Setting Up SNA Windows NT Client and TSE

How do I set up the SNA Windows NT client to work with Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition (TSE)?

I have battled with SNA client from the first beta of Citrix WinFrame. SNA client isn’t my favorite choice for connectivity. I recommend Wall Data's Rumba or, if you have an SNA server or an SNA server card in an AS/400, Attachmate Extra 6.4. My favorite alternative is WRQ's Reflection, which works well and offers an easy way to connect with less headache and memory overhead. Alternatives aside, here’s the method I have found most successful for setting up the SNA client.

To start with, make sure you have installed TSE Service Pack 4 (SP4). As with all TSE installs, you must begin by placing the server in a multiuser install mode by opening a command prompt and typing "change user /install," or by using the Control Panel’s Add/Remove Programs applet. Next, install the SNA Server client according to the installation instructions in your SNA Server documentation.

After SNA Server installs, make sure the computer is still in install mode and use the Control Panel’s Services applet to stop the SnaBase service. The SNA NT client software on a TSE computer requires that you register certain SNA Server files as system global (by default the SNA install registers these files only for the installer). If you don’t, the software won’t function properly. One symptom is that the client won’t be able to connect to the SnaBase service. You can work around this by running the sna40cli.cmd (SNA Client 4.0) compatibility script from the <%SystemRoot%>Application Compatibility Scriptsinstall directory, but this script isn’t complete. You must edit it to complete the install.

The script will register the following SNA Server files as system global: snadmod.dll, snamanag.dll, wappc32.dll, dbgtrace.dll, mngbase.dll, snatrc.dll, snalm.dll, snanw.dll, snaip.dll, snabase.exe. You must also add the following three lines to the script to register the files:

Register %SNAROOT%SNASERVER.EXE /SYSTEM >Nul: 2>&1Register %SNAROOT%SNASII.DLL /SYSTEM >Nul: 2>&1Register %SNAROOT%SNALINK.DLL /SYSTEM >Nul: 2>&1

Your best bet is to use the Application Compatibility Script from CD-ROM 7 of the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) BackOffice Server 4.5, Developer Edition of June 1999 or later because it’s complete and requires no editing.

At this point you can change the Terminal Server computer back to execute mode and SNA Windows NT Client should be ready to run. To learn about a few other issues you can correct, see Microsoft Support Online articles Q232668 and Q139379.