Compaq DECprint Supervisor (DCPS) for OpenVMS
System Manager's Guide


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2.1.1.2.3 Editing the LAT Configuration File

The LAT configuration file (SYS$STARTUP:LAT$SYSTARTUP.COM) defines host node service characteristics. Before you start the print queues, make sure the LAT driver is running and ports are available.

Note

Commands referenced in this section are LATCP commands. For more information on LATCP commands, refer to the OpenVMS System Management Utilities Reference Manual.
  1. Edit LAT$SYSTARTUP.COM and add the following command to create an applications port on the host node (service node) that will support your printer:


    $ CREATE PORT LTAd:/NOLOG/APPLICATION 
    

    In this command format, you supply the number of the applications port for d, which must be a unique number from 1-9999.

    Note

    LTA devices are not always dedicated to printers; they may be shared with other devices. Connections to the LTA device from the other devices are established dynamically among the lowest available ports. If you assign a higher port number to the printer, you can help secure the port for the printer and prevent interference from connections to other devices.

  2. In LAT$SYSTARTUP.COM, add the following command to associate the applications port with a remote port on a server:


    $ SET PORT LTAd:/NODE=server_name/PORT=port_name/QUEUE/APPLICATION 
    

    In the command format, you supply the following values:
    LTAd: Name of the application port
    server_name Name assigned to the LAT device
    port_name LAT device's port name

    The following example associates application port LTA9000: with port PORT_7 on a remote DECserver 200 named LN03RDS:


    $ SET PORT LTA9000:/NODE=LN03RDS/PORT=PORT_7/QUEUE/APPLICATION 
    

    If the LAT device is dedicated to printing services, you can define the LAT connection for the printer in the DCPS$STARTUP.COM file. This makes it easier for you to solve configuration problems because all the information is in one file. However, if the LAT device also supports devices other than printers, you should define the port in the LAT$SYSTARTUP.COM file.

  3. To make a successful LAT connection, you must make sure the following lists of groups have at least one LAT group in common:
    If you did not set up these groups correctly, you receive the following error message when a print job is submitted:


    %DCPS-E-LRJACCESSDENIED, Access denied 
    

    You can use LATCP commands to include the necessary LAT group designations. For additional information, refer to the OpenVMS System Management Utilities Reference Manual.

    Note

    This information is not required for the DECserver 90L device.

2.1.1.2.4 Setting the Communications Speed

Make sure the serial printer communications speed is set to the default (9600 baud). If you want the printer to run at a different baud rate, use the following procedure.

If the printer is on a DECserver device, use the following steps:

  1. Set the printer to the appropriate baud rate (see your printer hardware installation guide).
  2. Set the DECserver communications speed (see your terminal server installation guide).
  3. Power on the printer. Wait for the printer to eject the power-up test page, and then check the test page to ensure that the desired settings are indicated on the test page.

2.1.1.3 AppleTalk Printers

If you use your printer in an AppleTalk network, the address of the printer in the AppleTalk network is normally the printer's PostScript printername. If two or more printers have the same printername and are on the same zone of the AppleTalk network, the actual node names for these printers will be depend on the order in which the printers are powered up. Printers of the same product type will have the same printername until it is explicity changed. Therefore, it is necessary to change a printer's printername to ensure the printer is uniquely and consistently identified on the network. Use the tools provided with your printer, and/or your PC or Macintosh to change the name of your printer.

2.1.2 Directly-Connected Serial Printers

For your printer and OpenVMS system to be able to communicate, you must set the baud rate of your printer and system's serial interfaces to the same values. Also, your printer should be set for eight-bit characters with no parity.

Note

When choosing a baud rate other than the default of 9600 baud, consider the following limitations:
  • OpenVMS drivers do not support baud rates of 3600 and 7200 baud.
  • DMZ32 serial interfaces, Revision E or lower, require a speed of 4800 baud or less.
  • If you select an improper speed, the printer may not operate or may stop unexpectedly.

