Compaq Advanced Server for OpenVMS
Server Administrator's Guide


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5.3.1 Setting Up a New Printer

The information in this section applies only to printers supported by the OpenVMS operating system. If you start with no OpenVMS queue and create an Advanced Server print queue, the Advanced Server creates the OpenVMS print queue.

To set up a new printer to make it available to Advanced Server clients:

  1. Connect the printer to your server or network. Refer to your printer documentation for physical connection information. See Section 5.3.1.2, Connecting Your Printer, for information about specifying printer connections to OpenVMS systems.
  2. If Windows NT printer management is enabled on your server, add printers and set them up for sharing on the server by using the Windows NT print services, as explained in Section 5.3.3, Managing Advanced Server Printers Using Windows NT. Skip the remaining steps listed below in this section.
    If Windows NT printer management is not enabled, use the ADMINISTER interface to:
    1. Create a printer queue for the printer, as described in Section 5.3.1.3, Creating an Advanced Server Print Queue Using ADMINISTER Commands.
    2. Create a routing print queue (optional), as described in Section 5.3.1.3, Creating an Advanced Server Print Queue Using ADMINISTER Commands.
    3. Create a print share for the queue, as described in Section 5.3.2.7.1, Creating an Advanced Server Print Share.

5.3.1.1 Printer Types

To share a PostScript printer, selected PostScript printers might require use of the DECprint Supervisor for OpenVMS (DCPS) software for communication with the printers over DECnet or TCP/IP. In this case, use DCPS to create the queue. Then set up the queue as an Advanced Server print share.

If Windows NT printer management is enabled on your server, set up the printer for sharing, as explained in Section 5.3.3.2, Using Windows NT Print Services to Share Printers Defined on the Advanced Server; otherwise, use the ADMINISTER ADD SHARE/PRINT command, as explained in Section 5.3.2.7.1, Creating an Advanced Server Print Share.

Printers supported by Advanced Server software include:

To use the Advanced Server ADMINISTER command interface to display the printers that are supported, enter the following command:


LANDOFOZ\\TINMAN>HELP ADD PRINT QUEUE /TYPE 

If you have Windows NT-style printing enabled, the Advanced Server supports any printers supported by the Windows NT computer from which you add the printer. The required drivers for the printer must be available. These drivers are provided by the administrator (such as from the Windows NT installation CD-ROM), and are installed by Windows NT when the printer is added.

5.3.1.2 Connecting Your Printer

When you connect your printer, make a note of the printer type and the name of the physical device or port to which it is connected.

The list of physical device connectors or ports includes, but is not limited to:

For example, the type of printer may be a DL3200 (a DEClaser 3200), and the physical device or port to which it is connected may be LTA201.

5.3.1.3 Creating an Advanced Server Print Queue Using ADMINISTER Commands

A print queue can be either a printer queue associated with a physical printing device, or a routing queue that routes print requests to one or more print queues. Typically, a routing queue points to a group of printers that have similar characteristics. You could also set up several print queues for the same printer. This might be useful if you want to set up different print queue characteristics for a printer.

To create queues for printers on your server, you must be logged on to a user account that is a member of one of the following groups:

To create a printer queue or routing queue, use the ADD PRINT QUEUE command. Use the SET PRINT QUEUE command to change the characteristics of an existing queue.

For each Advanced Server queue, you must specify whether it is a printer queue or a routing queue. For a printer queue, you can specify the printer device type and the port to which the printer is connected to the OpenVMS system. For a routing queue, you can specify one or more printer queues to which the print jobs in the routing queue will be sent.

For example, the following command creates a printer queue called GLENDA1 for the DEClaser 3200 printer that is connected to LTA201:


LANDOFOZ\\TINMAN> ADD PRINT QUEUE GLENDA1 /PRINTER=LTA201- 
_LANDOFOZ\\TINMAN> /TYPE=DL3200 
%PWRK-S-QUEADD, queue "GLENDA" added on server "TINMAN" 

The following command sets up or establishes the routing queue called GLENDA. Print jobs sent to GLENDA go to either of the two printer queues, GLENDA1 or GLENDA2. The description of the routing queue is "Glenda's routing queue."


