IBM Mainframe Kermit
Kermit-370 is a family of programs implementing the Kermit file transfer
protocol for IBM 370-series mainframes (System/370, 303x, 43xx, 308x, 3090,
System/390, etc.) under a variety of operating systems. Kermit-370 operates:
- 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.
IBM Mainframe Kermit
may be downloaded from the Columbia Kermit software archive
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),
ikcker.pdf (PDF).
- For MVS/TSO (including ROSCO) or OS/390
- Files ik0*.* and ikt*.* (add ikr*.* for ROSCOE).
Manual: iktker.txt (plain text),
iktker.ps (PostScript),
iktker.pdf (PDF).
- For CICS
- Files ik0*.* and ikx*.*.
Manual: ikxker.txt (plain text),
ikxker.ps (PostScript),
ikxker.pdf
(PDF).
- For MUSIC
- Files ik0*.* and ikm*.*.
Manual: ikmker.txt (plain text),
ikmker.ps (PostScript),
ikmker.pdf (PDF).
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:
IBM Mainframe Kermit / Columbia University / kermit@columbia.edu / 12 Feb 1999
Updated 7 Jan 2006 (PDF versions of manual chapters) / 15 Sep 2010 (format)
Updated 1 August 2021 (FTP links changed to HTTP)