Refer to your printer's hardware installation guide for information on configuring its serial interface. After you have made the necessary changes, turn the printer off and back on. Then manually print a test page and verify that the reported settings are as desired.

Set the baud rate of your OpenVMS system's serial interface by specifying a value for P6 when setting up the corresponding DCPS print queue, as described in Section 3.3.6.

Note

CSA0: (printer port 0 on VAXstation II and VAXstation II/GPX systems) is not a supported interface for serial printers.

DEClaser printers may require an H8571--E adapter if you are using a DECconnect serial cable. Refer to your printer installation guide for more information.

2.1.3 General Information

2.1.3.1 Supported Printers

You can use DCPS with many PostScript printers. Consult the SPD for the list of supported by the DECprint Supervisor software. You may also be able to use DCPS in an unsupported fashion with printers not listed in the SPD (see Section 7.12).

Before installing a printer, perform the following:

Printing legal size paper or printing duplex requires more memory than the base configuration. Consult your printer manual for your minimum requirements.

2.1.3.2 Setting the printer timeout

The printer may abort a print job if it does not receive data for a specified period of time. Compaq recommends that you change the timeout value to zero (0), which means no timeout.

You may be able to set the timeout value through the front panel, as documented in the operator's guide for your printer.

You can also change the printer timeout value with the setdefaulttimeouts PostScript operator. Modify the standard file SYS$COMMON:[SYSHLP.EXAMPLES.DCPS]LPS$SET_TIMEOUT.PS to change the timeout value to 0. Print the file using the DATA_TYPE=POSTSCRIPT parameter to change the timeout value in the printer's nonvolatile memory to 0, thus preventing timeout conditions on the printer.

To submit the file for printing as a PostScript job, use the following command:


$ PRINT/QUEUE=queuename/PARAMETER=(DATA_TYPE=POSTSCRIPT) LPS$SET_TIMEOUT.PS

When the print job is processed, a page is printed to indicate that the timeout was successfully changed.

2.1.3.3 Changing the Printer Password

PostScript printers have passwords that restrict access to certain functions. You can change the password for your printer from the default value. For serial printers, submit a print job that includes the current password as well as the new password. Refer to the PostScript Printers Programmer's Supplement for information about changing your printer's password.

The default password for ScriptPrinters is (LN03R), with the parentheses required. The default password for DEClaser printers is 0 (the number zero), without parentheses. If you change the printer password from the default, print jobs may take longer to print, because the printer password is required to persistently load PostScript prologues for ANSI files and separation pages.

2.1.3.4 Setting the Printer Name

Some system messages include the printer name. If you have not set a unique printer name, these messages contain the default printer name. The default printer name for a ScriptPrinter printer is LN03R. The default printer name for a DEClaser printer is DEClaser. For example, on a DEClaser printer where the name has not been changed, the following message reflects the default printer name:


%DCPS-I-TRAYSUBST, Output will be delivered to the only tray on DEClaser 

If you change the DEClaser printer name to SNUFFY, the same error message reflects the unique new printer name:


%DCPS-I-TRAYSUBST, Output will be delivered to the only tray on SNUFFY 

For non-PrintServer printers, the printer name is stored in the printer's nonvolatile memory. To set the printer name, edit a copy of the file LPS$SET_PRINTER_NAME.PS found in SYS$COMMON:[SYSHLP.EXAMPLES.DCPS] to include the desired name and password. Select a printer name of 31 characters or less.

Then submit the file for printing as a PostScript job:


$ PRINT/QUEUE=queuename /PARAMETER=(DATA_TYPE=POSTSCRIPT) - LPS$SET_PRINTER_NAME.PS

Edit and submit a copy of LPS$SET_PRINTER_NAME.PS for each printer that requires a unique name.

2.2 DIGITAL PrintServer Printers

DIGITAL PrintServer printers are network printers. They require the OpenVMS DECnet, Compaq TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS, Process Software MultiNet for OpenVMS or Process Software TCPware for OpenVMS software to be running on the OpenVMS systems where the DECprint Supervisor software is running.