LANDOFOZ\\TINMAN> ADD PRINT QUEUE GLENDA /ROUTE_TO=(GLENDA1,GLENDA2) - 
_LANDOFOZ\\TINMAN> /DESCRIPTION="GLENDA's routing queue" 
%PWRK-S-QUEADD, queue "GLENDA" added on server "TINMAN" 
 
LANDOFOZ\\TINMAN> 

5.3.1.4 Creating a Printer Using Windows NT Print Services

Use the Windows NT Add Printer Wizard to create a printer to be shared by the Advanced Server, as explained in Section 5.3.3.1, Using Windows NT Print Services to Manage Advanced Server Printers.

5.3.2 Managing Printers Using the Advanced Server ADMINISTER Command-Line Interface

This section provides information about displaying, modifying, and managing print queues from the Advanced Server, using the ADMINISTER command interface. To manage print queues, you must be logged on to a user account that is a member of one of the following groups:

There are no special requirements for displaying print queue information.

5.3.2.1 Displaying Print Queue Information, Using ADMINISTER Commands

Using the SHOW PRINT QUEUE command, you can display a list of the server's print queues, information about a specific queue, or information about the print jobs in each queue. To display information about the print queues on a server, use one of the following procedures.

5.3.2.1.1 Displaying Information About All Print Queues on a Server

To display information about all print queues on a server, use the SHOW PRINT QUEUES command, as in the following example:


LANDOFOZ\\TINMAN> SHOW PRINT QUEUES 
Name              Jobs   Status        Printer/Routing    Description 
----------------  ------ ------        ---------------    -------------- 
User_PRNT          2     destination   LRA0:GENERIC 
                          paused 
GLENDA             0     PAUSED 
 
LANDOFOZ\\TINMAN> 

The Advanced Server displays, in tabular form:

If a job is currently printing from a given queue, an additional line is displayed that contains the job ID (job identification number), the user name that queued the print job, and the status of the print job.

5.3.2.1.2 Displaying Information About a Single Print Queue

To display information about a single print queue, specify the queue name with the SHOW PRINT QUEUE command, as in the following example:


LANDOFOZ\\TINMAN> SHOW PRINT QUEUE TOTO 
Name            Jobs    Status          Printer/Routing   Description 
-----------     ----    ------------    ---------------   ---------------- 
TOTO             1      printing        LRA0:GENERIC 
 
LANDOFOZ\\TINMAN> 

The Advanced Server displays the queue name and status of the queue and the number of print jobs currently in the queue.

5.3.2.2 Changing the Printer Type, Using ADMINISTER Commands

Specify the type of printer supported by a shared print queue using the SET PRINT QUEUE command with the /TYPE qualifier. For example, the following command sets the print queue TOTO to support a DEClaser 3200 printer:


LANDOFOZ\\TINMAN> SET PRINT QUEUE TOTO/TYPE=DL3200 
%PWRK-S-QUESET, characteristics set for queue "TOTO" on server "TINMAN" 
 
LANDOFOZ\\TINMAN> 

5.3.2.3 Pausing a Print Queue, Using ADMINISTER Commands

You can hold or pause a print queue; this prevents the queue from sending any jobs to printers. When you do this, printers associated with the queue finish printing their current jobs, but all further jobs stay in the queue until the queue is released.

To pause a print queue, use the PAUSE PRINT QUEUE command, as in the following example:


LANDOFOZ\\TINMAN> PAUSE PRINT QUEUE TOTO 
Do you really want to pause print queue "TOTO" [YES or NO] (YES) : YES 
%PWRK-S-QUESET, queue "TOTO" paused on server "TINMAN" 
 
LANDOFOZ\\TINMAN> SHOW PRINT QUEUE 
Name         Jobs  Status               Printer/Routing    Description 
----------   ----- ------------------   ---------------    ---------------- 
BRUCE_PRNT       0 destination paused   LRA0:GENERIC 
PARSIFAL         0 ACTIVE               BRUCE_PRNT 
TOTO             0 PAUSED               BRUCE_PRNT         Printer in the 
                                                           Land of Oz 
LANDOFOZ\\TINMAN> 

You can also pause a print queue with the SET PRINT QUEUE/PAUSE command. In the following example, the queue called BRUCE_PRNT is a printer queue that points to a physical device, LRA0:GENERIC, and the queues GLENDA and TOTO are routing queues that point to the printer queue BRUCE_PRNT.


