July 7, 2009

Life after Wylbur: A Desktop Solution – WS_FTP Pro

Editing a mainframe data set using TSO/ ISPF may not be for everyone, although long-time, dedicated ISPF users swear by it. Many users may find it easier to download a data set to a desktop computer and rename it with a .txt extension. Users can then make changes with a desktop editing tool (such as Notepad) and later upload the file back to the Titan mainframe as an ASCII (text) file. If you are not yet using WS_FTP Pro for uploading and downloading files with Titan, be sure to become acquainted with this connectivity tool well before the Wylbur retirement on December 31, 2009.

Get to know WS_FTP Pro

WS_FTP Pro, which is supported by CIT, is based on the file transfer protocol (FTP). This software provides fast transfer of files or collections of files between Internet-connected computers using Windows XP. The GUI (graphical user interface) display and the built-in online help simplify file transfer. Most importantly, WS_FTP Pro can be configured to request a secure SSL/TLS connection to Titan, thereby providing encryption over the network (strongly recommended by CIT).

Note: WS_FTP Pro cannot handle data sets stored in Wylbur’s edit format. Refer to the Titan News article Converting Data Sets from WYLBUR’s Edit Format to Another Format.

There’s more to WS_FTP Pro than file transfer

Here’s the good part. WS_FTP Pro lets you do much more than transfer files back and forth between your desktop computer and the mainframe. Once you have established the connection to Titan you will see two windows, one for your local desktop computer and one for the remote site (the mainframe). In addition to transferring files between the two sites, you can perform other functions with your mainframe data sets. Using WS_FTP Pro, you can view (based on the suffix of the data set name), delete, and rename sequential and partitioned data sets (PDSs), and even rename a member of a PDS. Just click on the name of the mainframe data set in the window for the remote site and select an action (such as view or rename) from the WS_FTP Pro tool bar.

Where can I find this software?

CIT provides WS_FTP Pro free-of-charge to registered Titan mainframe users. Go to: http://titan.nih.gov and select NIH Connectivity Tools. The installation and configuration instructions are included. For security reasons, we recommend that you don't allow WS_FTP Pro to encrypt and store your password in its .ini file.

Note: The Federal Desktop Core Configuration (FDCC) mandate requires that persons installing this software on a NIH desktop or laptop computer have an administrative account (AA) in addition to a regular NIH login user account. If you do not have an administrative account, please contact the NIH Help Desk to arrange for the installation of this software. For more information on FDCC requirements, go to: http://cit.nih.gov/Support/FAQ/Fdcc/

For more information

For more information on using WS_FTP Pro with Titan, refer to the manual Network Access to Titan, use the online help that is included in the WS_FTP Pro software package, or contact the NIH Help Desk at http://ithelpdesk.nih.gov/support or 301-496-4357, 301-496-8294 (TTY), or toll free at 866-319-4357.

Additional resources

To help you prepare for the Wylbur retirement on December 31, 2009, the Wylbur Retirement web page offers a list of additional resources, such as links to the Wylbur retirement wiki (at http://wylretire.cit.nih.gov) and the CIT Training program’s Introduction to ISPF class on July 17, 2009.