Note

Make sure that PrintServer Software is running on the PrintServer printer before starting DECprint Supervisor.

The following procedures allow users to access PrintServer printers on TCP/IP and DECnet networks.

2.2.1 Defining PrintServer TCP/IP Network Nodes

Before you can communicate with your DIGITAL PrintServer printer via TCP/IP, you must assign an IP address to it. You may also associate a name with the address.

Refer to the PrintServer documentation for information on setting the printer's IP address. Refer to Compaq TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS, Process Software MultiNet for OpenVMS or Process Software TCPware for OpenVMS documentation for information on configuring your OpenVMS system's TCP/IP environment.

2.2.2 Defining PrintServer DECnet Network Nodes

Before you can communicate with your DIGITAL PrintServer printer via DECnet, you must assign a DECnet address to it. You may also associate a name with the address.

Refer to the PrintServer documentation for information on setting the printer's DECnet address.

To associate a DECnet node name name with the printer's DECnet address, use the NCP command if you are running DECnet Phase IV software, or the DECNET_REGISTER command if you are running DECnet-Plus (formerly DECnet/OSI) software. Refer to the OpenVMS DECnet documentation for more information about node names and these commands.

2.2.3 Deleting the PrintServer Client Startup File

An existing LPS$STARTUP.COM file, if any, is no longer used and is not compatible with DECprint Supervisor. Delete this file after you edit DCPS$STARTUP.COM. To delete this file, follow this procedure:

Note

Delete all generic queues before deleting the execution queue.
  1. Stop existing print queues with the STOP/QUEUE/RESET command.
  2. Delete existing PrintServer print queues.
  3. Add new print queues to DCPS$STARTUP.COM for PrintServer printers.
  4. If you have any customized definitions in the LPS$STARTUP.COM file, copy the changes into SYS$STARTUP:DCPS$STARTUP.COM.
  5. Edit SYS$MANAGER:SYSTARTUP_VMS.COM, removing the reference to SYS$MANAGER:LPS$STARTUP.COM.
  6. Delete LPS$STARTUP.COM. You can delete this and other files that are no longer needed for PrintServer printing using the following command file: SYS$COMMON:[SYSHLP.EXAMPLES.DCPS]DCPS$DELETE-LPS-CLIENT.COM


Chapter 3
Creating and Modifying Print Queues

This chapter explains how to start up the printing system and test the printer.

Note

Make sure the system queue manager is running before creating queues.

3.1 If You Are Installing the Software for the First Time

If this is a new installation, you can use the startup template file to help you set up your queues. Copy the printer startup template file as follows:


$ COPY SYS$COMMON:[SYS$STARTUP]DCPS$STARTUP.TEMPLATE -
$_ SYS$COMMON:[SYS$STARTUP].COM

3.2 If You Are Upgrading From DECprint Printing Services Software (CPS)

DECprint Printing Services (CPS) is the predecessor software to DECprint Supervisor (DCPS). If you are upgrading from CPS to DCPS, see Section D.3 for more information.

3.3 Setting Up Execution Queues

You must create an execution queue for each PostScript printer. Execution queues schedule jobs for processing and deliver the print jobs to a printer. An execution queue is associated with a particular printer.

When you create an execution queue, you supply information about the queue, including its name and default parameters. Example 3-1 shows creation of an execution queue for a raw TCP/IP printer. Example 3-2 shows creation of an execution queue for a PrintServer printer. These commands are placed in DCPS$STARTUP.COM.

Example 3-1 Creation of an Execution Queue Entry for a Raw TCP/IP Printer

    $ @SYS$STARTUP:DCPS$EXECUTION_QUEUE - 
        2UP -                           ! P1 - Execution queue name 
        "IP_RAWTCP/lnm40.my.com" -      ! P2 - Interconnect protocol/device name 
        DCPS_LIB -                      ! P3 - Logical name for library(ies) 
        "NUMBER_UP=2" -                 ! P4 - Default queue parameters 
        "/DEFAULT=(FLAG,FORM=MYFORM)" - ! P5 - Default queue qualifiers 
        "" -                            ! P6 - Communication speed (serial only) 
        "" -                            ! P7 - Device characteristics 
        ""                              ! P8 - Verify on/off 
This queue is called 2UP and uses raw TCP/IP to the printer called lnm40.my.com. Jobs printed to this queue print two pages to a sheet, with a flag page and include the code in the form MYFORM.

