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FOCUS on Network Integration

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Computer networking goes back to the early 1960s, when an airline reservation system needed to retrieve information from a mainframe. With that first data transmission, networking was born. Incidentally, that’s probably also when the science of losing airline luggage went high tech. Regardless, that first primitive communications application was heralded as the electronic marvel of its time.

Today, a person in Lisbon, Spain, can trade salad recipes with a person in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, via the Internet, and we never even give this a second thought. It’s amazing how rapidly technology has progressed and how easily we take it for granted. What’s even more amazing is the reluctance of many businesses to take advantage of the Internet and electronic commerce. For most, the reason is likely due to a lack of knowledge about what e-commerce and the Internet can do for them, not to mention the myriad technical issues a business must contend with to successfully use e-commerce. We want to help you overcome those misgivings by providing you with some of the knowledge you may be missing.

In this issue, you’re going to learn how to connect your AS/400 to the Internet, how to allow Internet/intranet users to access your AS/400 data, and how to protect yourself from potential security exposures. Finally, as an added bonus, we’re previewing “Windows NT and the AS/400: Past, Present, and Future,” an in-depth management look at the impact of the Windows NT Server on the AS/400 community. This excerpt is from a detailed technical analysis written by Jim Hoopes and will appear in full in the June issue of MC. With V4R2 of OS/400 and the IPCS, Windows NT has become so important to the AS/400 community that we felt you should begin now to consider how it may help your networking strategy in the months and years to come.

Perhaps one of your biggest concerns about networking at this point is, “What do we do with it?” Let’s assume that your business has been successfully selling a great product for years, but now you want to take advantage of the tremendous exposure you can receive on the Internet. What’s next? Obviously, you need to connect your AS/400 to the

Internet to reap that benefit. Laura Knapp shows you how to do this by explaining how to implement the HTTP server for Internet and e-commerce.

As the AS/400 becomes the Internet server of choice, it will also become an even greater target and challenge for hackers. With IBM positioning the AS/400 as the answer to e-commerce and the proliferation of TCP/IP and the Internet, the potential for a security breach becomes worldwide. Fortunately, with V4R2, IBM has given us a means of protection for our valuable data. David Money shows us how to set up and implement the IPCS firewall so you too can keep out those with malicious intent.

OK, so far you’ve got a means of allowing others to access your system and a secure firewall between your AS/400 and the world at large. Now, you need to let that virtual community have access to your data. What better way to do this than by using the latest gem from Lotus? In this issue, Timothy Laurent provides us with a primer to Lotus Notes and Domino. By the time you finish, you’ll be armed with the knowledge of how it works and how to use these tools in your Internet/intranet network environment.

It’s a bold step you are about to take. You are going from a closed system of a limited number of users to one that has the potential to let millions of people touch your business and access your data. It can be quite daunting, but the rewards for those who persevere and make networking and e-commerce a part of their business will more than outweigh the initial uncertainty. The information in the articles you are about to read will provide you with the foundation to get started on this brave new journey.

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