HIS Capabilities

Host Integration Server (HIS) delivers basic capabilities for user interface, business logic, and data integration with host applications, and network and security infrastructure for connecting to the host. User interface integration was the initial focus of HIS, but business logic and data integration are the main focus of the product today, with network connectivity and security playing supporting roles.

User Interface Integration

When PC LANs first became popular, products such as HIS’s ancestor, SNA Server, emerged to connect networked PCs to legacy hosts: IBM mainframes and AS/400s. The original focus was on replacing dumb character-based terminals with more versatile PCs running terminal emulation software. These PCs connected to a gateway server on the LAN, which translated between the LAN protocols that PCs use and the System Network Architecture (SNA) protocol used by the hosts. HIS still provides basic terminal emulation, but emulators with more bells and whistles are available from other software vendors.