linux os/400 connection fails at second try

You should check the system values QAUTOCRT and QAUTODEV. The first controls if devices (such as Telnet-display devices) may be created dynamically and the second controls how many devices (in total) may be dynamically created. Your first successful attempt to connect may have been to an already existing device and at your following attempts this device may have been occupied by somebody else. If you look in the AS/400, you may also check what device-types are available. Check with WRKCFGSTS *DEV QVRT* or WRKCFGSTS *DEV QPAD* which are defined and which are currently used. Also check if any are in pending or failed status.
One more comment: If available, use TN5250 - you've got much more control over function keys and the like.

/Joakim

Yes, the device ID of your telnet workstation may be vary off by AS400. so to make it easy, just vary on all device state with QPAD* using wrkcfgsts or wrkdevd.

Joakim, I'm looking for quite some time for a TN5250 for Linux. All there is now, is a Beta emulator.
Good connections between Linux and AS/400 are not quite that easy (if totally not) to make.

Well, that's true. Sorry to say, but I don't know of any TN5250-emulator for Linux - I only know that you you'll hate using VT100 or something similar with an AS/400. Keybord mapping and screen colours will only work if you use TN5250.

/Joakim

Found it !!!
http://www.blarg.net/~mmadore/5250.html

Here you find the only working tn5250 emulator for Linux.

I start it with:
xt5250 -s session -y IBM-3477-FC ipnumber

Where the IBM-3477-FC supports 132 columns.

guzu, your problem might be, that the as/400 has 132 colums, what is not supported under telnet wit 'vt100' screens.
so, download the latest program,
gzip -dc filename | tar -xvf-
go to new directory
../configure
../make
../make check
../make install
startx
in usr/local/bin there should be xt5250,
use the paramaters -s sessionname
-y screenname
ipnumber or hostname


Hope it helps,
Justus

Make sure that you are not connecting using a named session.  

For example,

  if you connect to the 400 using:
          tn5250 -s mysession  my.400.ip.address

then if you do a WRKACTJOB under QINTER you will see the device mysession logged in with your user id.  If you try to connect to the 400 again, then it will not let you, because it is trying to connect to the same device and it is already in use.

try to connect twice to the 400 just by using telnet from a command line.  To get your function keys use ESC + the number of the keyboard.  ( e.g.  for F11 use ESC + - for F16 use ESC + $ [Shift 4] ).  This will definitely dynamically assign device names for sure and you can then rule out if you are just running out of devices or if it is something simple like a named session.  

Hope this helps.

so, it has been proved that tn5250 is a great tool for conneting, also that my connection fails due to as400's telnet server failure... still, i don't know why, under some(?) conditions, the telnet server goes down... the last known example follows: after first try of tn5250, didn't know how to stop it (after logout) and tried Ctrl-C wich shows me a beautiful 'X SYSTEM' on the bottom of the screen, panic was there so i 'killall tn5250' and go home without looking back... the day after, there was no more TELNET server running on as400. i've looked at the logs and surprise! it was down after that Ctrl-C. can anybody tell me why?

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