Network Connection Strings

Network connection strings are used to specify the network location of a Uniface Router, Uniface Server, or other server, such as SMTP or POP server. They can be used in path assignments, command line strings, and parameters to identify a target application, or to describe the current application.

Network connection string: NetworkConnector:{ HostId}{+{PortNumber}:TLSProfile}

As part of a path: NetworkConnector:{ HostId}{+{PortNumber}:TLSProfile}|{UserName}|{Password} {|SymbolicName}

Arguments

  • NetworkConnector—three-letter code for the network connector; one of TCP or TLS. Default is TCP, but it is not always possible to omit this value in path assignments.
  • HostId—host machine where the Uniface Router that handles requests for a server is running. If omitted, the default is localhost ( the current machine). It can be specified as:
    • A Domain Name Server (DNS) entry, such as mycompany.com
    • An Network Information Service (NIS) entry, such as examplehost
    • An IP address, such as 93.184.216.119 (TCP4) or 2606:2800:220:6d:26bf:1447:1097:aa7 (TCP6).

    The format of the IP address, either as specified or as resolved by the DNS or NIS entry, determines the version of the TCP/IP protocol used. For more information, see Host Identification for TCP/IP and TLS.

  • PortNumber—port number on which the server or Uniface Router listens. If omitted, the default depends on the type of server and protocol. For the Uniface Router on TCP, it is 13001.
  • TLSProfile—name of a TLS connection profile that is defined in the [NET_SETTINGS] section of the assignment file; applicable only if NetworkConnector is TLS. For more information, see TLS Connection Profiles.
  • UserName—user name under which the target application runs. Required when specifying a server or identifying a target application for a postmessage; otherwise optional. It may include operating system-specific information such as, a domain name used by the host to validate UserName.

    For example, Marketing\JohnDoe is used on Windows platforms, where Marketing is the domain name and JohnDoe is the user name.

  • Password—password for the Username account. Required in the path to an entity, service, or file; otherwise optional.
  • SymbolicName—application identifier, either that of the current application or a target application, such as the UST of a Uniface Server. For more information, see Uniface Server Types (UST).

The HostID, PortNumber, UserName, and Password may be replaced by a question mark (?) or omitted completely. If one of these elements is omitted, it is replaced by the corresponding part of a default path. After such replacements, if a question mark is present, and the target connector requires those parts of the connection string, a logon dialog is displayed and the user must enter the required information manually.

Description

The Uniface Router is always involved in the physical connection, so the first part of a path is normally the connection string to the Uniface Router and the second part pertains to the server, or other target application. For example:

Network connector string, showing parts pertaining to Uniface Router and Uniface Server

For a target application:

  • In path assignments, the network connector string could be a path to an entity, or a service, or a file. In this case, both UserName and Password need to be specified, because they are required to start a Uniface Server.
  • In the Destination parameter of a postmessage command, it needs to specify the UserName and SymbolicName because these are used in combination to identify an existing application.

For the current application:

  • The assignment setting $DEFAULT_NET can be used to specify the default values for all the arguments in a network connector string, except the SymbolicName. If $DEFAULT_NET is not specified, the argument default (if there is one) is used.

    Note:  When $DEFAULT_NET is used in the urouter.asn file, UserName and Password are ignored.

  • When using the $DNP path setting or /dnp switch, neither the UserName nor Password must be supplied. Although the UserName is used in the Uniface Router, the application determines its own UserName and provides it to the Uniface Router when registering.

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