Progress
Client Deployment
Guide


UNIX Networks and Printing

UNIX systems can be integrated into a variety of networks. This section describes how to set up remote printers using the TCP/IP networks and the Basic Networking Utilities. You can use both of these protocols to connect UNIX System V and Berkeley 4.n systems.

On TCP/IP networks, remote spooling is handled with two spooling queues, one on the local machine and one on the remote machine.

Follow these steps to set up remote printers using TCP/IP networks:

  1. Be sure that the required TCP/IP system files are set up on both the local and remote machines. The local and remote machines have entries in their /etc/hosts and /etc/hosts.equiv files to facilitate network operations.
  2. Be sure that the printer is set up on the remote machine.
  3. Define an entry for the remote printer in the /etc/printcap file on the local machine. This remote-printer entry must have an empty field for the lp capability, a remote machine designation, a remote printer designation, and a remote spooler directory designation. The remote printer that you define in the /etc/printcap file can be the default print spooler for the local machine.
  4. Create the spooling directory, then use the lpc start and lpc enable commands to allow the remote printer to receive print requests and to enable spooling for the printer.

When you initiate a remote print job with lpr, the job is queued locally and a daemon process is created to oversee the transfer of the job to the remote machine. If the destination machine is unreachable, the job remains queued until it is possible to transfer the files to the spooling queue on the remote machine.

Follow these steps to set up remote print spooling using the Basic Networking Utilities:

  1. Be sure that the Basic Networking Utilities (uucp) are installed on both the remote and local machines. The Basic Networking Utilities use a series of files to define network machines (L.sys), to set up communications mechanisms and characteristics (L.devices and L-dialcodes), to determine what commands can be executed remotely (L-cmd), and to set up network permissions (USERFILE). An entry is also required in the /etc/passwd file on each network machine to allow uucp logins.
  2. Be sure that the printer is set up on the remote machine.
  3. Create an executable script to use the uux command to enact a print job on the printer attached to the remote node.

When you use the uux command to execute a remote print job, the network request is queued in the local uucp spooling directory, permissions are checked, and the request is sent to the remote machine. The remote machine places the print request in the spooling directory of the printer.

For more information about UNIX networks and printers, see the UNIX system administration documentation.


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