Automating IBM iAccess Client Solution Emulator Using UiPath Terminal Activities

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How to automate IBM iAccess Client using UiPath Terminal activities?

There are two approaches to establish a connection to the host (like AS400) using any one of the below providers in Terminal Session activity:

  1. IBM EHLLAPI (the EHLLAPI provider, with a 3rd party terminal emulator, usually IBM iAccess Client, which is available for download from IBM, with registration)

  2. Direct Connection (The UiPath internal emulation provider, a built-in emulator that does not require the presence of a 3rd party emulator on the robot machine)

IBM EHLLAPI

This method relies on the terminal emulator. i.e. IBM iAccess Client Solution application should be installed on the machine.

Pre-requisites:

  1. Ensure the IBM EHLL API bridge (acshllapi.exe) is installed as it contains the required DLLs to establish the connection. Please reach out to the team that manages the Mainframe or Terminal emulator to get this installed. Should be available on the IBM website for download.
  2. Java Runtime Environment (JRE) should be installed.
  3. The session should be launched before the connection is established using this provider. It can be launched using the session profile using the Start Process activity or performing UI automation to launch the application.

Establishing a connection: In the Terminal Session activity, configure the below:

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Additional Notes: If the connection is not created successfully:

  1. Try with different options like EHLL Enhanced or Basic mode checked or unchecked
  2. In the EHLL dll section, try with EHLAPI32.dll which is available in the same location as pcshll32.dll
  3. In the EHLL Session section, Confirm that the currently opened or launched Emulator session in the machine is session 'A'. If that's different, enter the right session variable
  4. Make sure the right encoding in the EHLL encoding section is selected. This can be validated against the encoding value configured in the emulator.

Direct Connection

This method does not require the terminal emulator to be installed in the machine as it connects to the host directly. Fill in the below details of the host configuration either with the help of IT/Admin team who manages the host / terminal emulator or gather this information from the IBM iACS emulator that is pre-configured with these details. If the connection is SSL or TLS enabled, ensure the 'Enable SSL\TLS' option is checked.


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Reporting The Issue
If still there is a problem in establishing the connection or during the automation, report the issue to UiPath Technical Support by creating a case and sharing the below details:

  1. Terminal Logs (%localappdata%\UiPath\Logs) and mention the timestamp of the failure

  2. Execution logs (%localappdata%\UiPath\Logs) and mention the timestamp of the failure

  3. DebugView logs

  4. Connection string from the Terminal session activity
  5. Share a screenshot of the About or Help section of the Terminal emulator (IBM iACS)
  6. List the different options and configurations tested out in the Terminal session activity.