Data Center Plans Removal of Obsolete Comten Network Equipment

What and When

On October 15, 2006 the NIH Data Center plans to remove from service the Comten communications processors that are used to run the legacy VTAM/SNA network. This network has been used to connect to other data centers such as CDC and SSA as well as to connect peripheral devices such as remote printers to the mainframe.

Why?

The Data Center is getting rid of this equipment because the vendors no longer manufacture or even support it. There are TCP/IP based substitutes for all the applications that use VTAM/SNA network protocols. The NIH Data Center is working with other data centers to ensure that the VTAM/SNA protocols still in use now to connect to the centers will be replaced by TCP/IP protocols in time for the removal of the obsolete equipment.

What to Do

If you have a remote printer that uses either a dialup or dedicated line connection, please contact the NIH Help Desk at 301-496-4357 for assistance in converting to the use of TCP/IP for your remote printing needs.