-Host.

Procedure

In the following exercise, commands to be entered are shown on a separate line in blue type.  It is necessary (but not shown) to send an "ENTER" after each command.

Step 1 - Upload the BlueZone Web-to-Host Web Server Files to the Web Server
  1. Configure BlueZone FTP or other FTP client to connect to your mainframe.

  2. Change to the MVS Open Edition (OMVS) file system directory.  On the Rocket Software mainframe this is accomplished by changing the directory to /USR1/ by issuing the following command:

cd /usr1/

 

  1. Create a directory for BlueZone Web-to-Host called /bluezone/ by issuing the Make Directory command:

mkd bluezone

 

  1. Switch to the new BlueZone directory by issuing a Change Directory command:

cd bluezone

 

  1. On the Windows platform where the Web-to-Host Wizard is installed, locate the place where your Web-to-Host Web Server Files are stored.  This would be the place where you stored all the Sites that you created with the Web-to-Host Wizard.

  2. On the mainframe host, upload each Site including the entire sub file structure that was created by the BlueZone Web-to-Host Wizard to the new folder that you just created.  Upload all HTML files (all files that end in .htm) as ASCII.  Upload all other files as BINARY.

CAUTION!  You must not change the file structure of the Web-to-Host Web Server Files.  All folders and subfolders including all their files must be uploaded to the web server just as they were created by the Web-to-Host Wizard.  If anything is changed, you run the risk of the site becoming inoperable.

For example, if you created a site called "MySite", upload it to the "bluezone" folder as shown here:

\bluezone\mysite

 

By uploading the entire contents of the MySite folder, you will automatically be uploading all the Launch Folders that were also created by the Wizard.  Your directory structure should look something like this:

\bluezone\mysite\myfolder

Step 2 - Configure the Web Server

Once all the directories and files have been uploaded to the host, the permissions on those directories must be set and the httpd.conf file must be changed to allow access to BlueZone Web-to-Host.

To change the permissions on the BlueZone Web to Host directory:

  1. Using BlueZone Mainframe Display or other terminal emulator, connect to the mainframe hosting the web server.

  2. Enter MVS OpenEdition (OMVS).  From the ISPF Primary Option Menu, type:

M

 

  1. The Additional IBM products Panel will display.  To enter OMVS, type:

10

  1. At the OMVS prompt type:

cd /usr1/

 

The prompt will change to /usr1: >

  1. At the prompt type:

chmod -R 755 bluezone

 

  1. At the prompt type

cd bluezone

 

to change directory to /usr1/bluezone/

  1. At the prompt type

chmod -R 755 *

 

to change the permissions on the files and directories in /usr1/bluezone/

To update the web server configuration file, httpd.conf:
  1. From the OMVS prompt change directories to the IBM HTTP Server directory.  On the Rocket Software mainframe this is accomplished by typing:

cd /web/httpd1/

 

(your directory may be different)

  1. At the prompt type:

ls -1

 

to list all the files in the directory.  Look for httpd.conf

  1. Open the http.conf file for editing to add the BlueZone Web-to-Host PASS directive.  At the prompt type:

oedit httpd.conf

 

  1. Search the httpd.conf file for the PASS directive by typing:

F PASS 1

 

on the command line.  Use F5 to find more instances of PASS.

  1. At the beginning of the line for the next to the last PASS directive type:

I3

 

to insert 3 blank lines.

  1. In the second blank line type:

PASS  /bluezone/*     /usr1/bluezone/mysite/myfolder/*

 

This allows the URL users type to be:

http://yourhostname/bluezone/default.htm

 

rather than:

http://yourhostname/usr1/bluezone/mysite/myfolder/default.htm

 

  1. Press F3 to save and exit.

CAUTION!  If you plan to access BlueZone Web to Host through a dialup connection, the HTTP server OutputTimeout value must be increased from the default value of 2 minutes to 10 minutes.  The HTTP server must be restarted for these changes to take effect.

The OutputTimeout value can be found under the “Timeout Directives” section of the httpd.conf file.

Step 3 - Testing the Uploaded Files
  1. From a Windows workstation, launch your browser.

  2. Type in the URL of your web server, followed by /bluezone (or whatever you called the folder where BlueZone Web-to-Host is installed).

For example:

http://63.69.143.23/bluezone

 

or

http://www.myhost.com/bluezone

 

If your web server is set up properly, the default.htm page will launch the correct Launch Page.

  1. The Web-to-Host Control Module will download and install.  Then, a web page with a BlueZone Launch Pad will be displayed.  The Launch Pad will contain icons for one or more BlueZone emulation clients.

  2. Continue the test by launching a BlueZone emulation client session by double clicking one of the icons.

  3. If you have both Internet Explorer users and Netscape users, be sure to test with both browsers.

NOTE  When conducting browser tests, it’s okay to run IE and Netscape at the same time however, you can not launch a BlueZone display session from one browser then launch the same BlueZone display session from the other.  The second session will not launch.  You must close down the first BlueZone session (not the browser) before launching the same BlueZone session with the other browser.

Congratulations!  You have successfully configured and uploaded your BlueZone-Web-to-Host Web Server Files to your web server.