VOLUME 21 - BULLETIN #139

Effective immediately, the Clearing Corporation has made available to our customers a web-based 3270 Emulation Program. This program will allow access to the OTIS, GAINS, ATOM, etc. systems via the worldwide web.

The Board Of Trade Clearing Corporation’s Operations Task Force, which is a group of operations managers representing a cross section of the clearing membership, was given access to the url to test the ability to access 3270 over the Internet. Based on the tests and comments of these users, we are now making this feature available to everyone.

Please keep in mind that system performance over the Internet can vary and is impacted by the type of remote connection you have and on the performance of your Internet Service Provider. It is recommended that this feature be used to access the clearing system from a remote location such as a home PC. Do not use this connection in place of your normal back office network access.

The following Frequently Asked Questions are designed to guide users through the process of launching and running the application.

How do I start the 3270 via the Internet Application?

Users are directed to log into the Clearing Corporation Secure Site at https://firms.botcc.com. From there, users select the link to “3270 Access”.

Users will be informed that a computer program, in the form of a Java Object is being passed to you from the Board Of Trade Clearing Corporation. Click "Grant".

A subsequent box will prompt to pass an object from WRQ. (WRQ is the vendor of the emulation product).

Click “Grant". (Users will click "Grant" three times - we recommend that they also check the "Remember this decision" box each time).

The Java application is then passed to the user’s machine, where is connects through a proxy to the BOTCC host.

How long does it take to load the application?

The first time it’s run, the supporting files can take up to 4 to 5 minutes on a 56k modem connection. This is measuring from opening the page that launches the application to the appearance of the BOTCC Host login screen.

As these files are then cached locally, subsequent connections should take well under a minute at the same modem speed.

Why does my 3270 emulator “keep going away”?

The emulator depends on the “launch” web page to stay open. Although there is a note on the page that explains this, some users may close the page or the browser altogether, in an effort to tidy up their OS desktops. This will cause the emulator to close. The user will then be required to have their session cancelled by BOTCC in order to reconnect.

The application won’t run. What do I need to do?

Some customer sites do not allow local Java applets to be passed through their corporate firewalls. Unfortunately, there is no workaround for this (other than a change to your policy) and these customers will not be able use this product while in their offices.

The application runs and looks like it will connect, but at the last minute I get an error that says “Unable to connect to Host”. What do I need to do?

The Clearing Corporation is positioning this product as tool for firms to use on occasions when it is impossible or impractical to reach us via the Customer Network.

If a user wants to use the 3270 on the Internet product through the Customer Network, port 1050 must be opened on your firewall.

How does a user change his/her keyboard mappings?

Currently we will only support a generic keyboard map that is defined by the Clearing Corp. Users will not be able to customize this keyboard.

However, requests will be reviewed, and if we get enough of them, changing the generic keyboard to more closely fit the users’ needs is a simple process.

Should you have any questions, please call or e-mail one of the following Business Systems Analysts: