Connecting a TCP/IP-Attached IPDS Printer in PSF/6000

This document describes how to configure OS/6000 ( AIX OPERATION SYSTEM ), TCP/IP and PSF 6000 to print on TCP/IP-attached IPDS printers, including LAN printers attached using the OnePrint server or client.

The " Add a TCP/IP Attached Printer " panel should be used in order to configure the PSF/6000 so that it recognizes the TCP/IP-attached IPDS printer. (Figure 1 shows the SMIT ASCII interface.)

To add TCP/IP-attached IPDS printers to PSF/6000, follow these steps:

Note: You must have root user authority to add TCP/IP-attached IPDS printers to PSF/6000.

1. At the AIX command-line prompt, enter:

smit psfcfg

Note: If you are already in SMIT, you need to select Devices from either the SMIT main menu or the Return to: (upper) panel, and then select PSF/6000 Printer Definition.  

2. From the PSF/6000 Printer Definition menu, select Add a Printer or PSF/6000 Queue.

3. From the Attachment Type menu, select TCP/IP.

SMIT displays the Add a TCP/IP Attached Printer panel (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Add a TCP/IP Attached Printer Panel.



Add a TCP/IP Attached Printer

Type or select values in entry fields.

Press Enter AFTER making all desired changes.


[Entry Fields] 
*Data stream type IPDS 
*Printer NAME [] 


*Internet ADDRESS [] /

*PORT number [5001] #

*Number of QUEUE DEVICES [4] #

*Connection TIMEOUT (seconds) [30] #

Description []

To specify other characteristics after you add

a printer, select Change Characteristics of

a Printer from the

PSF/6000 Printer Definition panel.


F1=Help F2=Refresh F3=Cancel F4=List 
F5=Undo F6=Command F7=Edit F8=Image

F9=Shell F10=Exit Enter=Do 


4. Fill in all the fields on the Add a TCP/IP Attached Printer panel. The first six fields are required; however, you cannot modify the Data stream type field, which has already been set to IPDS.

Printer NAME - PSF/6000 uses the name you specify here for the name of the printer, the queue name associated with the PSF/6000 printer, and the name of the printer profile associated with the printer. Enter a name up to eight alphanumeric characters in length.

Note: Although you can specify up to eight characters, some AIX commands (such as lpstat and enq -A) display only the first seven characters.

Internet ADDRESS - Specify the Internet Protocol address of the TCP/IP-attached IPDS printer. For printers attached using the OnePrint LAN Attachment, use the Internet Protocol address of the OnePrint. You can specify either the dotted decimal address or a host name, up to 256 alphanumeric characters. For example, either of the following addresses are valid:

9.11.234.234

bob.asigate.com

Note: PSF/6000 does not validate this entry until you submit a PSF/6000 print job.

PORT number - The port number identifies the appropriate internal process in the OnePrint

. The TCP/IP port number must be 5001for OnePrint ClientExpress, for the ServerExpress it is 5000+OnePrint port number.

Number of QUEUE DEVICES - Specify the number of queue devices that PSF/6000 uses

to process files for this printer. This value determines the number of queue device entries that are added to the configuration file, /etc/qconfig.

Select the number of queue devices based on your system's multitasking and throughput requirements; however, the more queue devices you specify, the more RISC System/6000 memory PSF/6000 uses.

if the printer you are configuring is a high-throughput printer select a higher number from the list. Select a lower number if the printer will be a low-throughput printer. You can specify a value from 1 to 9; the default is 4.

Connection TIMEOUT (seconds) - Specify the amount of time, in seconds, that PSF/6000

waits before terminating its attempts to communicate with the printer when no connection can be made. You can specify a value from 0 to 9999; the default is 30.

Description - This field is optional; however, it is useful in describing the printer, such as specifying its location, its use, or the department or account using it.

5. Press Enter (ASCII interface), or select Do (AIXwindows interface) to complete the PSF/6000 configuration for this printer.

Your TCP/IP-attached IPDS printer is now ready to accept print jobs placed on its PSF/6000 print queue.

6. Test that the path between the RISC System/6000, the PSF/6000 queue, and the PSF/6000 printer is correctly defined by printing the AIX message of the day and the PSF/6000 README file. At the AIX command-line prompt, enter the following commands:

enq -P printername /etc/motd

enq -P printername /usr/lpp/psf/README

where printername is the name of the printer you defined in this procedure.

Note: The file name and queue name are case-sensitive; you must enter the commands exactly as shown.

7. Verify that both print jobs print on the specified printer.

If the jobs printed correctly, you are ready to perform other configuration activities for this printer.

If the print jobs do not print, see ;Troubleshooting the Installation of TCP/IP-Attached IPDS Printers ;

Troubleshooting the Installation of TCP/IP-Attached IPDS Printers

A print job submitted to a PSF/6000 TCP/IP-attached IPDS printer could fail due to a number of reasons. This section describes some of the most common problems and suggests actions to help you resolve the problem:

  • The TCP/IP-attached IPDS printer is not correctly connected
  • The PSF/6000 printer profile does not exist
  • A core file is generated as a result of the print job
  • Nothing prints
  • An error log is generated
  • A trace log is generated

The TCP/IP-Attached IPDS Printer Is Not Correctly Connected

If nothing prints on your TCP/IP-attached IPDS printer, check to see if the printer is powered on.

