Are there simply inharent problems with SCO 5.0.6 IP printing ?
Brent Bolin
I have been trying to get IP printing for some time to work. It does
work for the most part.
The company I work for has big cron job. These are order pics that
can be many hundreds.
The first attempt used HP Jetdirect. The problem happens when there
is a printer error. Out of paper or just a paper jam.
Please don't ask me about the printer errors there is nobody there at
3am.
The printer is attached to a 3 port HPJet Direct 500X.
The sympton of the problem is to duplicate print jobs. The job would
be shipped twice if not caught.
I then attempted to implent netcat. Now when there is a printer error
it just stops and the rest of the orders are lost.
The system has a Digi serial controler
epca - - - mem=0xFE400000 ports=48 PCI X(e)m
V6.0.6
I would prefer to get off the Digi controler if I can. Don't want to
play with rts/cts, xon/xoff.
This is a printek 4003 printer
If anybody has input on this I would like to hear it.
btb
Ronald J Marchand
news:fafbd945.03121...@posting.google.com...
> Hello All,
>
> I have been trying to get IP printing for some time to work. It does
> work for the most part.
>
> The company I work for has big cron job. These are order pics that
> can be many hundreds.
>
> The first attempt used HP Jetdirect. The problem happens when there
> is a printer error. Out of paper or just a paper jam.
>
> Please don't ask me about the printer errors there is nobody there at
> 3am.
Why not??? This seems to be the root of the problem.
>
> The printer is attached to a 3 port HPJet Direct 500X.
>
> The sympton of the problem is to duplicate print jobs. The job would
> be shipped twice if not caught.
>
> I then attempted to implent netcat. Now when there is a printer error
> it just stops and the rest of the orders are lost.
>
> The system has a Digi serial controler
>
> epca - - - mem=0xFE400000 ports=48 PCI X(e)m
> V6.0.6
>
> I would prefer to get off the Digi controler if I can. Don't want to
> play with rts/cts, xon/xoff.
You said that you were using netcat and print server. I don;t understand
why you are mentioning the serial card.
>
> This is a printek 4003 printer
>
> If anybody has input on this I would like to hear it.
>
> btb
It would be helpful to know how the printer error is cleared. If the job
has been delivered to the printer and you power cycle the printer, it is
history. If the printer is disabled and enabled, the print job will restart
from the beginning.
Ron
Fabio Giannotti
> From: listm...@xenitec.on.ca [mailto:listm...@xenitec.on.ca]On
> Behalf Of Ronald J Marchand
> Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2003 11:27 AM
> To: distri...@xenitec.on.ca
> Subject: Re: Are there simply inharent problems with SCO 5.0.6 IP
> printing ?
>
>
> "Brent Bolin" <br...@dbprograms.com> wrote in message
> news:fafbd945.03121...@posting.google.com...
> > Hello All,
> >
> > I have been trying to get IP printing for some time to
> work. It does
> > work for the most part.
> >
> > The company I work for has big cron job. These are order pics that
> > can be many hundreds.
> >
> > The first attempt used HP Jetdirect. The problem happens when there
> > is a printer error. Out of paper or just a paper jam.
> >
> > Please don't ask me about the printer errors there is
> nobody there at
> > 3am.
>
> Why not??? This seems to be the root of the problem.
>
> >
> > The printer is attached to a 3 port HPJet Direct 500X.
> >
We use Jet Directs with a great deal of success. First, let me state, much
to the displeasure of most of the people on this list, that we do NOT use
netcat.
We use the HP stuff built in to SCO and have never had any problems
printing.
One note, we found that on multi-port Jet directs if the printer on port 1
is in an error condition, you can not print to ANY of the printers on that
Jet Direct. (This appears to only happen from SCO, not from Windows.) We
solved that problem by never using multi-port units.
Fabio
Bill Vermillion
You really don't want to use xon/xoff. Stick with rts/cts. With
only xon/xoff if you turn the printer off the job goes away
completely.
>
>This is a printek 4003 printer
>
>If anybody has input on this I would like to hear it.
>
>btb
--
Bill Vermillion - bv @ wjv . com
Tony Lawrence
It's not our displeasure. It's just that our EXPERIENCE with
other methods has shown us that it is better.
If YOUR experience says otherwise, then by all means continue
to use the Jet Direct tools.
>We use the HP stuff built in to SCO and have never had any problems
>printing.
And yet I have had dozens and dozens of clients who HAVE had problems.
