Connecting to AS/400 via internet

[dsmc]

I want to be able to allow sign-ons to my as400 though the internet. We already connect thru tcp/ip on our lan with 5250 emulation. Is it as easy as just opening up a certain port on our firewall? Or do we need special hardware and/or software? And what about security concerns?
Thanks,

 

[flapeyre]

We do this through a Cisco VPN. Once the VPN client is active on the PC, it's just as fast (through a DSL connection) as being at the office.

You may have to tweak the client's firewall to allow certain ports through, though.

De mortuis nihil nisi bonum.

 

[jrjuiliano]

Security should be your biggest concern. I don't know what you are using your system for, but I'm not hooking up my patient management software to the 'Net that easily.

There are a TON of remote access solutions you might want to look at. Depending on how you plan on supporting your clients, there's Perle and BosCom and a bunch of other companies to choose remote access solutions. Then there's VPN, etc... Remember that by default 5250 sessions are done over telnet, which is a bad thing over the Intar-web IMHO.

Right now I'm looking at a solution from BosCom called Jadvantage server. It runs either on the AS/400 or on a standalone PC with it's own little web server and Java applets. The best part is that you get "green screen" emulation over a web browser, including printing support, which removes the need to install client access or any other emulation program at the remote site. I'm going to see about putting a PC with the software against the firewall and then to the iSeries I have. If there are any problems I can just disconnect the PC instead of the iSeries. So far it looks like a really nice product. No affiliation, blah blah blah.

Oh, and Client Access Express does have SSL capabilities and other secure methods of connection; I just never played with them.

J.R.