# Compaq DECprint Supervisor (DCPS) for OpenVMS
System Manager's Guide

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### 3.3.2.1 If Your Printer Is On a TCP/IP Network and Uses Raw TCP/IP Sockets

Enter the device information in the following format:

        "IP_RAWTCP/address:port"

where:

address is the IP address of your NIC, print server, or terminal server in either a named or numeric format.

port is the number of the raw TCP port for your network device. Check the documentation for your NIC, print server, or terminal server to determine what number to use. Table 3-2 shows the port numbers for some commonly-used devices.

Table 3-2 Raw TCP / IP Port Numbers
| 20nn | DECserver terminal servers, where "nn" is the physical port number
| 2501 | DIGITAL LN17ps and DIGITAL Laser Printer LN17+ps
|  | Emulex NICs
| 3001 | DIGITAL Laser Printer LN15 and LN15+
|  | DIGITAL RapidPrint 500 print server
| 6869 | Compaq Laser Printer LNC02
|  | DIGITAL Laser Printer LN20, LN40 and LNC02
| 9100 | Compaq Laser Printer LN16, LN32 and LNM40
|  | GENICOM Intelliprint mL, LN and microLaser printers
|  | GENICOM RapidPrint MPS100 print server
|  | HP LaserJet printers
|  | IBM InfoPrint printers
|  | Lexmark C, Optra, S, Optra T, T and W series printers
|  | Tektronix Phaser printers
|  | Xerox DocuPrint N printers
|  | HP JetDirect, Lexmark and XCD print servers

For example, a raw TCP/IP printer could be specified by either of the following:

        "IP_RAWTCP/lnm40.my.org:9100"
        "IP_RAWTCP/8.9.10.11:9100"

Note If you specify the wrong port number for the printer, DCPS is unable to communicate with the printer. However, because the symptoms are no different than if the printer were busy or offline, you do not receive any indication that the port number is wrong.

### 3.3.2.2 If Your Printer Is On a LAT Network or Directly Connected

Use the following format for serial printers:

If Your Serial Printer is On... | Use This Format ... | Where ...
--- | --- | ---
A local serial line | "SERIAL/T xyn" | x is the printer type code, y is the controller name, and n is the host system unit number.
A LAT port | "SERIAL/LTA n" | n is the host system unit number.

Note The SET TERMINAL and SET DEVICE commands translate the name of the printer for serial printers. To prevent the commands from translating the printer name, prefix the printer name with an underscore (_).

### 3.3.2.3 If Your PrintServer Printer Is Part of a TCP/IP Network

Enter the device information in the following format:

        "IP_CPAP/address"

where address is the IP address of your DIGITAL PrintServer printer in either a named or numeric format.

For example, a PrintServer TCP/IP node could be specified by either of the following:

        "IP_CPAP/garmnd.dsg.dec.com"
        "IP_CPAP/16.128.144.11"

### 3.3.2.4 If Your PrintServer Printer Is Part of a DECnet Network

Enter the device information in the following format:

        "DECNET/nodename"

where nodename is the DECnet node name of your DIGITAL PrintServer printer.

For example, a PrintServer DECnet node could be specified by:

        "DECNET/GARMND"

### 3.3.2.5 If Your Printer Is Part of an AppleTalk Network

You can include printers in your printing system that are connected to an AppleTalk network. To make an AppleTalk printer a network sharable device, the PATHWORKS for OpenVMS (Macintosh) software must be running on the same node that is running the DCPS queue.

Enter the device information in the following format:

        "APPLETALK/printername@zone@type"

where:

- printername is the AppleTalk node name assigned to the printer. This is the PostScript printer name. This value is required.
- zone is the zone that includes the printer. This value is optional. The default is the AppleTalk zone for the network segment of the OpenVMS system on which the print queue is running.
- type describes the printer's accessibility. This value is optional. Generally, the type is LaserWriter.

When only printername is required, the information provided for P2 would be just "APPLETALK/printername".

