When you start the InterForm400 designer you might hit the message ‘unable to load color model’. This indicates a problem with the DDM server on the AS/400. Here are some hints for making that run:

First run option 75. Prepare server to support InterForm Designer to make sure that all necessary servers are running.

Execute the command: DSPNETA. Find the text/parameter 'DDM request access'. This should be *OBJAUT, it can also refer to an user program, but if it is *REJECT the DDM server will not work. Change the value with:
CHGNETA DDMACC(*OBJAUT)

Try ending the *DDM server with this command: ENDTCPSVR SERVER(*DDM), then restart the *DDM server with STRTCPSVR SERVER(*DDM). Now run this command: WRKSBMJOB SBMFROM(*JOB) and it should show you a job called 'QRWTLSTN'. Start the designer and look in the joblog of this job for more information.

Open up Operations/(iSeries) Navigator and select 'Network/Servers/TCP/IP'. Double click on 'DDM' to see the properties for this server. Look at the 'Subsystems' folder. Here the customer might have defined special rules for selecting subsystem, that prevent the DDM server from running. If they select 'Use server defaults' the DDM server should run okay.

If you access the AS/400 through a firewall be sure that these port numbers can go through:

Host Server, Port

*CENTRAL 8470
*DATABASE 8471
*DTAQ 8472
*FILE 8473
*NETPRT 8474
*RMTCMD 8475
*SIGNON 8476
*SVRMAP 449

TCP-server, Port:
*DDM 446

That means, that the following ports must be opened (Not blocked by any firewall):
446, 449, 8470-8476.

Finally you can test the connection to the servers by running the CWBPING command in a DOS session on the PC. Try running this command followed by the IP-address of the iSeries server and then it should report a successful connection for all servers – especially for DDM.

Please contact me if these hints still do not fix the problem.

BTW: Remember to ask the customer to start the servers as a part of the IPL e.g. with these commands in the startup program:

STRHOSTSVR SERVER(*ALL)
MONMSG CPF0000
STRTCPSVR SERVER(*DDM)
MONMSG CPF0000