HP JetDirect attachment type went "missing"

[steven_nospam at Yahoo! Canada]

This problem started happening after installing the latest AIX 5.3
TL10 fileset updates.

# oslevel -s
5300-10-01-0921

# smit mkpq
ATTACHMENT TYPE:
hpJetDirect Network Printer (HP JetDirect)

------------------------------------------------------------
Software to support the printer attachment type
you selected is not installed. Press Enter to
install software support packages for printer
attachment types (and printers).
------------------------------------------------------------

However, if I try to install the driver, it tells me it is already
installed. If I run it from command line, the printer is added ok:

/usr/lib/lpd/pio/etc/piomkjetd mkpq_jetdirect -p 'generic' -D asc -q
'LP8' -h 'hpjet8' -x '9100'

So I know the problem is with smit or, more probably, its database.

I tried replacing the smit directory in /var/spool/lpd/pio/@local with
the WORKING version from our secondary server (an identical system
that thankfully does not have this problem...yet) but it did not help.

So I am guessing the problem is coming in from another area, perhaps
one of these areas:
/usr/lpp/printers.rte/inst_root/var/spool/lpd/pio/@local/smit
/usr/lib/objrepos/sm_cmd_hdr
/etc/objrepos/sm_cmd_hdr

My question is whether anyone else has encountered this type of
problem? It looks to me like some sort of bug in smit or whatever
updates its repository.

This is the second machine I have encountered this on. The first time
I saw this, it was a test system and I figured someone blew away some
required files. To fix it on my test system, I had to re-install the
base printers.rte file using "Overwrite existing filesets" and then
apply the fileset updates.

I'll probably end up doing the same. Just wondering what might cause
this and if there were any easier way to update the smit to tell it
the HPJetDirect attachment type is already installed.

Thx.

Steve

[steven_nospam at Yahoo! Canada]

This is what was done to correct the problem:

Got out the base O/S media.
Selected the "HP JetDirect Network Attachment" from printers.rte
Install that fileset with option "Overwrite New or Existing Version".

It installed OK, and afterwards we could Add printers and select the
HP JetDirect attachment type. It still does not explain what caused it
to disappear from the selectable smit menus, but at least it is
working now.

I also compared the smit logs when using the "smit -v" and "smit -t"
options and it unfortunately gave no insight as to why it was not
being detected. The odmget for the sm_cmd_hdr and the other smit
repositories looked the same between the working and problem systems,
so I am at a loss.

Steve