LANDOFOZ\\TINMAN> SET PRINT QUEUE TOTO/PAUSE 
%PWRK-S-QUESET, queue "TOTO" paused on server "TINMAN" 
 
LANDOFOZ\\TINMAN> SHOW PRINT QUEUE 
Name          Jobs  Status               Printer/Routing    Description 
----------    ----- ------------------   ---------------    ------------ 
BRUCE_PRNT       0  destination paused   LRA0:GENERIC 
GLENDA           0  ACTIVE               BRUCE_PRNT 
TOTO             0  PAUSED               BRUCE_PRNT         Printer in the 
                                                            Land of Oz 
LANDOFOZ\\TINMAN> 

5.3.2.4 Continuing a Print Queue, Using ADMINISTER Commands

After you have paused a print queue, you can continue printing on the queue, returning it to normal status. Continuing a queue that is in an error condition clears the error. Use the SET PRINT QUEUE /CONTINUE command, as in the following example:


LANDOFOZ\\TINMAN> SET PRINT QUEUE TOTO/CONTINUE 
%PWRK-S-QUESET, queue "TOTO" continued on server "TINMAN" 
 
LANDOFOZ\\TINMAN> 

This example continues a paused print queue. Any jobs that were waiting in the paused print queue can now print.

5.3.2.5 Purging Print Jobs from a Print Queue, Using ADMINISTER Commands

You can purge a shared print queue; that is, you can delete all jobs in the queue except the one currently printing. Use the SET PRINT QUEUE /PURGE command, as in the following example:


LANDOFOZ\\TINMAN> SET PRINT QUEUE TOTO/PURGE 
%PWRK-S-QUESET, queue "TOTO" purged on server "TINMAN" 
 
LANDOFOZ\\TINMAN> 

5.3.2.6 Deleting a Print Queue, Using ADMINISTER Commands

To remove an Advanced Server print queue from network access, use the REMOVE PRINT QUEUE command. Removing the queue deletes the OpenVMS queue, but does not remove any print shares assigned to the print queue; these must be removed manually.

The following rules and restrictions apply to deleting print queues:

To delete a print queue, use the REMOVE PRINT QUEUE command, as in the following example:


LANDOFOZ\\TINMAN> REMOVE PRINT QUEUE TOTO 
Do you really want to remove print queue "TOTO" [YES or NO] (YES) : YES 
%PWRK-S-QUEREM, queue "TOTO" removed from server "TINMAN" 
 
LANDOFOZ\\TINMAN> 

This command removes the print queue called TOTO from the list of print queues known to the server called TINMAN. All jobs in the queue complete before the queue is removed.

5.3.2.7 Managing Print Shares, Using ADMINISTER Commands

The following sections describe how to create print shares, set permissions on print shares to control access to the printers, how to change the characteristics of a print share, and how to stop sharing a print queue. To manage print shares, you must be logged on to a user account that is a member of one of the following groups:

There are no special requirements for displaying print share information.

5.3.2.7.1 Creating an Advanced Server Print Share

To give network users access to a print queue, you share that queue over the network by creating a print share. To access the print queue, network users specify the share name associated with that queue. If you do not specify permissions when you add the print share, it is available to all users. You control user access by specifying permissions for the print share. When multiple permissions apply to a print share, the minimum permission is used. To create a print share, use the ADD SHARE/PRINT command and set permissions for the share. You should add a print share based on a routing queue that points to the specific printer queue. For example:

  1. Set up your routing queue.
  2. Set up your print share with the same name as the routing queue.

For example, the following command sets up a print share called GLENDA. The share name is the same as the routing queue name, as required by Windows NT.


LANDOFOZ\\TINMAN> ADD SHARE/PRINT GLENDA/DESCRIPTION="GLENDA's print share" 
%PWRK-S-SHAREADD, share "GLENDA" added on server "TINMAN" 
 
LANDOFOZ\\TINMAN> 

Note

Do not use the ADD SHARE/PRINT command if Windows NT printer management is enabled. Use Windows NT print services to set up a share. For more information, see Section 5.3.3.2, Using Windows NT Print Services to Share Printers Defined on the Advanced Server.

