NetWare 4.1/9000 Print Services

B-4
Cabling Printers
Serial Printers
Serial Printers
PCs generally have either a male 9-pin or 25-pin serial port. Serial printers
generally have a female 25-pin serial port.
Three different cabling scenarios connect most PCs and serial printers.
Figures B-2, B-3, and B-4 cover each scenario.
Most serial cables have 25-pin connectors on each end. A standard serial
cable is called “straight-through.” This is used for modems and does not
work for printing. “No-modem” or “null-modem” cables work for the
majority of serial printers.
You need to buy a 25-pin to 9-pin adaptor if you have a 9-pin port on your
PC. Printers generally have 25-pin male ports.
NetWare serial printing parameters default to the most common settings:
polled interrupt, no XON/XOFF, no parity, 9600 baud rate, 8 data bits, and 1
stop bit. These settings function with most serial printers.
When XON/XOFF is enabled, the software controls the flow of data
between the PC and the printer. When XON/XOFF is disabled, the hardware
controls the data flow.
Table B-2 Cabling Serial Printers
If you have these types of connectors Do this
Male 25-pin serial port on PC
Female and male 25-pin connectors on cable
See Figure B-2.
Male 9-pin serial port on PC
Female 9-pin and male 25-pin connectors on cable
See Figure B-3.
Male 9-pin serial port on PC
Female 9-pin and 25-pin connectors on a converter
Female and male 25-pin connectors on cable
See Figure B-4.