Activant Acclaim Managing AIX Print Queues

Transcription

1 Activant Acclaim Managing AIX Print Queues AIX suite: course 2 of 3

2 Overview What is an AIX queue? Concept behind AIX print queue Specific AIX print queue commands Basic AIX printer problem troubleshooting

3 This course will NOT cover Creating AIX print queues AIX print queue customization Removing AIX print queues

4 Understanding AIX Print Queues Three parts to an AIX queue Port on the system Parallel port on RISC box Serial connection on concentrator Network connection Physical printer Virtual printer

5 Concept of the AIX Queue Advantages Multiple queues can be created for one physical printer Each queue can have it s own unique characteristics for printing invoice for letter quality print ship for 88 line per page output

6 Purpose of AIX Queues Manage printer use systems with more then one printer

7 ANY AIX user can Print a job to the AIX queue Query the status of the job Cancel their own print job Change the priority of their own print job

8 Root AIX users can Cancel any and all print jobs Change the priority of any print job Stop or start any AIX print queue Stop or start the qdaemon

9 AIX Print Qdaemon Tracks print job requests and the printers available to handle them Maintains queues of outstanding requests and sends them to the proper device at the proper time Uses the qconfig file to initialize the printer into the proper format

10 AIX Print Qdaemon Check the status of the qdaemon #ps -ef grep qdaemon Start the qdaemon #startsrc -sqdaemon Stop the qdaemon #stopsrc -csqdaemon

11 Checking Print Queue Status lpstat Displays information about the current status of the AIX print queues Helps to determine if there is a problem with an AIX queue Similar to the enq -A command

12 lpstat Command Queue Dev Status Job Files User Queue name used in qconfig file Queue device name used in qconfig file Current status of the queue Job Number of this print job Name of file being printed Aix user ID that owns the print job

13 lpstat Command PP Estimated pages in the print job % Percentage of job completed to this point Blks Cp Rnk Number of blocks the print job has broken Number of copies that will be printed Job rank in the print queue

14 lpstat Command Status Ready Printer is up and ready to accept print jobs Dev-Wait Running Down Printer is not ready, not on-line, out of paper paper jam, or similar problem Job is either in route to printer or printing Printer is not ready but will accept jobs

15 lsallq Command lsallq Lists the full names of all AIX queues Very useful if queue names exceed 7 characters in length lsallq -c Lists the full name of the queue and the device it is attached to

16 qchk Command qchk Displays information about the current status of one or more AIX queues Can be used to monitor long print jobs Can be used to automatically refresh screen

17 qchk Command Commonly used flags with qchk command qchk -Pqueuename Shows status of a specific AIX queue qchk -A Shows status of all AIX queues qchk -w seconds Updates status information at specified time interval

18 Queue Management qadm Performs system administration functions for the printer spooling system Common uses include Bringing AIX queues UP or Down Canceling print jobs Requires root user authority

19 qadm Command qadm -D queuename Brings a specific queue down qadm -U queuename Brings a specific queue up qadm -K queuename Forces a specific queue down

20 qadm Command qadm -G queuename Brings a specific queue to a down state at the end of the current print job qadm -X queuename Cancels all prints jobs to the specific queue WARNING!!!!!! Be very careful using the -X flag, as there is no way to reverse it once it is used!

21 enable command enable Enables printer queue devices There are no flags used Requires root authority Jobs can still be queued when an AIX print queue is down enable queuename

22 disable Command disable Disables printer queue devices Brings a queue to a down state, so print jobs will not be lost Can be used to bring a queue down so paper can be changed or printer can be repaired Jobs can still be queued while the queue is down

23 qcan command qcan Removes or cancels print jobs from an AIX queue qcan -x job# Specifies which job # to cancel WARNING!!!!! Use extreme care with the qcan Command, as it can not be reversed!

24 qcan Command qcan -X Cancels ALL print jobs for a specified queue Used in conjunction with the -P flag qcan -P printername Specifies on which printer to cancel jobs Used in conjunction with the -X flag #qcan -X -P queuename USE EXTREME CARE!!!

25 cancel Command cancel Removes or cancels jobs from an AIX queue cancel job# Cancels the one job # specified cancel queuename Cancels all jobs to the specified queue. Cancel command can not be reversed!

26 Troubleshooting AIX Queues There are several reasons why an AIX printer will not print Queue Cable Printer User qdaemon

27 Troubleshooting with lpstat Check the status of the queue Check the exact name of the print queue

28 Troubleshooting Cables Verify the cable has not been inadvertently unplugged from the concentrator or the printer

29 Troubleshooting Printers Most common problems with a printer: Check the On-Line light Make sure it is lit Check the Power Is the power light on? Check the paper Is the printer out of paper or is there a paper jam?

30 Troubleshooting Users User may have sent job to the wrong printer Job may have already printed

31 Troubleshooting qdaemon may not be running No printers are able to print To check qdaemon status Should respond with at least two lines of text

32 Summary Basic understanding of AIX print queues Concept behind AIX queues AIX commands used to manage AIX queues Common troubleshooting techniques for printers

33 For More Information Acclaim Help Files Visit Activant on the web: View Educational Services course offerings Browse Documentation Search the Solutions database Submit a Support case Consulting Services consult-sales@activant.com Professional Services Sales pss@activant.com