5.3.2.7.2 Creating Print Shares With Names That Include Unicode Extended Characters

OpenVMS queue names support any uppercase and lowercase letters, digits, the underscore (_), and dollar sign ($). When you create an Advanced Server print share, specifying Unicode characters other than these supported characters, the Advanced Server creates an OpenVMS queue using the standard ODS-2 format for these characters: __XX, where XX is the 8-bit code in the server character set.

OpenVMS restricts the length of queue names to 31 characters. Because the Advanced Server must use the standard ODS-2 four-character substitution in the queue name for each unsupported character in the print share name, restrict the length of Advanced Server print share names accordingly. For example, seven characters is the maximum length for a print share name consisting entirely of unsupported characters.

For more information on Unicode extended character sets, see Section 4.4, Unicode and Extended Character Sets.

5.3.2.8 Controlling Access to Print Shares, Using ADMINISTER Commands

Always set permissions explicitly on a print share; the permissions set on the share will apply to the queue as well. If you do not specify permissions on a print share, the default is to allow access by all users (that is, /PERMISSIONS=(EVERYONE=FULL)). The default setting sets permissions on the share, not on the queue. Any permissions that applied previously to a queue (that is, which previously were associated with another share) are retained and not explicitly visible. Therefore, when you add a print share that points to an existing queue, the queue may have permissions retained from a previous print share, which may conflict with the permissions on the print share. To ensure that permissions are set correctly, set permissions when you set up a new print share.

You can specify the following access permission levels for print shares:

As part of monitoring printer security, you can enable auditing and keep track of successful and failed attempts to access a print share. The server logs these events in the audit trail. To set auditing for printer access, use the SET AUDIT POLICY command. For example:


LANDOFOZ\\TINMAN> SET AUDIT POLICY/AUDIT/SUCCESS=ACCESS/FAILURE=ACCESS 
%PWRK-S-AUDPOLSET, audit policy set for domain "LANDOFOZ" 

See Section 6.1.3.3, Auditing Security Events Domain-Wide, for information about enabling auditing for printer events.

To set permissions for a shared print queue, use the ADD SHARE/PRINT command or the MODIFY SHARE command. The following example adds a share called WESTWITCH and sets the permissions for the print share so that user SCARECROW has full access to the share, but user LION has no access to the share. The share WESTWITCH is a print share for an existing print queue named WESTWITCH.


LANDOFOZ\\TINMAN> ADD SHARE/PRINT WESTWITCH- 
_LANDOFOZ\\TINMAN>/PERMISSIONS=(SCARECROW=FULL,LION=NONE) 
_LANDOFOZ\\TINMAN>/DESCRIPTION="Shared Print Queue in the Land of Oz" 
%PWRK-S-SHAREADD, share "WESTWITCH" added on server "TINMAN" 
 
LANDOFOZ\\TINMAN> 

Note

Do not use the ADD PRINT/SHARE command if Windows NT printer management is enabled. Use Windows NT print services to set up a share. For more information, see Section 5.3.3.2, Using Windows NT Print Services to Share Printers Defined on the Advanced Server.

5.3.2.9 Changing Print Share Options, Using ADMINISTER Commands

The Advanced Server lets you change the options for an existing print share. For example, you may want to revise the share's description. Changes you make take effect immediately for new print jobs, but do not affect jobs already in the queue, except for changes in the routing list. Use the MODIFY SHARE command.

The options you can change include:

5.3.2.9.1 Example: Changing the Maximum Number of Connections for an Existing Print Share

To set the print share TOTO to have no limit on the number of client connections, enter the following command:


LANDOFOZ\\TINMAN> MODIFY SHARE TOTO/NOLIMIT 
%PWRK-S-SHAREMOD, share "TOTO" modified on server "TINMAN" 
 
LANDOFOZ\\TINMAN> 

5.3.2.9.2 Example: To Change the Permissions for an Existing Print Share

The following example modifies permissions for the print share WESTWITCH, so that user LION has PRINT access to the share, and user TINY has MANAGE_DOCUMENTS access to the share:


LANDOFOZ\\TINMAN> MODIFY SHARE WESTWITCH - 
_LANDOFOZ\\TINMAN>/PERMISSIONS=(LION=PRINT,TINY=MANAGE_DOCUMENTS) 
%PWRK-S-SHAREMOD, share "WESTWITCH" modified on server "TINMAN" 


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