Updated: 11 December 1998

OpenVMS System Manager's Manual

In general, queues can be divided into two classes:

Class	Description
Execution queues	Queues that accept batch or print jobs for processing.
Generic queues	Queues that hold jobs until an appropriate execution queue becomes available. The queue manager then requeues the job to the available execution queue.

The following sections provide more details about execution and generic queues.

13.1.2.1 Execution Queues

Descriptions of types of execution queues follow:

• Batch execution queues accept only batch jobs. A batch job executes as a detached process that sequentially runs one or more command procedures. The user defines the list of command procedures when submitting the job.
• Output execution queues accept jobs that a symbiont processes. The queue manager sends the symbiont a list of files, which the user defines when submitting the job. An output symbiont transfers data from a disk to an output device. As the symbiont processes each file, it produces output for the device it controls, such as a printer or a terminal.
  The operating system provides a standard print symbiont named PRTSMB, which prints files on hardcopy devices. The LAT print symbiont LATSYM prints files on output devices attached to LAT ports. You can also design symbionts for this or any other file-processing activity that the OpenVMS batch and print queuing system manages. (Refer to the OpenVMS Utility Routines Manual for more information.)
  Output execution queues include the following types:

  Type	Description
  Printer execution queue	Uses a symbiont to direct output to a printer.
  Terminal execution queue	Uses a symbiont to direct output to a terminal printer.
  Server execution queue	Uses a user-modified or user-written symbiont to process the files that belong to jobs in the queue.

  
  When you create an output execution queue, you designate it as either a printer, a terminal, or a server execution queue; you can also specify the symbiont to be associated with the queue. However, when the queue is started, the symbiont process associated with the queue can override the queue designation if the queue type specified does not match the type of device.
  The standard symbiont provided with the operating system determines whether it is controlling a printer or a terminal. The symbiont communicates this information to the queue manager, which, if necessary, changes the type designation of the output execution queue. By convention, a user-written or user-modified symbiont that does not deliver output to a printer defines its queue as a server queue.

Descriptions of types of generic queues follow:

• Generic batch queues direct jobs only to batch execution queues. Generic batch queues are typically used in OpenVMS Cluster environments to distribute the batch work load across several nodes (see Section 13.2.1.3).
  Generic batch queues are not automatically stopped when a node shuts down. Therefore, they do not need to be started when a node reboots.
• Generic output queues direct jobs to any of the three types of output execution queues: print, terminal, or server. Generic output queues are typically used to distribute the output work load among several like printers (see Section 13.2.2.5).
  Generic output queues are not automatically stopped when a node shuts down. Therefore, they do not need to be started when a node reboots.
• Logical queues are a special type of generic output queue that transfers jobs to another output execution queue. You might use a logical queue to temporarily redirect a queue when the device on which it runs is broken.
  A logical queue transfers its jobs into the execution queue specified with the ASSIGN/QUEUE command. For information about setting up a logical queue, see Section 13.7.1.10.

Compaq recommends that you use autostart queues whenever possible for a variety of reasons. Autostart queues simplify startup and ensure high availability of execution queues, allowing you to perform the following tasks:

• With a single command, start all autostart queues on a node
• Specify a list of nodes (in an OpenVMS Cluster environment) to which a queue can automatically attempt to fail over
  Autostart failover is particularly useful on LAT queues. Because LAT printers are usually shared among users of multiple systems or OpenVMS Cluster systems, many users are affected if a LAT queue is unavailable. For highest availability, set up your LAT queues with a list of nodes to which the queue can fail over, so the queue can continue to run even if a node becomes unavailable.

To use autostart queues, you must perform the following three steps:

Task	Description
1	Create the queue as an autostart queue and, optionally, specify a failover list.
2	Activate the queue for autostart. You can do this either when you create a queue, or after you create one.
3	Enable autostart on a node. You can do this before or after you create a queue. When you enable autostart on a node, the queue manager automatically starts all stopped, active autostart queues capable of running on the node. Any autostart queue that fails over to the node is also automatically started.

Section 13.3 explains these steps in detail.

13.2 Designing Queue Environments

The following sections describe how to design batch queue and output queue environments.

13.2.1 Designing a Batch Queue Environment

You can design batch queues for a single queue, multiple queues, or OpenVMS Cluster environments. Each section referred to in the following table contains figures showing sample configurations to assist you in designing your batch processing environment. Your configuration may combine elements from several of these examples.

