These modules will contain terminology you may not be familiar with. Please take a few moments to review the following terms.

TSO

TSO stands for Time Sharing Option. It allows your computer to interact with the administrative mainframe computer. You may use TSO to execute both interactive and batch programs as well as to manage output files.

Administrative Mainframe Computer/Host

The administrative mainframe computer (or host) is a large computer located on the UND campus. This computer is used by all 11 North Dakota University System campuses for registration, student records, and payroll functions. This computer has a lot of data storage, processing power, and many users may use it at the same time.

Userid

The Userid is also sometimes referred to as a login or account name. The TSO Userid consists of 5 characters (e.g. AUJWD), the first two identify your affiliation (e.g. AU - UND Academic User), the last three are your initials (e.g. J.W. Doe -- JWD). Your Userid identifies you to the administrative host computer and allows you to access your files and data.

Password

A password is a secret code that allows you and only you to access your Userid and the information and rights associated with it. The password used for TSO consists of 8 characters and you are required to change this password every 90 days.

TN3270

TN3270 is special communications software that allows your computer to talk to the administrative mainframe computer. TN3270 falls within the category of telnet software. There are many different TN3270 programs, just as there are many different word processing programs. The North Dakota University Systems provides the Hummingbird Host Explorer software for Windows 95/98/NT and tn3270 for the Macintosh.