Setting Up Printers with the HP-UX Spooler

One very common use of DDFA Utilities is sending HP-UX spooler output to printers attached to DTCs or other terminal servers. Refer to the HP-UX System Administration Tasks Manual for printer spooler information. Recall that when the HP-UX spooler is used with MUX-based printers, the printer is identified by its device file, such as /dev/lp. Each printer also requires the configuration of a model script, which defines the manner in which the spooler communicates with a specific printer type. The system administrator configures this information using SAM, or using the following HP-UX commands from the Shell prompt: lpadmin, lpsched, lpstat, accept, enable, and disable.

The HP-UX spooler can be configured to use DTC or other server-based printers in exactly the same way as MUX-based printers are. The following tasks must be completed before configuring the HP-UX spooler:

When configuring the HP-UX spooler, the pseudonym defined in the dedicated port file (/etc/ddfa/dp) identifies the printer. As usual, the system administrator selects a standard system model script that matches the printer connected to the DTC or other terminal server.

HP-UX Spooler Example

You wish to configure the HP-UX spooler so that the default system printer is a DTC printer. Afterwards, test the configuration by printing a file to the DTC printer using the HP-UX lp command. Use either SAM (System Administration Management) tool or the HP-UX lpadmin command to configure the HP-UX spooler. Use the HP-UX System Administration Tasks Manual to find the specific menu paths.

• Steps to configure the HP-UX spooler from SAM:

  1. After entering SAM, go to the screen for local printer/plotter.

  2. Select the option for adding a printer/plotter requiring a nonstandard device file.

  3. SAM scans the system hardware and lists all the MUX cards on the system. Select any MUX card and any port on that MUX card. You will later change the MUX device file name to another device file name associated with the DTC or non-DTC server port.

  4. Complete the screen for adding a printer as follows:

     Printer name:

     Assign a name to the printer.

     Printer model / interface:

     With this field selected, press the Enter key. Select the appropriate printer from the list displayed.

     Printer device file name:

     Enter the printer device file name that you entered in the file /etc/ddfa/dp for the DTC or other terminal server port. This replaces the MUX device file name that SAM supplied.

  5. Complete the other fields as desired.

  6. Exit from SAM.

• Another way to configure the printer is to use the command line method with the following commands:

  lpshut lpadmin -pdtcprinter -v/dev/dtc1b1p2 -mhp2235a accept dtcprinter enable dtcprinter lpsched lpstat -t

  If desired, you can make dtcprinter be the system default printer:

  lpadmin -ddtcprinter

  Now use the lp command to verify that your printer configuration worked:

  lp /etc/ddfa/dp