Example 3-2 Creation of an Execution Queue Entry for a PrintServer Printer

    $ @SYS$STARTUP:DCPS$EXECUTION_QUEUE - 
        LPS20$BULL09 -                  ! P1 - Execution queue name 
        "DECNET/BULL09" -               ! P2 - Interconnect protocol/device name 
        DCPS_LIB -                      ! P3 - Logical name for library(ies) 
        "SIDES=2" -                     ! P4 - Default queue parameters 
        "" -                            ! P5 - Default queue qualifiers 
        "" -                            ! P6 - Communication speed (serial only) 
        "" -                            ! P7 - Device characteristics 
        ""                              ! P8 - Verify on/off 
This queue is called LPS20$BULL09 and uses DECnet to a PrintServer printer called BULL09. Jobs printed to this queue print in duplex.

Note

Configure your system so that required software is started before you start your execution queues. For example, for a networked printer, ensure that the corresponding TCP/IP, LAT, DECnet, AppleTalk, or PrintServer Supporting Host software is started first.

Also, if you invoke DCPS$EXECUTION_QUEUE.COM directly, and neglect to add the same command to DCPS$STARTUP.COM, some DCPS queues may not work after your OpenVMS system reboots.

The following sections describe each item of information you need to supply to DCPS$EXECUTION_QUEUE.COM, as outlined in Table 3-1.

Table 3-1 Parameter Values for Execution Queues
Parameter Value
P1 (required) Name of the execution queue
P2 (required) Printer device description, including some or all of the following:
  Node name if in an OpenVMS Cluster and you want to specify the system on which the DCPS queue is to be run
  Interconnect protocol
  Port number for raw TCP/IP printers
  AppleTalk zone for AppleTalk printers and zone name is required
  AppleTalk printer type for AppleTalk printers and printer type is required
P3 (required) Logical name pointing to device control library(ies)
P4 (optional) Default queue parameters
P5 (optional) Default queue qualifiers
P6 (optional) Communication speed (for directly-connected serial devices only)
P7 (optional) Device characteristics
P8 (optional) Verification setting for debugging

3.3.1 Supplying the Name of the Execution Queue (P1)

An execution queue name can have 1-31 characters, including uppercase and lowercase alphabetical characters, digits, the dollar sign ($), and the underscore character (_). The queue name must include at least one alphabetical character and cannot have intervening spaces.

3.3.2 Supplying the Printer Device Name (P2)

The printer device name specifies the interconnect and device used to access the printer, and the VMScluster member node on which it resides.

Specify the device name in the following format:


    node::"interconnect/interconnect_specific_device_address"

where:

There are other printer protocols that layer upon TCP/IP, including CPAP (Common Printer Access Protocol), LPD, and Telnet. DCPS uses CPAP to communicate with DIGITAL PrintServer printers. DCPS does not use LPD or Telnet.

To communicate with your printer using raw TCP/IP, the NIC, print server or terminal server that you use to connect your printer to the network must provide a raw TCP/IP port. Further, this raw TCP/IP port must support bidirectional communication between the printer and your OpenVMS system. DCPS does not work with unidirectional ports, such as those found on the NICs for the DEClaser 3500 and 5100 printers, the RapidPrint 200 and 500, and HP JetDirect cards that interface with the printer via its XIO (versus MIO) slot.

Note

The device specification syntax allows a device name to be longer than 39 characters. Those device names that are longer than 39 characters display as "DCPS$" for the value of the /ON qualifier. The device name is stored in logical name DCPS$queuename_DEVICE_NAME.


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