Printing directly from IBM AS400 to NetportExpress PRO and PRO 10/100 using TCP/IP
Anund Lodden
When you configure the device you have to give the device a name, an IP-address and a port number to print to.
The portnumber should be 9100(could be between 0 and 65535) for port 1, 9101 for port 2 and so on. We have tried this on both
the NetportExpress PRO and PRO 100 with the same result. The result is that the AS400 comes up with an error
telling that "either is the IP address wrong(which is not true) or there is something wrong with the port.
When I telling this to IBM they say that the Intel NetportExpress box is not
PJL/PCL compatible. We have tried other printerboxes(HP JetDirect) which works fine.
(In fact I had to switch 5 of my Intel boxes to HP JetDirect because of lack of time)
Is it true that the NetportExpress box is not PJL/PCL compatible ? Or is it only that the
portnumber is wrong and should be another but the 9100 ? (In that case IBM can't tell me what it should be)
Philip H
I'm not sure why IBM* would tell you that about our print servers,
especially when they couldn't even tell you what the port numbers are. Here
is information on PJL/PCL compatibility and port numbers:
http://www.intel.com/network/products/netport10_100.htm
http://www.intel.com/network/questions_answers/print_servers5.htm
http://www.intel.com/network/questions_answers/print_servers6.htm#Question4c
http://www.intel.com/network/questions_answers/print_servers4.htm#Question2
Parallel port 1 - port 3001
Parallel port 2 - port 3002
Serial port - port 2501
Although we do not support AS/400*, some of our customers have found that
the configuration shown below works:
----------
1. Give the print server an IP address from NetPort Manager(R) or by using
the ARP command.
2. Add an entry for the print server's IP address in the AS/400 hosts table
using the CFGTCP command.
3. Use the SNDTCPSPLF (or LPR) command to send a job directly to the print
server, or create a REMOTE OUTQ, using the CRTOUTQ command to automate
printing.
With either of these options, the user will be prompted for the remote
printer queue name. It will be one of the following:
LPT1_TEXT, LPT1_PASSTHRU, LPT2_TEXT, LPT2_PASSTHRU, COM1_TEXT, or
COM1_PASSTHRU
Note: Information on the CFGTCP, SNDTCPSPLF, and CRTOUTQ commands was
obtained from IBM at
http://as400.rochester.ibm.com/qdls/400home/service/400tcp/lpr.htm on
8/28/96 (no longer available).
This document includes instructions and screen captures for each command.
----------
I hope this answers your question.
Thanks,
Philip H
Internet Support Engineer
Intel® Corporation
Networking Products
http://support.intel.com
* All other brands and names are property of their respective owners.
Anund Lodden wrote in message <774gfr$krg$1...@news.cps.intel.com>...
Anund Lodden
Thank you for your answer.
We have tried your suggestion earlier, and that works fine. What's not so fine is
that you don't have any control with your printing.
What IBM have suggested is that we define the printing device with the correct IP-
address and port number.
We have tried port number 3001, since port number 9100 suggested from IBM did'nt work, but
we got the same result as with port number 9100. The error message says that the AS400
could'nt find the port.
First I thought that I had to configure the Netport for bi-directional communication.
But that wouldn't work either.
So I took a closer look at our HP JetDirect boxes to compare the configuration
process with the Intel NetportExpress.
What I did found is that you tells the Jetdirect box that the printer supports HP PCL. The
other difference is that the Jetdirect box supports the "Microsoft, IBM Networks(DLC/LLC)"
protocol stack.
Perhaps it is the DLC/LLC protocol that is missing in the Intel Netport box, that makes the problem.
Does the Intel NetportExpress PRO support this protocol ? I haven't found it in the
technical specifications.
If the Intel NetportExpress PRO doesn't support this protocol, is there any way of upgrading possibilities
for this protocol or will it be available in the future ?
Regards,
Anund Lodden
Philip H
If they recommend using an IP number along with the port number, DLC/LLC
should not be involved as it works at a lower layer in the OSI model. DLC
as a protocol is not currently supported by our print server products as we
do not officially support the AS/400* system. I will let those documents I
referred you to in my earlier reply speak regarding support for PCL.
Actually, most have been able to use the IP number and port number together
successfully, so I'm not sure why it's not working for you. Can you FTP to
the device and copy a file to it? Is the print server replying to normal IP
functions (Telnet, Ping, etc.)
Please keep us updated on this.
Thanks,
Philip H
Internet Support Engineer
Intel® Corporation
Networking Products
http://support.intel.com
* All other brands and names are property of their respective owners.
Anund Lodden wrote in message <77vj7m$rpj$1...@news.cps.intel.com>...
Anund Lodden
the AS400. You talked about using FTP and copy a file to a device. If that
device is the printer server I'm not sure how to do it, because I get an syntax error message when I
try to send an ASCII file to the printer server.