--
to...@aplawrence.com Unix/Linux/Mac OS X resources: http://aplawrence.com
Get paid for writing about tech: http://aplawrence.com/publish.html
Jeff Liebermann
wrote:
>We use Jet Directs with a great deal of success. First, let me state, much
>to the displeasure of most of the people on this list, that we do NOT use
>netcat.
Hiss, boo, etc. I like netcat.
>We use the HP stuff built in to SCO and have never had any problems
>printing.
Hmmmm... HPNP. No garbage left in /tmp after each print job? No
spooler lockups when printing a large number (>500) of simultaneous
small files? No difficulties autoswitching between Postscribble and
PCL? No failure to restart if rebooted while printing? No exessive
LAN traffic if printers with one model of JetDirect card ran out of
printer and HPNP would poll the printer thousands of times per second?
>One note, we found that on multi-port Jet directs if the printer on port 1
>is in an error condition, you can not print to ANY of the printers on that
>Jet Direct. (This appears to only happen from SCO, not from Windows.) We
>solved that problem by never using multi-port units.
There are two possible fixes for that problem.
1. Early versions of HP JetDirect firmware had a problem that
simulated the effect. It would also happen with Windoze printing so
you probably don't have to worry about that one. However, make an
effort to check if your firmware is up to date.
2. SCO HPNP uses SNMP to determine print server status. HPNP is
stupid and only checks the status of the first printer. Therefore, if
you take the first printer offline or it runs out of paper, everything
stops on the 2nd and 3rd port. The easy fix is to rename the program
/bin/getone. This is the SNMP request binary. If HPNP can't find
SNMP, it assumes that the all the printers are always ready.
Admitedly, HPNP and LPR/LPD are suitable for normal printing jobs.
However, none of my customers are normal or they wouldn't hire me to
do battle with their systems. For example, one prints 1000 to 2000
payroll checks per day. There's nothing like a print queue with 1000
jobs waiting to test the stability of a print system. I switched to
netcat after HPNP and LPR/LPD screwed up far too often.
Also admitedly, netcat has its limitations. It's a direct dump to an
IP socket on the print server. Therefore, it does not work with print
servers that only support LPR/LPD, or do not have HP port 9100
JetDirect emulation. There is also no flow control. It relys on the
TCP/IP flow control (source quench) to prevent overflowing the print
server buffer. This works well with decent print servers (HP) and
screws up badly with buggy print server firmware (Netgear PS101). Try
it, you might like it.
--
# Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
# 831.336.2558 voice http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
# je...@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
# 831.421.6491 digital_pager je...@cruzio.com AE6KS
Bob Meyers
"Tony Lawrence" <a...@shell01.TheWorld.com> wrote in message
news:brb0rn$dp6$1...@pcls4.std.com...
I don't know if I use HPNP or not. But lpd works fine for me too. I go into
scoadmin -> HP Printer Menu -> Add printer to spooler option ONLY. And I
have never had a problem. I probably have...50 or more printers set that
way. No complaints. They probably don't have jobs like Jeff talks about,
that cause problems.
Will netcat work with ANY lpd printer? Or do you have to know a variable TCP
port number to make it work?
Tony Lawrence
Netcat is not generally used for lpd.
Read http://aplawrence.com/SOFAQ/scotec7.html#getnet
http://aplawrence.com/Unixart/netcatlpr.html
Jeff Liebermann
<oregon...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>Will netcat work with ANY lpd printer? Or do you have to know a variable TCP
>port number to make it work?
No. Netcat and LPR/LPD are unrelated. LPR/LPD use port 515 and
requires an elaborate bi-directional protocol to function. If you
just point netcat at port 515, nothing will happen. However, you can
use netcat for an LPR client as in:
http://www.aplawrence.com/Unixart/netcatlpr.html
where the script emulates the LPR/LPD protocol. This will work with
any LPR/LPD capable print server.
For netcat to work, the print server must have either HP JetDirect
emulation on port 9100 (9101, 9102 for 2 and 3 port servers), or it
has features to allow printing directly to an IP socket. There's no
real name for this feature. Netgear calls it peer-to-peer printing.
In general, most Linksys and Netgear print servers will function.
DLink is a crap shoot. All HP JetDirect print servers will work
except for one model that only did Windoze NETBIOS printing.
Everything from Axis will work.