Configuration	For More Information
A single queue for limited batch processing	Section 13.2.1.1
Multiple queues for heavy batch processing, or customized queues for specialized batch processing	Section 13.2.1.2
An OpenVMS Cluster environment	Section 13.2.1.3

13.2.1.1 Using a Simple Batch Queue Configuration

You can use this simple configuration, which is suitable for limited batch needs, for a standalone system supporting mainly interactive processing.

Figure 13-1 shows a single, default batch queue.

Figure 13-1 Default Batch Queue

By default, when a user submits a batch job with the SUBMIT command, the job is placed in the queue named SYS$BATCH. To set up a single default queue on a standalone system, name the queue SYS$BATCH.

13.2.1.2 Using Specialized Batch Queues

If your users rely on batch processing or have special processing needs, you might want to set up more than one queue. You can customize batch queues to handle specialized jobs by specifying performance and resource options for jobs in the queue.

Figure 13-2 shows a configuration of several queues, each customized to process certain types of batch jobs.

Figure 13-2 Multiple Batch Queues with Special Resource and Performance Options

In Figure 13-2, SYS$BATCH is the default queue. Normal batch jobs would be submitted to this queue. The FAST queue executes high-priority jobs that should not be swapped out of memory. SLOW is a background queue for processing low-priority jobs. These are large jobs with large requirements for physical memory.

Be conservative when changing base priority and swapping on a queue. Even a slight change can have a significant negative effect on batch and interactive performance. For example, even an increase of 1 in a queue's base priority can affect performance significantly.

For information about specifying these options for a batch queue, see Section 13.6.4.

13.2.1.3 Using Generic Batch Queues in an OpenVMS Cluster Environment

You can use generic queues in a OpenVMS Cluster environment to balance processing resources by distributing batch processing across nodes in the cluster. (For an explanation of generic queues, see Section 13.1.2.)

Figure 13-3 shows a typical configuration.

Figure 13-3 Batch Queue Configuration with Clusterwide Generic Queue

In Figure 13-3, a generic clusterwide batch queue named SYS$BATCH feeds jobs to execution queues on each node in the OpenVMS Cluster environment. A job submitted to SYS$BATCH is placed in the appropriate execution queue to minimize the ratio of executing jobs to job limits for all execution queues fed by SYS$BATCH.

For example, suppose execution queues MOE_BATCH, LARRY_BATCH, and CURLY_BATCH all have a job limit of 5. If MOE_BATCH and LARRY_BATCH are executing four jobs and CURLY_BATCH is executing one job, the generic queue SYS$BATCH feeds the next job to CURLY_BATCH.

Refer to OpenVMS Cluster Systems for more information about OpenVMS Cluster queue configurations. For information about how to create a generic queue, see Section 13.4.3.

13.2.2 Designing an Output Queue Environment

Figure 13-4 shows a simple queue configuration for limited printing needs. This configuration is appropriate for a standalone system supporting a single printer.

Figure 13-4 Simple Output Queue

By default, when a user submits a print job with the PRINT command, the job is placed in the queue named SYS$PRINT. To set up a single default printer queue on a standalone system, name the queue SYS$PRINT.

13.2.2.2 Mixing Printers

If you have several different types of printers (for example, an LN03 printer, an LA210 printer, and an LP27 line printer), you must set up a separate queue for each printer. The options, such as the default form or device control library, that you use with these queues will probably differ according to the printer to which the queue's output is sent. For example, the default form for a line printer might have a width of 132 columns, while the default form for an LN03 printer might have a width of 80 columns.

Figure 13-5 shows such a configuration.

Figure 13-5 Queue Configuration with Mixed Printers

The operating system does not include software to support PostScript printing. To print PostScript files, you must have either of the following equipment:

• A printer capable of printing PostScript files, and supporting software
• Software that provides PostScript-to-sixel printing, and a supported printer

For more information, see your Compaq support representative.

13.2.2.4 Using LAT Printers

To share printers among multiple systems or OpenVMS Cluster environments, you can connect printers to a LAT port on a terminal server. Figure 13-6 shows an output queue configuration with a remote printer on a terminal server.

Figure 13-6 Configuration for Remote Printers on a Terminal Server

Compaq recommends that you set up your LAT queues as autostart queues with failover lists to ensure that these queues are highly available. Because LAT printers are usually shared among users of multiple systems or clusters, many users will be affected if a LAT queue is unavailable.

For information about how to create autostart queues with failover lists, see Section 13.4.2.

13.2.2.5 Using Generic Output Queues

If you have more than one printer of the same type (for example, if you have three line printers), use generic queues to balance the print load among the printers. Figure 13-7 shows such a configuration.

