It is not necessary to use the Transport Name Service (TNS) for linking over TCP/IP. If you nevertheless use the TNS; for instance if you link to transport systems other than TCP/IP or you wish to make use of existing TNS entries, then CMX must be installed and operation with CMX and TNS must have been explicitly activated in the operating parameters, e.g. using the command ftmodo -tns=y -cmx=y. Alternatively, in the openFT Explorer you can open the Administration menu and choose the Operating Parameters command then go to the Protocols tab and enable the options Use TNS and Use CMX.
The TNS identifies a transport system application (TS application) by means of a symbolic name known as the GLOBAL NAME. The symbolic name generally consists of up to five name parts.
These symbolic names are assigned address information. The necessary specifications, such as station name, application name, port number, etc. can be obtained from your network administrator.
Depending on the installation variant, (new installation, update installation) and the type of link, certain entries are made during the installation of openFT provided that CMX was installed on the system before the installation of openFT (see also section “TNS entries created automatically”.)
Creating default TNS entries via a script
If CMX is not installed until after openFT or if there are no current TNS entries for openFT then you can create the default TNS entries for openFT as follows:
Unix systems:
Call the script /opt/openFT/bin/ftbin/ftgentns.
Windows systems:
Call the program createtns.exe. createtns.exe is located in the \bin\ftbin subdirectory of the openFT installation directory.
Creating TNS entries manually
Unix systems:
The entries in the TNS can be made with the aid of the TNS compilers tnsxcom. To do this, enter the TS applications in a file, and then translate this file with the aid of the TNS compilers tnsxcom (see section “tnsxcom - Create the TS directory”).
Some Unix systems also provide a graphical user interface (menu system or Web interface) that you can use to enter the partner systems. For further details, refer to the CMX manual.
Windows systems:
You create TNS entries using the graphical user interface TNS User Interface that can be called from the Start menu (Start - Programs - PCMX-32 - TNS User Interface).
It can also be useful to enter the remote TS applications of the partner systems which are to issue requests to the local system. Ensure that the name, by which requests are processed with this partner, correspond to the instance ID of the remote system. If there is any doubt, a TNS input is required.
In this case, In the case of WAN partners, the partner is easier to identify for requests issued in the remote system. For example, the name of the partner as entered in the TNS is recorded in the log records. With FTAM partners which are not interconnected via TCP/IP, an entry in the TNS is the precondition.
Which entries are created or modified for which installation variant and which type of link are explained in the following section entitled “TNS entries created automatically”.
The procedure for the entry of remote TS applications is explained starting in section “Definition of a remote TS application for openFT”.
TNS entries for cluster configurations
When using cluster with openFT it is recommended to do use TNS and CMX.
Please note that cluster configurations are only supported for TCP/IP. You will therefore need to check all openFT-specific TNS entries for cluster configurations and delete those transport system entries that are not related to TCP/IP. (i.e. everything except for RFC1006 and LANINET). You will find some examples of this in section “Sample” (Windows systems) or in section “Example 1: one fail-safe instance” and in section “Example 2: Fail-safe capability for both computers in the cluster” (Unix systems).