Here's a partial list:
http://members.cruzio.com/~jeffl/sco/lp/printservers.htm
The only gotcha so far is that Netgear screwed up the firmware on
their print servers. While earlier versions worked just fine, the
current incantation doth suck and causes hangs. To make matters
worse, their overly intelligent firmware update utility does not allow
for a downward revision update. Netgear (outsourced) support is
playing stupid and claims printing directly to an IP socket is
unsupported. Hint: Avoid Netgear until they either allow back-revs
or fix the problem.
--
Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
(831)421-6491 pgr (831)336-2558 home
http://www.LearnByDestroying.com AE6KS
je...@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us je...@cruzio.com
Bob Meyers
> Bob Meyers <oregon...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> >"Tony Lawrence" <a...@shell01.TheWorld.com> wrote in message
>
into
> >scoadmin -> HP Printer Menu -> Add printer to spooler option ONLY. And I
> >have never had a problem. I probably have...50 or more printers set that
> >way. No complaints. They probably don't have jobs like Jeff talks about,
> >that cause problems.
>
> >Will netcat work with ANY lpd printer? Or do you have to know a variable
TCP
> >port number to make it work?
>
> Netcat is not generally used for lpd.
>
Yea, thats the problem. Joe Company has a new printer out that works with
lpd fine. It is 2500 miles away and I don't even know the brand name. LPD
would work, would netcat?
(Above scenario is currently playing live, as I type :)
Stuart J. Browne
"Bob Meyers" <oregonbob2000 at yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:FqOdnQEcg6O...@centurytel.net...
We use HPNP for all of our clients (all up, only about 200-300 printers),
and we only have 1 repeating issue at a 2-3 sites (easy fix though,
'disable printer;enable printer').
Only use lpd for pc-based windows printers using 'TCp/IP Print Server'.. ;P
Ronald J Marchand
From my point of view, netcat doesn't care what kind of printer is attached.
It does matter as to the print server it talks to.
Ron
Jeff Liebermann
<roj...@covad.net> wrote:
>From my point of view, netcat doesn't care what kind of printer is attached.
>It does matter as to the print server it talks to.
>Ron
True. However, it does care what kind of gateways, routers,
firewalls, IP filters, proxy servers, and intrusion detection systems
are between the user and the print server. Just about anything that
is configurable by IP port number could cause problems with remote
printing. LPR/LPD requires requires 515 and 721-731 to be open. HPNP
requires 9100 and optionally 161 for SNMP status, to be open. Netcat
requires 9100 only. See:
http://members.cruzio.com/~jeffl/sco/lp/printservers.htm
for additional ports for other services and ports. I usually
circumvent the issue by using a VPN, which delivers ALL the IP ports
across the internet in a secure manner and avoids most of the router
configuration issues.
Drivel: I once scribbled a shell script that scanned a block of IP
addresses for print servers. There was a legitimate reason for doing
this as I had to chase down about 30 print servers that had their IP
address set with DHCP and had been assigned unknown IP addresses when
some clever lunatic setup a wireless router and started assigning DHCP
addresses. I later expanded the script to print a message on the
printer.
I couldn't resist the temptation to scan some routeable IP blocks for
printers. I enhanced my reputation as a PITA at a local ISP that soon
discovered that all their print servers were easily and insecurely
accessible from the internet. Since I also fix laser printers, it was
originally thought to be some kind of sales trick or junk "fax". I
had to print out multiple warnings on the printers to get their
attention. Yeah, printers on the internet are lots of fun.
Bob Meyers
"Ronald J Marchand" <roj...@covad.net> wrote in message
news:365b8$3fddc042$42a6716f$29...@msgid.meganewsservers.com...
>
> >
> > Yea, thats the problem. Joe Company has a new printer out that works
with
> > lpd fine. It is 2500 miles away and I don't even know the brand name.
LPD
> > would work, would netcat?
>
> From my point of view, netcat doesn't care what kind of printer is
attached.
> It does matter as to the print server it talks to.
I am having many of my customers installing big copy machines that also
serve as printers. Maybe I am on a lucky roll, but I have lately asked one
question, "Does it have an ethernet port on the back?,", If so, it probably
does lpd.
Michel Donais
BBx4
I have a serial printer connected to ttyr008
To put the line up at 19200 I used this script line at boot (the one
wich is here after between #***** and #******; but I often loose the
connection.
I then put the line at the beginning of the spooler interface script
wich is the standard 'dumb' from SCO.
This way I keep my serial line up but what I noiced is that every
time I send to the printer I start a 'cat' process that doesn't terminate
by itself; this mean that by a standard day I get around 300 process
running useless.
