Associations and using the directory definition file for CMIP services

To implement CMIP services and the VTAM® topology agent, you must have a directory definition file. The directory definition file controls:

The associations that CMIP services on this host has with other CMIP services and with itself
Whether security is to be used on each association
Name mapping
Address mapping

The directory definition file is read when CMIP services is started. Before an association is started, CMIP services checks the file to determine whether the association is allowed. The directory definition file is checked only at the time the association is established. It is not checked at every exchange between partners in an association.

If the directory definition file indicates that the association is allowed, it continues to be allowed until the association ends in one of the following ways:

Timing out
Being ended by the application program
CMIP services ending
VTAM ending

If you allow an association and then decide not to allow that association, you cannot stop the association until you restart CMIP services ¹. Even if you change the directory definition file to indicate that the association is no longer allowed, issuing the MODIFY TABLE command does not stop the association.