Figure 13-7 Queue Configuration with Three Like Printers and a Generic Queue

For information about how to create a generic queue, see Section 13.4.3.

13.2.2.6 Using OpenVMS Cluster Queues

Figure 13-8 shows a typical OpenVMS Cluster output queue configuration. For information about OpenVMS Cluster queue configurations, refer to OpenVMS Cluster Systems.

Figure 13-8 Output Queue Configuration in an OpenVMS Cluster

If your system runs application programs that write output directly to a printer rather than submit it to an output queue, or if you will be using LAT queues, spool your printers. Spooling your printers causes application programs to write output to an intermediate storage device so that the printer remains available to other users while the program is running.

Figure 13-9 shows an output configuration with spooled printers.

Figure 13-9 Queue Configuration with Spooled Devices

For more information about spooling printers, see Section 7.8.2.1.

13.2.2.8 Distributing Printing

The OpenVMS batch and print queuing system enables users to print files on output devices attached to the local system or OpenVMS Cluster system.

The Distributed Queuing Service (DQS) layered product extends the printing capabilities of the OpenVMS queuing system to a distributed environment. DQS enables users to print files on output devices attached to remote nodes in your network.

For more information, refer to the DQS documentation or your Compaq support representative.

13.3 Planning Your Queue Setup

You must create queues for users to submit jobs; you must start the queues so that jobs can begin processing. To set up and start queues, follow these steps:

Step	Task	For More Information
1	Make sure you have started the queue manager and created the queue database.	Section 12.5
2	If your configuration includes output queues, set up output devices and create a command procedure to set up the devices on reboot.	Section 13.3.1
3	If you plan to use any queue options, such as forms, characteristics, and banner pages, determine the qualifiers needed to specify those options. In addition, define any forms and characteristics you will use before you create queues. (Because of the length of the instructions for this step, the corresponding section in the manual follows the section for step 5.)	Section 13.6
4	Create and start queues.	Section 13.4
5	Create a command procedure to perform the necessary setup tasks each time your system reboots.	Section 13.5

13.3.1 Setting Up Output Devices

Before creating output queues, you must set up the devices to which the queues will direct output.

How to Perform This Task

1. Install any printers, plotters, and other output devices to which your users will have access. For information, refer to the documentation provided with the hardware.
2. If you will use LAT printers, create logical LAT ports. You must create a logical LAT port on each service node to which a LAT printer is to be available, and associate the logical port with a physical port or service on the terminal server node. To do so, use the LATCP commands CREATE PORT and SET PORT. For more information, refer to the OpenVMS System Management Utilities Reference Manual.
3. Set device characteristics for line printers and printers attached to terminal ports. To do so, use a series of SET commands. For more information, see Section 7.8.1. In step 5, you create a command procedure to set up your devices each time the system reboots. The commands you enter to set device characteristics must be included in this command procedure.
4. Spool printers. If you use LAT printers, or if you run applications that write output directly to a printer, spool your printers. For more information about spooled printers, see Section 13.2.2.7.
   To spool a printer, use the SET DEVICE/SPOOLED command, as explained in Section 7.8.2.1.
5. Create a command procedure to set up your device characteristics and spool printers each time the system reboots. You must include the commands you entered in steps 3 and 4 in the command procedure. (Include the commands you entered to set up logical ports in step 2 in your site-specific LAT startup command procedure SYS$MANAGER:LAT$SYSTARTUP.COM.)
   If your configuration is simple, you can add the commands to SYSTARTUP_VMS.COM. If your configuration requires a large number of commands, create a separate command procedure (for example, DEVICE_SETUP.COM), and execute it from SYSTARTUP_VMS.COM. In the command procedure, a SET TERMINAL command must precede a SET DEVICE/SPOOLED command for the same output device.

Example

$ SET PRINTER/TAB/PAGE=66/WIDTH=132/LOWER/FF/NOCR - _$ /FALLBACK/NOWRAP/NOTAB LPA0:(1) $ SET TERMINAL/SPEED=9600/PAGE=100/WIDTH=200/DEVICE=LN03/NOBROADCAST - _$ /NOECHO/HARDCOPY/NOTYPE_AHEAD/NOFORM/NOWRAP/PASTHRU/PERMANENT LTA3331:(2) $ SET DEVICE/SPOOLED=(LPA0,SYS$SYSDEVICE) LPA0:(3) $ SET DEVICE/SPOOLED=(LN03_1,SYS$SYSDEVICE) LTA3331:(4)

This example performs the following actions:

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