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How to prevent queues from disabling themselves

 
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Top Forums UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers How to prevent queues from disabling themselves
# 1  
Old 12-15-2011
Question How to prevent queues from disabling themselves
I understand that on my HP-UX 11.31 system when print queues can no longer communicate with remote printers, the queue disables itself. How can I configure it to stop disabling itself, or alternatively, to re-enable itself when the remote printer comes back online? I have users in warehouses who shut the computers off for the night, which disables the print-queue. When they come in the next day their print jobs won't come out until an admin manually enables the queue. Thanks for any advice you can offer.

-EatenByAGrue
# 2  
Old 12-15-2011
What computers shut off for the night??? Are you sure its not the printers they switch off?
# 3  
Old 12-16-2011
How is a sample printer wired into the network? Is there a print server involved?
How was the print queue configured?
What sort of printer?

Do you have an existing method for detecting whether the printer is not available due to power down as distinct from say out of paper?


It's fairly easy to write an alert mechanism to detect a stale print queue (at say 15 minute intervals).
Just look at the age of the newest file in /usr/spool/lp/request/<printer> . Avoid using "lpstat" because this can be very slow when printers have been powered off.
Last edited by methyl; 12-16-2011 at 10:45 AM..
# 4  
Old 12-16-2011
Quote:
Originally Posted by methyl
How is a sample printer wired into the network? Is there a print server involved?
How was the print queue configured?
What sort of printer?

Do you have an existing method for detecting whether the printer is not available due to power down as distinct from say out of paper?


It's fairly easy to write an alert mechanism to detect a stale print queue (at say 15 minute intervals).
Just look at the age of the newest file in /usr/spool/lp/request/<printer> . Avoid using "lpstat" because this can be very slow when printers have been powered off.
The ones that are presenting themselves as problems right now are all 3rd party warehouse computers that use a VPN to connect to our network. They accept and process orders and then disconnect. the queue is defined as "remote". The printer is connected to a windows computer. In SAM its defined as "HPLJ4250 on SOMECOMPUTER". And the printers are all HP LaserJets. I'm not sure if there's a JetDirect card attached.

We don't have an existing method for detecting if the printer is down at all. Well except for the user opening a problem ticket. I figure there MUST be a better way.

Thanks for your help.
# 5  
Old 12-16-2011
I dont know about HP-UX 11.31...
Could you show me a portion of lpstat -t output with some disabled printers ? (between code tags please...)
And a bit of more explanation about the configuration: People connect to your network using PCs... do some processing, but where are the printers? Are they the remote connected to those remote PC?
And I forgot silly thing methyl is right bad plan to try to use lpstat if you have a lot since it will wait for a timeout if at the other end there is no one... we will have to find something else...
# 6  
Old 12-16-2011
The option would be to write a script that tries to ping those remote printers, write down the ones that are up, and use that info to feed enable command... ( I did this once on a AIX with same context only printers had jetdirect cards and the spool was CUPS...).
We know we will get warnings about printer already enabled... but we wont have anything hanging because of the ones not responding...
# 7  
Old 12-16-2011
VPN can be a strange environment. As can Microsoft TCP/IP on any of their computers when it has a firewall.
I guess that the VPN connection is made from the PC and not from the router - or you would not be connecting the printers to PCs?
It is so much easier to deal with LAN-connected printers providing that the VPN connection is from the router.

When it is working, if you "ping" one of these Windows PCs (which has a printer attached) does it reply?
 
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