For example, an AppleTalk printer could be specified by any of the following:

        "APPLETALK/Paul's Printer"
        "APPLETALK/Paul's Printer@MRO"
        "APPLETALK/Paul's Printer@MRO@LaserWriter"

Note PATHWORKS for OpenVMS (Macintosh) has been retired and is no longer supported.

## 3.3.3 Supplying the Library Logical Name (P3)

The name of the standard device control library is DCPS$DEVCTL. This is the default library name if this parameter is blank. Refer to Chapter 7 for more information about creating device control libraries and defining the device control library logical name.

## 3.3.4 Assigning Default PRINT Command Parameters to the Queue (P4)

You can specify default PRINT command parameters to associate with the queue. Any PRINT parameter can be associated by default with a queue. Default PRINT parameters are used when the print job prints on the specified queue, unless the user specifies different parameter values in the PRINT command line. The parameter values specified in the PRINT command line override the default queue parameters.

Place quotes around default PRINT parameters, as shown in the following example:

    $ @SYS$STARTUP:DCPS$EXECUTION_QUEUE -
        2UP -                               ! P1 - Execution queue name
        "SERIAL/TTB4:" -                    ! P2 - Interconnect protocol/Device name
        DCPS_LIB -                          ! P3 - Logical name for library(ies)
        "SIDES=2"                           ! P4 - Default queue parameters

How DECprint Supervisor Prioritizes PRINT Parameters

Parameters set by the /PARAMETERS qualifier of the PRINT command override any defaults set for the queue. DECprint Supervisor uses default values for parameters, from highest to lowest priority, as follows:

1. Parameters specified in the PRINT command
2. Queue defaults specified for the generic queue
3. Queue defaults specified for the execution queue
4. Defaults built into the DCPS software:
   - DATA_TYPE=AUTOMATIC
   - INPUT_TRAY=printer-specific1
   - LAYUP_DEFINITION=no default layup definition
   - MESSAGES=NOMESSAGES
   - NUMBER_UP=0
   - OUTPUT_TRAY=printer-specific1
   - PAGE_LIMIT=no limit
   - PAGE_ORIENTATION=PORTRAIT
   - PAGE_SIZE=(same as SHEET_SIZE)
   - NOPUNCH
   - SHEET_COUNT=1
   - SHEET_SIZE=printer-specific1
   - SIDES=printer-specific1
   - STAPLE=NONE
   - TAB=NOTAB

Some parameter values are controlled by the printer hardware and can be set through means other than the DECprint Supervisor software. DIGITAL PrintServer printers are affected by the PrintServer Software. Other printers are controlled through the printer control panel or switches.

## 3.3.5 Supplying Default Queue Attributes (P5)

You can supply a value to override or add to the default queue attributes. Do not use the INITIALIZE/QUEUE command to set these qualifiers. Enter them into the queue definition instead.

By default, the printer startup command procedure creates print queues with the following INITIALIZE/QUEUE qualifier settings:

- /SEPARATE=(BURST,TRAILER,NORESET)
  The /SEPARATE qualifier is used to specify job separation pages. The default setting specifies:
  - Job burst pages.
  - Job trailer pages.
  - No reset module is sent between print jobs (NORESET). This setting is included for compatibility with sites upgrading from PrintServer client software.
- /FORM_MOUNTED=DCPS$DEFAULT
  This qualifier allows you to include a default form definition assumed to be mounted on the printer. The default form for ANSI jobs only is DCPS$DEFAULT. If you include a form definition with the /FORM_MOUNTED qualifier, specify the same form definition in the /DEFAULT qualifier as well.
- /DEFAULT=(NOFEED)
  The /DEFAULT qualifier specifies default PRINT qualifiers. The standard queue definition specifies a default setting of NOFEED on print jobs. You can modify this command line to include any PRINT qualifiers. For example, you can include your own form to be applied to print jobs when a form definition is required:

      /DEFAULT=(FORM=MYFORM,NOFEED)

  If you specify the /DEFAULT qualifier, be sure to include the FORM and NOFEED keywords. If they are not included, the values revert to the OpenVMS defaults, which are not compatible with the DECprint Supervisor software.

Note If you include more than one qualifier in the queue definition, enclose the values in quotation marks.

