Some organizations prefer to concentrate access to SNA networks through dedicated SNA Gateways, such as IBM Communications Server, Microsoft SNA Server, or Novell Netware for SAA. DB2 Connect products support connections through gateways, so this can be a good choice if you need terminal emulation and other SNA services not provided by DB2 Connect. Figure 5 illustrates such a situation.
Figure 5. Indirect Connection to DRDA Host via SNA Communications Gateway
Although you can use DB2 Connect Personal Edition with SNA gateways, you may find DB2 Connect Enterprise Edition a better choice if you want to use many DB2 Clients. DB2 Connect Enterprise Edition can be installed on the same machine as IBM Communications Server or Microsoft SNA Server, and in many cases it can provide a less expensive and better-performing solution. Figure 6 provides an overview of the DB2 Connect Enterprise Edition gateway scenario.