MG Technologies - Products & Services




	Annual Technical Support Common Questions How Do We Contact MG Technologies? Availability MG Technologies technical support is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Non-Emergencies For questions and non-emergency issues a call should be placed directly to our office. During off-hours a computer system is available to have someone paged after the call is complete. Emergencies For emergencies, you can call a pager directly. If you do not have the pager number you may call our office. A secretary or the computer will be able to page someone. We use a priority system that allows us to respond to emergencies based on their severity. Cellular phones allow us to quickly return your calls from almost anywhere. E-Mail We have various E-mail addresses, all available via the Internet. How Does MG Technologies Provide Assistance? Telephone Most technical support calls are resolved over the phone. Dial-Up Support We can dial into your system from our office or from a portable computer. See the next page for complete connection information. Routine monitoring and tuning requires that we log into the system. Mail Technical bulletins and FYIs are mailed to one or more individuals. FAX Urgent technical bulletins, FYIs or other information is faxed. On-Site On-site time for non-emergencies should be scheduled as early as possible. Who Does The Work? That is entirely up to you. We can simply "orchestrate" all work including tuning. Most people allow us to perform routine tuning and other non-critical work, then provide them with a status report. Others want us to perform all of the systems work. Either way, your staff will be completely involved. How Does MG Technologies Connect to Us? Overview We use SNA over Asynch or SDLC. We also use TN3270 (TCP/IP) over Asynch. Both allow us to work quickly and efficiently. Asynch provide much better response times. An SNA connection provides the highest level of security, see the next page for security information. The connection provides multiple concurrent sessions that can be used to work, print or file transfer simultaneously. Physical Connection The connection can be an analog dial line operating at 33,600 BPS, a digital leased line to 64,000 BPS, or an ISDN line. Equipment To provide the connection, the following hardware must be available: A standard POTS telephone line or ISDN line. An ISDN adapter or a V.34 modem (33600 bps). For SNA or TCP/IP over asynch we recommend an IBM 2210 connected to the host via ethernet. In addition, a V.90 asynch modem is needed. For an SDLC connection, a 3745 or similar communication controller is needed. A V.34 synchronous modem is also required. A type 1 LIC will provide 19200 bps using a V.34 modem, A type 3 LIC provides a connection at 33600. A type 3 LIC uses a V.35 electrical connection between the line and modem. If you do not have a communication controller or host LAN access, it is possible to provide an SDLC connection through a local SNA 3174 using a special device connected to one of the 3174 ports. Contact us for more information regarding this equipment. A TCP/IP connection varies in requirements. Security See below for complete security information. What's On Our End We use OS/2 PCS with Communication Manager/2 and PC/3270 for OS/2. We also use IBM 3174 controllers. However, we most often connect using PCs. This allows us to use Workstation Platform that provides a graphical interface to the mainframe libraries and spooler. It also allows us to ship new software utilities quickly. Other Information The line can be utilized by members of your staff provided they have the appropriate hardware and software. Most of our support customers provide their systems programmers access to this line. Some use it for night and weekend operations. We can connect as an asynchronous terminal but do not recommend it. It is too slow for normal work. SDLC Dialup Security Considerations It is extremely important for every mainframe system to protect against intruders. There has been a lot of media attention given to computer hackers. They say "all you need is a modem". For the most part, this is true if someone wants to dial into an asynchronous connection. Of course, once they are connected, other security measures such as dial-back and user passwords have to be overcome. To ensure a bullet proof dial up security mechanism for our customers, MG Technologies uses an SDLC connection. It not only provides the highest level of security, it is also the most productive connection. With an SDLC connection we can work in multiple sessions, print, and transfer files to a customer simultaneously. Here are the security considerations: The caller has to know the telephone number. The caller must have a synchronous modem, not the common asynchronous modem. The modem has to be properly configured for SDLC to connect. The caller must have an actual 3174 or PC equipped with an SDLC card. No one has this equipment except for people specifically authorized to dial into mainframes. If the caller uses a PC, in addition to an SDLC board they also need an SDLC 3270 emulation program. No ordinary communication program has this capability. A special program designed for this purpose such as Extra!, Rumba, or Communication Manager must be used. In addition, the emulation program must be configured to match the mainframe definition of the sessions. There is a hardware key involved. The 3174 or PC program must contain a key called an XID, that must match a key in the network definition to define the physical hardware authorized to connect. The XID requires that the following elements match: A 1 byte address, 256 possible combinations (required) A 3 byte XID header, 4,095 possible combinations (required) A 5 byte XID, 1,048,575 possible combinations (required) An optional 8 character CPNAME (may be used in place of previous two items) Each person authorized to dial into the system can have their own key and configuration information. If there is a need to ensure that someone can no longer dial into the system, simply remove their definition. No one else is affected. Finally, there is user security. The person must possess the correct user ID and password for the host security program. Even if the caller is authorized to dial into the system, most security systems limit access to only those files needed by the caller. As you can see, it is impossible to dial into an SDLC connection without the proper hardware and software, and without setting up the XID by the network personnel. Keep in mind that computer "hackers" don't typically have access to this equipment. An inexpensive 3174 still costs about $1500. An SDLC board costs about $200-$350. A 3270 emulation program costs $300-$500. This is not the kind of investment that people make unless there is a specific need and they know they can connect. How Much Does This Cost? One Time Charges If you do not have an existing SDLC dial-up capability, then the telephone line and modem must be purchased. A commercial quality V.3400 modem cost about $670. If you do not have a 37x5 controller, the unit needed to provide dial-up SDLC to a local SNA 3174 controller is $2675. Monthly Charges Your monthly charges are based on the support desired, products installed, staff size, and other factors. Once we know what products are installed in your environment and evaluate your typical needs, we can provide the cost for the support contract. Our objective is to save you more than you pay us. You will be provided excellent technical support, training and software at an extremely low cost. Reimbursements We will invoice your for telephone charges used for connection to the computer. Some clients provide us with an 800 number that they use for other purposes. You will also reimburse us for travel related charges such as air fare and hotel expenses. However, travel to a site is only needed for operating system installation, training and at your request. Travel is kept to a minimum. How Long Does The Service Continue? The costs are based on a twelve month contract. Some months may require extremely long amounts of time while other months may require little of our time. The cost for a years worth of work is simply spread out over twelve months. To make you feel more comfortable, there is a 30 day cancellation clause available after the first 120 days.

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