UniAccess Home&nsbp Information

UniAccess is designed and implemented to fully utilize Unisys OS 2200 system software to the greatest degree possible. The UniAccess Transaction Server system-level components that interact with OS 2200 communications, scheduling, and transaction monitoring processes include the UniAccess Communication Server (UACS) and the UniAccess Fixed-gate (UAFG). Other components of UATS include the UniAccess Server-Library, the UniAccess ODBC Driver, and the UniAccess Distributed Transaction Coordinator. These components act together to transform the Unisys 2200 into a Microsoft-architecture compatible server by performing the following functions:establish and manage the client/server interactioninteroperate with client applications or SQL Servers using the TDS protocolprocess client requests through ODBC and Open Client interfacesperform host-to-client datatype conversionsmanage error, information, and security control messagesAll of the client and server-side components listed below are packaged together, priced, and licensed under the product name of UniAccess Transaction Server. UATS makes it possible for a multitude of industry-leading development tools, end-user query tools, and off-the-shelf packages to interact with OS 2200 data sources without restriction or modification. UniAccess Server-Library (UASL) is a set of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that enable Unisys TIP transactions to act as stored procedures in the Microsoft architecture. Using the Server-Library functions, programmers create RPC-processing transactions (although they may create general-purpose SQL language transactions as well). Client applications can then issue RPC calls through the ODBC or Open Client interfaces. These RPCs map to customer-written TIP transactions that access and update any mainframe data source accessible to TIP, interface to any other TIP transaction or resource, and respond to the client or server that initiates the RPC. OS 2200 batch programs may also utilize UASL. UASL functions are accessible from the TIP environment using the standard subroutine "CALL" procedure. UASL provides the error-reporting facilities common to ODBC and Open Client interfaces. UniAccess Communication Server (UACS) on the OS 2200 mainframe, provides the communication link between UniAccess on the Unisys 2200 and all other Microsoft architectural components across the network. UniAccess interacts across the network using TCP/IP through either the Unisys DCP or HLC. UACS utilizes the Unisys TSAM communications interface, which is part of the Unisys CMS. The operations of UACS, as well as the other interoperability components of the architecture, are transparent to the user, so no programming or knowledge of its functions and protocols is required. UACS can handle large numbers of users, and multiple UACSs may run on a single host. UACS utilizes the MCB for scheduling transactions to allow existing transaction management and tuning capabilities to be utilized. UniAccess Fixed-Gate (UAFG) is a system-wide shared sub-system that contains a number of core services essential to the UniAccess System. UAFG contains the UniAccess Data Manager (UADT) and the UniAccess Message Manager (UAMM) that manage user, remote server, message, and other information. It also contains the UniAccess Server-Library. The services provided by UAFG are transparent to the user. UniAccess Distributed Transaction Coordinator (UADTC) extends Microsoft's Windows distributed transaction capabilities to the Unisys OS 2200 environment. With the UADTC serving as a gateway between the Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (MS DTC) and the UniAccess System, OS 2200 distributed-transaction-enabled resources can be updated as part of an MS DTC-controlled transaction. UniAccess' distributed transaction support uses proven transaction processing technology: it is robust despite system failures, process failures, and communication failures; and it exploits loosely coupled systems to provide scalable performance. UniAccess ODBC Driver (UADriver) is the PC component that allows Microsoft ODBC-compatible client applications and tools to have ODBC access to OS 2200. The driver processes ODBC function calls from a wide variety of client tools, submits SQL and RPC requests to UniAccess server components, and returns results to the application. It works in conjunction with the Microsoft supplied Driver Manager, appearing to the application as one processing unit. Please note that all the components required by UniAccess on a Microsoft Windows client or server system are bundled at no additional cost with UATS. With the licensing of the mainframe products, AIS provides a no-cost license to use these desktop components on an unlimited number of customer systems that are connected to the OS 2200 mainframes.