Did somebody can point a way to a solution
Michel
---------beginning of the 'dumb' interface script ----------
:
# @(#) dumb 25.2 95/03/27
#
# Copyright (C) 1988-1995 The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc.
# All Rights Reserved.
# The information in this file is provided for the exclusive use of
# the licensees of The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc. Such users have the
# right to use, modify, and incorporate this code into other products
# for purposes authorized by the license agreement provided they include
# this notice and the associated copyright notice with any such product.
# The information in this file is provided "AS IS" without warranty.
#
#ident "@(#)lp:model/dumb 1.3.1.2"
# lp interface for dumb-oki950 on /dev/ttyR008 line printer
#
#***************************************************************************
***
(stty 19200 ctsflow rtsflow -ixon -ixoff; cat >/dev/null) </dev/ttyr008 &
#***************************************************************************
***
x="XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"
Jean-Pierre Radley
| SCO OpenServer 5.0.4
| BBx4
|
| I have a serial printer connected to ttyr008
| To put the line up at 19200 I used this script line at boot (the one
| wich is here after between #***** and #******; but I often loose the
| connection.
|
| I then put the line at the beginning of the spooler interface script
| wich is the standard 'dumb' from SCO.
|
| This way I keep my serial line up but what I noiced is that every
| time I send to the printer I start a 'cat' process that doesn't terminate
| by itself; this mean that by a standard day I get around 300 process
| running useless.
|
| Did somebody can point a way to a solution
|
|
| #
| #***************************************************************************
| ***
| (stty 19200 ctsflow rtsflow -ixon -ixoff; cat >/dev/null) </dev/ttyr008 &
| #***************************************************************************
| ***
Why do you have a cat command at all?
Just follow the example in TA 109704:
http://www.sco.com/cgi-bin/ssl_reference?109704
And are you sure your printer can do ctsflow/rtsflow? What
manufacturer/model would that be?
--
JP
Ian Wilson
> SCO OpenServer 5.0.4
> BBx4
>
> I have a serial printer connected to ttyr008
> To put the line up at 19200 I used this script line at boot (the one
> wich is here after between #***** and #******; but I often loose the
> connection.
>
> I then put the line at the beginning of the spooler interface script
> wich is the standard 'dumb' from SCO.
>
> This way I keep my serial line up but what I noiced is that every
> time I send to the printer I start a 'cat' process that doesn't terminate
> by itself; this mean that by a standard day I get around 300 process
> running useless.
>
> Did somebody can point a way to a solution
> (stty 19200 ctsflow rtsflow -ixon -ixoff; cat >/dev/null) </dev/ttyr008 &
Looks to me that everytime this gets executed it starts a "cat" process
for no good reason and puts it into background with the ampersand.
What is wrong with the following?
stty 19200 ctsflow rtsflow -ixon -ixoff </dev/ttyr008
AFAIK stty won't output anything to STDOUT.
If you must discard STDOUT, for some reason, why wouldn't the following
suffice for your needs?
stty 19200 ctsflow rtsflow -ixon -ixoff </dev/ttyr008 >/dev/null
David Font
have disabled XON/XOFF in your printer script
Dave
"Michel Donais" <don...@gsig-net.qc.ca> wrote in message
news:zNWid.83001$vO1.4...@nnrp1.uunet.ca...
NSM
| BBx4
|
| I have a serial printer connected to ttyr008
| To put the line up at 19200 I used this script line at boot (the one
| wich is here after between #***** and #******; but I often loose the
| connection.
|
| I then put the line at the beginning of the spooler interface script
| wich is the standard 'dumb' from SCO.
|
| This way I keep my serial line up but what I noiced is that every
| time I send to the printer I start a 'cat' process that doesn't terminate
| by itself; this mean that by a standard day I get around 300 process
| running useless.
That's an odd way to do that.
# stty 19200 ctsflow rtsflow -ixon -ixoff </dev/ttyr008
would let root set the parameters for ttyr008 from a different terminal.
For a printer, in the printer script, you should simply insert
stty 19200 ctsflow rtsflow -ixon -ixoff
and I expect that would work correctly and leave no zombies running.
NM
Bill Vermillion
And the standard to way to set the speed on the ports is to do it
outside the script he's using. I first learned this in the old
Xenix days in the mid-80s. The line is simlar to the above
but then we'd put it in /etc/rc.d/? [I think 8 was the typical
place]. That way the line speed is set all the time.
Putting it outside the printer script should cure it.
Bill