IBM Mainframe Kermit

• Over asynchronous ASCII communication lines attached to a 3705-style or protocol enveloping 3708 front end ("TTY" or line-mode devices);
• Through a Series/1 or 4994 running the Yale ASCII Terminal Communication System or the IBM 7171 ASCII Device Control Unit or a 9370 with ASCII subsystem ("SERIES1" devices);
• Through the IBM 3174 protocol converter at level B2.0 or higher ("AEA" devices);
• Or through front-ends with graphics pass-through mode, such as the Datastream/Leedata 8010 and PCI 1076 ("GRAPHICS" devices).

It can also be used to transfer files over incoming TELNET (linemode) or TN3270 (fullscreen) connections.

Kermit-370 is written in IBM 370 assembly language and is compatible with the F, VS, and H assemblers. The Kermit protocol implementation is among the most advanced available, lacking only sliding windows due the half-duplex nature of IBM mainframe communications, but including a vast array character-set translations.

Kermit-370 4.3.2 for IBM Mainframes with VM/CMS, MVS/TSO, OS/390, CICS, or MUSIC was released on 16 December 1997. Its major new features are:

• Year-2000 compatibility.
• Support for autodownloads and autouploads.
• REGET command added (like RESEND, but in the other direction)
• "Who Am I" protocol added.
• CD to PDS now supported under TSO.
• Various minor fixes.

It may also be obtained via ftp from the kermit/b directory. The ik0*.* files are OS-independent and are needed for all versions. The ikc*.* files are specific to VM/CMS. The ikt*.* files are specific to MVS/TSO (or OS/390). The ikx*.* files are specific to CICS. The ikm*.* files are specific to MUSIC.

For VM/CMS

Files ik0*.* and ikc*.*.
Manual: ikcker.txt (plain text), ikcker.ps (PostScript).

For MVS/TSO (including ROSCO) or OS/390

Files ik0*.* and ikt*.* (add ikr*.* for ROSCOE).
Manual: iktker.txt (plain text), iktker.ps (PostScript).

For CICS

Files ik0*.* and ikx*.*.
Manual: ikxker.txt (plain text), ikxker.ps (PostScript).

For MUSIC

Files ik0*.* and ikm*.*.
Manual: ikmker.txt (plain text), ikmker.ps (PostScript).

For further information see the following plain ASCII files:

• The ik0aaa.hlp file for a general overview.
• The ik?ker.ins file for your platform (e.g. ikcker.ins for CMS) for installation instructions.
• The ik?ker.bwr file for your platform (e.g. ikcker.bwr for CMS) for hints and tips, as well as update instructions.

The 4.3.2 upgrade is in the form of "update" (.upd) files kept with the regular files. Apply them as updates to your current version (4.3.0 or later) by replacing your current update files with the new ones and rebuilding:

• For VM/CMS: ikcker.upd
• For MVS/TSO: iktker.upd
• For CICS: ikxker.upd
• For MUSIC: ikmker.upd