KB196957 - Using SFGW to Save Files May Cause Task Dump on S/36 or AS/36

Article ID: 196957

Article Last Modified on 10/31/2003

Microsoft SNA Server 4.0 Service Pack 1

This article was previously published under Q196957

SYMPTOMS

When you use the SNA Server's Shared Folders Gateway (SFGW) feature to save files on a System/36 (S/36) and Advanced System/36 (AS/36) computer, the S/36 or AS/36 computer may issue a task dump and register a process failure. The S/36 or AS/36 computer will remain operational after this occurs, but the file(s) are not saved in the shared folder(s) on the system.

This problem was observed when using Microsoft Word to edit one or more files located on the S/36 shared folders drive, using the Microsoft Word RFTDCA converter. However, this problem could also occur when using other applications to manipulate files on the S/36 drive.

CAUSE

The SFGW service has a pool of APPC conversations, which are used for processing file requests. A file can be created using one conversation and then accessed using other conversations in the pool. This mechanism can cause S/36 and AS/36 systems to generate a task dump if a conversation is used to access multiple files opened for writing. This mechanism works fine with AS/400 systems.

RESOLUTION

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in SNA Server version 4.0 Service Pack 1. This problem was corrected in the latest SNA Server version 4.0 U.S. Service Pack. For information on obtaining this Service Pack, query on the following word in the Microsoft Knowledge Base (without the spaces):

S E R V P A C K

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in SNA Server version 4.0 Service Pack 1 when using the update that adds S/36 support to the SFGW feature.

MORE INFORMATION

The SFGW feature requires the SNA Server 4.0 post-Service Pack 1 update referred to in the following Knowledge Base article to support connections to S/36 and AS/36 systems:

194934 Shared Folders Gateway Doesn't Support S/36 or AS/36

The problem described in this article only applies to SNA Server 4.0 Service Pack 1 systems that have applied the update described in the article listed here.

After you apply the update to prevent a task dump from occurring on S/36 and AS/36 systems when saving files through SFGW, the number of files that can be opened for write access will be limited to the number of parallel sessions negotiated for the QPCSUPP mode. If the QPCSUPP mode is configured for a parallel session limit of 8, only eight files can be opened for write access on the S/36 or AS/36 computer through the SFGW service. If another request to open a file for write access is received while eight files are open, the request will be queued until one of the previous eight files is closed. The limit of open files only applies to SFGW connections to S/36 or As/36 systems. Other SFGW connections to AS/400 systems on the same SNA Server will not be affected by this limitation.

NOTE: When using Microsoft Word to edit files located on the S/36 computer (through the shared folders gateway), Word creates a temporary file on the destination directory. When the user saves their changes (or if Word is configured to autosave), the temporary file is copied over the original file name.

Keywords: kbbug kbfix KB196957