## 3.3.6 Setting the Speed for Serial Printers (P6)

You can set the communications speed for serial printers attached directly to your OpenVMS system. If this parameter is blank, the default is 9600 baud. To change the speed, replace the null string ("") with a value, such as "19200". For printers that utilize network connections, this parameter is ignored.

## 3.3.7 Supplying SET DEVICE Qualifiers to the Queue (P7)

You can specify the SET DEVICE command qualifiers for this queue. For example, to enable error logging, include the following string:

    "/ERROR_LOGGING"

Now, all error messages reported by the printer are recorded in the error log file, SYS$ERRORLOG:ERRLOG.SYS. You can read this file using the ANALYZE/ERROR command.

This parameter is valid for serial printers only.

## 3.3.8 Enabling SET VERIFY When Initializing the Queue (P8)

You can specify the setting of the SET VERIFY command for the DCPS$EXECUTION_QUEUE.COM command procedure. The default setting is NOVERIFY, to save log file space and console log space. If P8 contains 1, then SET VERIFY is enabled, which is useful for diagnosing problems in the printer startup file. (Refer to the OpenVMS DCL Dictionary for more information about the SET [NO]VERIFY command.)

Note #### 1 These settings depend on the setting of the printer's PostScript interpreter.

# 3.4 Customizing Execution Queue Behavior

You can alter the behavior of DCPS print symbionts and their corresponding execution queues in a number of ways, several of which are described in this section. Other options are listed in Appendix B, along with general guidelines for making the changes. Some customizations apply to all DCPS queues while others apply only to queues that you specify.

## 3.4.1 Running DCPS as a Multistreamed Process

DECthreads is used to implement the numerous functions of DCPS. All processes that use DECthreads execute periodically to determine if any threads can run. Even when no jobs are printing, DECthreads causes a DCPS process to run to determine if any threads can run. If there are many DCPS queues started on a system, the scheduling and periodic execution of all these processes can use a significant amount of CPU time. This problem is resolved by running DCPS as a multistreamed process, thereby reducing the number of symbiont processes that must execute.

When running multistreamed, one DCPS process can run more than one DCPS execution queue. A new DCPS process is not started every time a DCPS print queue is started, but only when all current processes are supporting a specified maximum number of queues ("streams"). The number of queues that a DCPS symbiont process will support is determined by the value of the logical name DCPS$MAX_STREAMS when the process is started.

DCPS can be configured to support up to 32 execution queues per DCPS symbiont process. The logical name DCPS$MAX_STREAMS is used to specify the number of queues per DCPS symbiont process. To define this logical, specify the following command in your DCPS$STARTUP.COM file (a template is provided in DCPS$STARTUP.TEMPLATE) and substitute the number of queues per process to use. If this logical name is not defined, a DCPS process will support only one (1) execution queue.

    $ DEFINE /EXECUTIVE_MODE /SYSTEM DCPS$MAX_STREAMS max-number

Execute your DCPS$STARTUP.COM file to define this logical name and start your queues with DCPS as a multistreamed process.

A DCPS process terminates only when all queues associated with the process are stopped.

### 3.4.1.1 Managing Print Queues When Running Multistreamed

The OpenVMS Queue Manager controls when a symbiont process is created and terminated. Generally a new DCPS symbiont process is created when there are no free streams in all existing DCPS symbiont processes.

The set of print queues that a DCPS symbiont process supports is determined by the order in which queues are started, and by any subsequent stopping (STOP /QUEUE /RESET or STOP /QUEUE /NEXT) and starting (START /QUEUE) of queues. DCPS defines a logical name which identifies the process ID for a queue ( Section 5.8). You can use these logical names to determine the process that supports a queue and the set of queues that are supported by the same process.

Although not likely, a problem observed with one queue could be the result of a problem that exists with another queue, because both queues are supported by the same process. It may not be sufficient to examine the state of one job on one queue to identify a problem. You may need to look at the state of the first job on all the queues supported by that DCPS process.

A DCPS queue should not be stopped by stopping the DCPS process that supports that queue. Stopping a DCPS symbiont process with STOP /IDENTIFICATION will stop all of the queues supported by that process.

