z/Scope Secure Tunnel

Frequently asked questions

What is an http/s-tunnel?

An http/s-tunnel is a system that encodes tcp/ip packets into http/https requests/responses in order to allow its traveling through http-friendly networks and, decodes them back and transparently send them to the final end. Https is the secure version of the http protocol when using the SSL2/3 or TLS1/1.1 encryption standards.

How does an http/s-tunnel work?

An http/s-tunnel requires at least two software portions or programs, one for each end of the communication. When a user makes a requirement on its client application, the end-gateway portion catches the resulting tcp/ip packets and encodes them into the http/s protocol. The http/s packets travel through the network until they reach the server end of the gateway which in turn, decodes the http/s packets back to its original tcp/ip protocol and send them to the final host. And the other way round.

Why is it Secure?

1- With z/Scope Secure Tunnel you don’t need to expose the Mainframe to the Internet.

2- Only standard http/s ports needs to be opened in the firewall.

3- There is no need to add permissions for another protocol to the firewall, only standard http/s that are already in place.

4- By default, all communications are encrypted, even when not using https.

5- SSL/TLS can be enabled to provide additional 128/256-bit SSL encryption.

What terminal emulators are supported?

Any third-party terminal emulator with Socks support (IBM’s Personal Communications, Attachmate’s Extra/Reflection, Netmanage’s Rumba, etc),

Can I use z/Scope Secure Tunnel for any other purpose than Terminal Emulation?

Yes, you can, given the protocol it uses is initiated on the client side and the client program provides Socks support. We cannot give a list of program/utilities though.