Activant Acclaim

Managing AIX Print Queues

AIX suite: course 2 of 3

Overview

What is an AIX queue?Concept behind AIX print queueSpecific AIX print queue commandsBasic AIX printer problem troubleshooting

This course will NOT cover…

Creating AIX print queuesAIX print queue customizationRemoving AIX print queues

Understanding AIX Print Queues

Three parts to an AIX queuePort on the system

Parallel port on RISC boxSerial connection on concentratorNetwork connection

Physical printerVirtual printer

Concept of the AIX Queue

AdvantagesMultiple queues can be created for one physical printerEach queue can have it’s own unique characteristics for printing

“invoice” for letter quality print“ship” for 88 line per page output

Purpose of AIX Queues

Manage printer usesystems with more then one printer

ANY AIX user can…

Print a job to the AIX queueQuery the status of the jobCancel their own print jobChange the priority of their own print job

Root AIX users can…

Cancel any and all print jobsChange the priority of any print jobStop or start any AIX print queueStop or start the ‘qdaemon’

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

AIX Print Qdaemon

Check the status of the qdaemon #ps -ef | grep qdaemon

Start the qdaemon#startsrc -sqdaemon

Stop the qdaemon#stopsrc -csqdaemon

Checking Print Queue Status

lpstatDisplays information about the current status of the AIX print queuesHelps to determine if there is a problem with an AIX queueSimilar to the enq -A command

lpstat Command

Queue Queue name used in qconfig file

Dev Queue device name used in qconfig file

Status Current status of the queue

Job Job Number of this print job

Files Name of file being printed

User Aix user ID that owns the print job

lpstat Command

PP Estimated pages in the print job

% Percentage of job completed to this point

Blks Number of blocks the print job has broken

Cp Number of copies that will be printed

Rnk Job rank in the print queue

lpstat Command

Status

Ready Printer is up and ready to accept print jobs

Dev-Wait Printer is not ready, not on-line, out of paper paper jam, or similar problem

Running Job is either in route to printer or printing

Down Printer is not ready but will accept jobs

lsallq Command

lsallqLists the full names of all AIX queuesVery useful if queue names exceed 7 characters in length

lsallq -cLists the full name of the queue and the device it is attached to

qchk Command

qchkDisplays information about the current status of one or more AIX queuesCan be used to monitor long print jobsCan be used to automatically refresh screen

qchk Command

Commonly used flags with qchk commandqchk -Pqueuename

Shows status of a specific AIX queue

qchk -AShows status of all AIX queues

qchk -w secondsUpdates status information at specified time interval

Queue Management

qadmPerforms system administration functions for the printer spooling systemCommon uses include

Bringing AIX queues UP or DownCanceling print jobs

Requires root user authority

qadm Command

qadm -D queuenameBrings a specific queue down

qadm -U queuenameBrings a specific queue up

qadm -K queuenameForces a specific queue down

qadm Command

qadm -G queuenameBrings a specific queue to a down state at the end of the current print job

qadm -X queuenameCancels 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!

enable command

enableEnables printer queue devicesThere are no flags usedRequires root authorityJobs can still be queued when an AIX print queue is down

enable queuename

disable Command

disableDisables printer queue devicesBrings a queue to a down state, so print jobs will not be lostCan be used to bring a queue down so paper can be changed or printer can be repairedJobs can still be queued while the queue is down

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!

qcan Command

qcan -XCancels ALL print jobs for a specified queueUsed in conjunction with the -P flag

qcan -P printernameSpecifies on which printer to cancel jobsUsed in conjunction with the -X flag

#qcan -X -P queuename

USE EXTREME CARE!!!

cancel Command

cancelRemoves or cancels jobs from an AIX queue

cancel job#Cancels the one job # specified

cancel queuenameCancels all jobs to the specified queue.

Cancel command can not be reversed!

Troubleshooting AIX Queues

There are several reasons why an AIX printer will not print

QueueCablePrinterUserqdaemon

Troubleshooting with lpstat

Check the status of the queueCheck the exact name of the print queue

Troubleshooting Cables

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

Troubleshooting Printers

Most common problems with a printer:Check the On-Line light

Make sure it is lit

Check the PowerIs the power light on?

Check the paperIs the printer out of paper or is there a paper jam?

Troubleshooting Users

User may have sent job to the wrong printerJob may have already printed

Troubleshooting

qdaemon may not be runningNo printers are able to print

To check qdaemon statusShould respond with at least two linesof text

Summary

Basic understanding of AIX print queuesConcept behind AIX queuesAIX commands used to manage AIX

queuesCommon troubleshooting techniques for

printers

For More Information…

Acclaim Help FilesVisit Activant on the web: www.activant.com

View Educational Services course offeringsBrowse DocumentationSearch the Solutions databaseSubmit a Support case

E-mail Consulting Services consult-sales@activant.com

E-mail Professional Services Salespss@activant.com