### 3.4.1.2 Changing the DCPS Environment When Running Multistreamed

With a single-streamed DCPS symbiont process, changes to DCPS logicals names and other aspects of the DCPS environment may not take effect until after you have issued a STOP /QUEUE /RESET and then a START /QUEUE command for the associated queue, depending on what you are trying to change.

To change the behavior for a single DCPS queue that is associated with a multistreamed process, you may need to stop all the DCPS queues associated with that symbiont process and then restart them before the change will take effect. This is because some aspects of the environment are determined only when the DCPS symbiont process starts (rather than when a DCPS queue starts) and the symbiont process does not stop until all of its associated queues are stopped.

### 3.4.1.3 Determing the Proper Value for DCPS$MAX_STREAMS

There are several factors to consider to determine an appropriate number of queues per DCPS symbiont process including:

- You can reduce the number of process slots taken by DCPS by increasing the number of queues per process. This will free up process slots. By reducing the number of DCPS symbiont processes, you reduce the number of DECthread processes that must run periodically, which improves system performance.
- Even though a DECprint Supervisor process can be configured to support more than one execution queue, DCPS can translate only one file at a time. To avoid contention for translators, when a stream (queue) in a process needs a translator that is already in use, the translator for that stream is started in a separate temporary process. This can impact performance if your site primarily uses one translator, and print queues are generally busy. To reduce the likelihood of a impact on performance, choose a smaller value for DCPS$MAX_STREAMS.
- The maximum number of queues per process is 32. This limit is imposed by the OpenVMS queue manager.
- A DECprint Supervisor process running multiple print queues represents a potential single point of failure. If the supervisor process fails, or someone stops the process, then several queues are affected.

## 3.4.2 Interrupting Busy Printers When a Job Starts

DCPS normally waits for a raw TCP/IP, LAT, or serial printer to be idle before sending a new job to it. This is especially important in a networked environment where a printer connected through a DECserver device or other network terminal server can be shared among DCPS queues, LATSYM queues, Windows and UNIX hosts, etc.

Prior to version V1.2, DCPS used an aggressive synchronization sequence to gain control of a printer's PostScript interpreter. This scheme worked well in an all-DCPS environment, but in a multi-host environment it sometimes caused print jobs from other systems to terminate prematurely.

If you rely on DCPS's earlier behavior to abort errant PostScript jobs on one queue by starting a job on another queue, you can define the following system logical name to restore the more aggressive behavior:

    $ DEFINE /EXECUTIVE_MODE /SYSTEM DCPS$queuename_INTERRUPT_WHEN_BUSY TRUE

## 3.4.3 Suppressing PostScript Synchronization When a Job Starts

DCPS begins a job on a raw TCP/IP, LAT, or serial printer by synchronizing with its PostScript interpreter to ensure that the interpreter is ready to accept commands. However, some PostScript printers are not always in a state where they can recognize the synchronization control characters. In particular, some printers that support additional printer languages like PCL do not correctly respond to this sequence under certain circumstances. For example, the DEClaser 3500, when in PS/PCL sensing mode, inadvertently switches to PCL mode when DCPS sends a Ctrl/T character to its serial port. The printer, then out of the PostScript mode, does not respond, and the print job gets stuck in the "starting" state.

You can define a logical name to cause the DCPS symbiont to avoid using its usual synchronization sequence for printers that use a raw TCP/IP, LAT, or serial connection. The logical name has no effect when using printers connected via other means. Refer to Chapter 10 for printer-specific recommendations.

To disable the synchronization sequence for a print queue, use the following command:

    $ DEFINE /EXECUTIVE_MODE /SYSTEM DCPS$queuename_NO_SYNC TRUE

The absence of the synchronization step is not generally a problem for most modern serially-connected printers because such printers use flow control to hold off data when the interpreter is not ready to accept data. However, the printer is more vulnerable to printing "garbage" or losing jobs if communication parameters, such as baud rate and stop bits, are not set correctly. Depending on the configuration, it's also possible to lose print jobs if the printer data cable is disconnected or the printer is powered off.

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