User`s guide

3-19
Spooler Overview
ps:
device = lp1
lp1:
file = /dev/lp1
header = never
trailer = never
access = both
backend = /usr/lib/lpd/piobe
Each of these stanza pairs defines a queue. When the backend for a queue is piobe, each
queue also has an associated virtual printer. While it is possible to create virtual printer
definitions the hard way, virtual printer definitions are typically created at the same time as
the queue definition, via smit and the piomkpq command. The virtual printer definition is
not contained in /etc/qconfig. Its presence is implied by the fact the spooler backend for a
given queue is piobe, but it is stored elsewhere in the AIX file system. The name of the
queue is used to identify and access the virtual printer definition.
The physical printer known to AIX as lp1 clearly supports at least four distinct data stream
types; they are ASCII ( asc ), Plotter Emulation ( gl ), Printer Command Language ( pcl
), and PostScript ( ps ). Each queue with its associated virtual printer definition is designed
to process a particular data stream type, hence the four queues. This is the basis for the
AIX notion of a logical separation of physical and virtual printers.
Spooler Queue Names and Status Formats
Spooler queue names (the name of a queue stanza) can be over seven characters in length
but only the first seven characters will be displayed in the output of a queue status query.
Device names (the name of a device stanza) are limited to five characters in the output of a
queue status query.
In spooler queue status queries, remote spooler queues will show up twice: once for the
local queue, and once for the remote queue on the print server. For instance, if /etc/qconfig
contains this entry:
myps:
device = @kricket
up = TRUE
host = kricket
s_statfilter = /usr/lib/lpd/aixshort
l_statfilter = /usr/lib/lpd/aixlong
rq = myps
@kricket:
backend = /usr/lib/lpd/rembak
the command lpstat –pmyps would return the following:
Queue Dev Status Job Files User PP % Blks Cp Rnk
––––––– ––– ––––––––– ––– –––––––– ––––––––– –– – –––– –– –––
myps @krik READY
myps myps READY
The first line of the output indicates that the local spooler queue named myps , with a
device stanza whose name is listed as @krik , has a status of READY. The second line
indicates that the target remote spooler queue, also named myps , whose device stanza is
listed as myps , also has a status of READY. (It is the author’s habit to make a local spooler
queue name the same as the print server spooler queue name. It’s then easy to visually
group the two lines in the output of a spooler queue status query.)