Anyway, since we are printing over a WAN, could it be a kind of timeout that make problems.
There are 13 hops from the AS400 and to the printer server.
Regards,
Anund Lodden
Philip H
Here is a possible syntax that you could use (login as root, no password):
put filename lpt1
You do have to specify the port, and for some reason, I always have to push
the form feed button on the printer, though it shouldn't react that way.
Please keep us updated on this and let us know if you are able to trace down
what's happening over this 13-hop WAN connection.
Thanks,
Philip H
Internet Support Engineer
Intel® Corporation
Networking Products
http://support.intel.com
* All other brands and names are property of their respective owners.
Anund Lodden wrote in message <7899m7$k8h$1...@news.cps.intel.com>...
AnundLodden
When it comes to the 13-hop WAN connection I have no answer.
The only thing I know is that if I use a HP JetDirect box it works, and if I use an Intel box
it don't.
This problem occurs only if we want to print from the AS400 to a HP Laserjet or compatible printer.
Only then we can define the printer as a device and print directly to it. If the printer is a matrix
printer f.ex. OKI 321, we have to define the printing as a remote queue as usual. And in this case both
printer boxes are equal and works fine.
As mentioned earlier, IBM says that if you can't define the HP printer as a device, the printer box is
not PCL compatible. It seems to me that the HP JetDirect box "emulate" a HP Laserjet printer.
I thought that a printerbox should be "invisible" for the AS400, and therefore shouldn't make any problems.
Obviously there is differences between these two printer boxes when it comes to printing to a HP Laserjet.
I guess I just have to live with that until Intel eventually build in the same functionality as a HP JetDirect
printer box.
Regards,
Anund Lodden
r...@ci.medford.or.us
Intel Netport, please let us know. We are trying to do exactly the same
thing. Now we are thinking that perhaps we should be using JetDirects
instead of Netports. Any advice you can offer will be deeply appreciated. We
are just starting to move to direct TCP/IP connections instead of NWSAA, but
printing is a big issue. TIA
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Philip H
Good to hear back from you. You may be right on that last part of your
message. Obviously, when certain proprietary technologies are the property
of one vendor, you can imagine the difficulty in trying to maintain complete
compatibility.
We appreciate the feedback.
Thanks,
Philip H
Internet Support Engineer
Intel® Corporation
Networking Products
http://support.intel.com
* All other brands and names are property of their respective owners.
AnundLodden wrote in message <7a911l$5u1$1...@news.cps.intel.com>...
Anund Lodden
As mentioned earlier in this discussion you loose the opertunities of using a device directly to
the f.ex. port 1 on the printerbox. That means that you don't have the same control with the remote system
printing as printing to a device.
If you don't know exactly how you configure the AS400 for remote system printing, you'll find all you need
to know at http://publib.boulder.ibm.com:80/cgi-bin/bookmgr/BOOKS/SG242160
Pay especially attention to chapter 8.0, 8.1, 8.2 and 12.1.9
If you don't need more than one printer at one spot and you have Client Access, I'll recommend that you connect
your printer to the parallell port on the pc and define a printing session in Client Access. In Client Access they
have build in some "magic" that will do all the configuration for you on the AS400 automaticly. The only drawback with
this sollution, as far as I can see, is that you can't turn the pc off, because then you loose the connection to the AS400.
Hopefully this will help you.
Regards,
Anund Lodden
r...@ci.medford.or.us
tho I was trying to use the information in Section 11.2.2, rather than
Chapter 8, specifically so we would have a device and not just a remote outq.
From what I read there, it sounds like you ought to be able to that, since
the AS/400 now has HP drivers in V4R2. Do you read that differently?
Section 12.1.5 specifically identifies HP 4, 5, and 6 printers as candidates
for this, tho the Netport complicates it apparently. Like you, I thought the
Netport would be transparent. No matter what port # I try, I get CPD337F
(Remote device rejected an attempt by the writer to open a connection). I'll
keep flailing away at it, but I think we're going to shift our focus to the
existing JetDirects.
BTW, I checked the Netport documentation and it DOES indicate port # 3001, but
that hasn't worked for me.
We use Netsoft emulation rather than CA/400 and I have a print session on my
own desktop via TCP/IP but it too is just an outq, not a real print device.
We are trying to get AS/400 printer access off the desktop and go directly to
the printer from the AS/400 via the network. It looks like this will work
if: a) the printer is connected to a Novell print server, which isn't
practical for widely scattered locations; or b) the printer has a JetDirect
card in it. We have a sizable investment already made in Netports (they buy
us a LOT on the network side of things), but we MUST be able to print to H-P
Laserjets from the AS/400, so we may be forced to use JetDirects.
I'd appreciate your take on using the *HPPJLDRV to connect to a printer
directly, whether you read that the same way. TIA
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