The PSF/6000 Printer Profile Does Not Exist

After configuring a TCP/IP-attached IPDS printer (see ;Adding a TCP/IP-Attached IPDS Printer ; in topic 2.6.2), a printer profile file should be present in the /var/psf/printername directory (where printername is the name you assigned the printer during configuration). For example, if you created a queue named 3916A, then you should have a file named 3916A.profile in the /var/psf/3916A directory.

Follow these steps to check for the PSF/6000 printer profile:

  1. At the AIX command-line prompt, enter: cd /var/psf/printername

where printername is the name you assigned to the printer.

  1. At the AIX command-line prompt, enter:

ls -l

  1. Verify that the list contains the printername.
  2. If the file does not exist, do one of the following:
    1. In this procedure, you will remove all files related to the printer and configure the printer again. Follow these steps:
      1. Delete all files and directories in the /var/psf/printername directory.
      2. Remove the /var/psf/printername directory and the queue entry in the /etc/qconfig file.
      3. Configure the printer again using the procedure in ;Adding a TCP/IP-Attached IPDS Printer ;
    2. In this procedure, you will copy a printer profile from another printer and modify it for the printer whose printer profile is missing. Follow these steps:
      1. Locate a printer profile for another printer in the /var/psf/printername directory.
      2. Copy this profile into the /var/psf/directory, where directory is the directory of the missing profile.
      3. Rename this file so that the name reflects the name of the missing printer profile.
      4. Use the PSF/6000 SMIT Remove a Printer panel to remove the printer.This step is now possible because you have a printer profile file in the /var/psf/printername directory.
      5. Configure the printer again using the procedure in ;Adding a TCP/IP-Attached IPDS Printer

A Core File Is Generated as a Result of the Print Job

If PSF/6000 generates a core file, contact your IBM Pennant service representative. PSF/6000 writes the core file in the /var/psf/printername directory, where printername is the name you assigned to the printer during configuration.

Nothing Prints

If nothing prints on your printer, the cause may be the PSF/6000 print queue. Check the status of the print queue by entering:

enq -q -Pqueuename

where queuename is the name of the PSF/6000 print queue. (This is the name that you assigned to the printer during configuration.) The enq -q command returns one of the following as the status for the print queue. Perform the corrective action listed for the status:

RUNNING If the status is RUNNING, yet nothing prints:

  1. Bring down all queue devices for the PSF/6000 print queue and kill any instances of PSF/6000 associated with the queue devices by entering the following:

psfctl -kd printername1 printername2 ... printernameN

where printername is the name you assigned to the printer during configuration.

  1. Check that the print job status changes to QUEUED and the status for all of the queue devices for the print queue changes to DOWN.
    1. Delete the print job with the enq -x JobNumber command.
    2. Shut down and the start up OnePrint
    3. Start the print queue again by entering:

psfctl -u printername1 printername2 ... printernameN

  1. Check that the status for all of the queue devices for the print queue changes to READY, or INITING or RUNNING if a print job is queued.
    1. Submit the print job again.

INITING An INITING status indicates that the printer is initializing. A status of INITING that does not change to a status of RUNNING indicates a problem at the printer or with PSF/6000 if the printer is ready and PSF/6000 is still converting the input files into output data streams. Check the printer and correct any printer problem that is preventing completion of its initialization process. If nothing is wrong with the printer:

  1. Bring down all queue devices for the PSF/6000 print queue and kill any instances of PSF/6000 associated with the queue devices by entering the following:

psfctl -kd printername1 printername2 ... printernameN

where printername is the name you assigned to the printer during configuration.

Note: If no jobs are in the print queue, use the following command instead:

sfctl -dtu printername1 printername2 ... printernameN

  1. Check that the print job status changes to QUEUED and the status for all of the queue devices for the print queue changes to DOWN.
  2. Delete the print job with the enq -x JobNumber command.
  3. Shut down and then start up OnePrint.
  4. Start the print queue again by entering:

psfctl -u printername1 printername2 ... printernameN

  1. Check that the status for all of the queue devices for the print queue changes to READY, or INITING or RUNNING if a print job is queued.
  2. Submit the print job again.

DOWN The print queue is down. Start the print queue again with the PSF/6000 psfctl -u printername1 printername2 ... printernameN command.

Check that the status for all of the queue devices for the print queue changes to READY, or INITING or RUNNING if a print job is queued.

DEV_WAIT An operator-intervention condition, such as a paper jam, has occurred at the printer. Correct the problem at the printer. Then check that the print queue status changes to RUNNING.

UNKNOWN If this condition occurs, restart the qdaemon daemon. If the condition persists after restarting the qdaemon, remove the /var/psf/printername directory and the queue entry in the /etc/qconfig file.  

An Error Log Is Generated

PSF/6000 always generates an error log. PSF/6000 writes the error.log file in the /var/psf/printername directory, where printername is the name you assigned to the printer during configuration. If PSF/6000 runs successfully, PSF/6000 logs a message that indicates that PSF/6000 has started. If other errors occur, PSF/6000 also writes that information to the error log. You can use the PSF/6000 SMIT Error Log and Trace Options panel to change the directory in which the error log is stored.

To view the contents of an error log file written to the default directory, enter the following:

more /var/psf/printername

Note: If you have changed the directory in which PSF/6000 stores the log files, by using the PSF/6000 SMIT Error Log and Trace Options panel, enter that path with the preceding command.

A Trace Log Is Generated

PSF/6000 always generates a trace log, and it writes the trace.log and trace2.log files to the same directory as the error log. The trace log is for your IBM Pennant service representative only.

PSF/6000 always writes a header in the trace log stating that the trace log is for IBM internal use only. You can also use that panel to change the directories in which the trace log is stored.

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