Instructions for configuring LPD servers for MVS printing

A DOS PC running Windows and PC/TCP, an Appletalk printer, or an LPD server on NIHnet should be able to accept print requests from VPS. This document describes the information necessary to get(receive) VPS directed print requests over NIHnet for

• A DOS PC running PC/TCP 2.31 or later as a dedicated LPD server
• A DOS PC running Windows and PC/TCP 2.31
• APPLE Laserwriters
• LPD servers

• Windows NT LPD Server

1. Check to see that the file LPD.EXE exists in the directory that contains the PCTCP.INI file. If it doesn't, it will need to be installed. You can do this with the PC/TCP install program.

2. Edit the PCTCP.INI file that is in your PC/TCP directory to include the following lines:

    [pctcp lpd]
    printers = lp
    
    [pctcp lpd lp]
    dev = lpt1
    dir = c:\spooldir
    break = no
    formfeed = yes
    text-init = (printer specific setup string)
   

   This defines an LPD printer queue with the commonly used LPD printer name of lp.

   The "dev=" statement specifies the device to print on.
   

   The "dir =" statement specifies that the local pc directory c:\spooldir will be used to spool (temporarily store) each print request prior to printing. If the directory pointed to by the "dir = " statement does not exist, PC/TCP will create it for you. This directory must have enough space to temporarily store the spooled print request. In the event the print request causes printer problems, the print requests can be removed by turning the printer off, then deleting files in this directory.
   

   The "break = no" statement turns off the printing of header pages which are only useful when more than one person is going to be using a printer.
   

   The "formfeed = yes" statement causes a formfeed character to be sent to the printer after every print request. This causes the printer to eject the page or go to the top of a new page. If this wastes paper, change the statement to "formfeed = no".
   

   The "text-init = " statement is optional. If included, it should specify a special setup string for the PC printer which will be sent to the printer before each print job. It can be used to enable a default font, page length, line spacing, or other printing characteristics.
   

3. Save the changes to the PCTCP.INI file, and reboot your PC.

4. The LPD server must then be started. This can be done by issuing the LPD command from the DOS prompt or by including the LPD command in the autoexec.bat file.

For more information about configuring the DOS LPD server, see Chapter 17 in the PC/TCP 3.0 manual "Managing PC/TCP."

From the PC/TCP WinApps 3.0 window, double click on the Server Control icon. In the Server Control window, select the LPD Print Server icon. From the Settings menu item, select Configure LPD Print Server. In the resulting LPD Print Server Configuration box, you can:

• Add, delete, or configure printers for the Print Server;
• Restrict access to the Print Server;
• Choose the level of logging information desired.

Queue Name: Enter the printer queue name that remote users specify in the LPR command. (Example: lp)

Directory: Specify the pathname of the spool directory. PC/TCP will create the directory if it does not exist. (Example: c:\spooldir)

Windows Printer: Select a printer from the pull-down list of installed Windows print drivers. This determines the port where Print Manager sends the print job.

Printer Operations:

Use log file: Select this option if you want to log messages about the print queue. Give the complete pathname of the file to hold the log messages. The print server will create the file if it does not exist.

Spooling: Select this to start printing. It must be ON for the server to print anything.

Header pages: Select this if you want a banner to start the print job.

Formfeed: Select to start each print job on a new page.

Printer Control Sequences: Enter any special printer control sequences here to control the header page font, startup print mode, or PostScript header. These commands are specific to the printer being used. Most sequences start with an unprintable escape character. In the print server window, type the string \e to specify the escape character. The HELP feature in this dialog window will give information on entering other unprintable characters.

File Type: You can select a file type and then define special initialization and end sequences for that file type. This can be done for multiple file types. (The HELP button will provide more information.)

To restrict access: Create a HOSTS file to restrict access to the LPD Print Server. Typically, the file is called HOSTS.LPD and is in the \ETC directory. The file should contain the name of each authorized host, one per line. Comment lines begin with a # character.

Sample \ETC\HOSTS.LPD file:

#  This is a comment line
userx.xyz.com
x55.station.edu
hostname.nih.gov

In the LPD Printer Server Configuration dialog box, select the Use Hosts File check box and enter the filename (e.g., C:\ETC\HOSTS.LPD) in the window.

For logging: Select the logging level desired by clicking on the Normal or Debug radio button.

Here is an example of what will be added to the PCTCP.INI file as a result of setting up an LPD server in Windows:

[pctcp lpd]
printers = usasx55
use-auth-file = yes
logging-level = normal
auth-file = c:\ets\hosts.lpd
 
[pctcp lpd usasx55]
dir = c:\spooldir
win-printer-name = HP LaserJet 4Si PS 300dpi on LPT1:
log-file = c:\lpdlog
use-log-file = yes
spooling = yes
break = yes
formfeed = yes

Activating the LPD server

After the LPD Print Server is configured, it is activated through the Server Control program. Open the Server Control application and select the LPD icon. Turn on the Print Server by clicking on the "running man" menu button. Minimize the window and continue processing in other windows. The LPD Print Server will be running in the background. The server can be deactivated by clicking on the "hand" button in the Server Control dialog box.

Application Specific Notes