CLAYTON@XRT.UPENN.EDU.UUCP (09/29/87)
Information From TSO Financial - The Saga Continues... Chapter 28 - September 28, 1987 Brian Lockrey of Battelle Columbus Labs has asked a question of the new layered products that were anounced at DECWorld. One was DNS and the other was DQS. Frank Nagy was kind enough to enter the official description of these products for those that do not have the information available. What I had promised in a past article of "The Saga..." was to tell of the Beta test results my site has had with a DEC product. The product is Distributed Queue System (DQS). The product is split to types of installations. The first type is called a 'Server' installation and is performed on any node that has a printer attached to it that you wish to use for output by another machine on your network. The Server install puts a number of images and command files on your system that provide the ability of receiving print files and the appropiate PRINT command line from a remote system. ALL transmissions between systems are done using DECnet. Proxy logins and associated protections are not an issue with the use of DQS. The only notable new image is a replacement for the LINE PRINTER print symbiant that provides for printing the node name and other information on the banner page. NO image is provided for LAT printers, but you can use LAT printers as 'Server' queues from another system. The second type of installation is called the 'Client' system. Any system that wants to be able to print a file to a 'Server' queue needs this installation. It provides changes to the DCL PRINT command to allow correct parsing of the PRINT command with some new qualifiers and also provides a means to display the total queue content from a 'Client' queue to the 'Server' queue. There is also the ability to have notification sent back to the 'Client' system when a print job completes on the 'Server' queue. ALL PRINT qualifiers are provided for and passed to the appropiate system. The installation of the product went very easy after spending time with ALL the manuals to become aware of how the system works. There were no problems and the services were immediately available to everyone that should have them. There are some things to be aware of when using DQS. 1. This is a NETWORK based product, and like ALL network products you have to MAINTAIN the database of queues and systems and how they pass information between them. 2. The DQS system defines a considerable number of system level logical names for it to work correctly. Most have a DQS prefix but a couple do not. You may need more room for the system level table. 3. The DQS system can be defined such that a 'Store And Forward' type mechanism can be created if the links between the Client and Server are not up constantly. 4. Excellant error messages are displayed on the system consoles of the system which encounters a problem. The documentation was clear and concise. 5. If you have LAT (Ethernet) based printers this product is not very useful if all system have direct access to the Ethernet. I feel this product is the most useful with CPU based printers, such as those off the UNIBUS. 6. The only conflict I had with the product was the command to display the complete queues on both Client and Server systems is called 'QSHOW'. The POWERHOUSE language from Cognos Corp. of Canada has a command that is defined as 'QSHOW'. Both DEC and COGNOS have been told of the conflict and neither has resolved it to this time. 7. This system is used to transfer jobs from one queue to another queue on another system. There is nothing stopping the use of DQS, for the version in Beta test, from handling BATCH queues. THE PROBLEM HERE IS ONE OF SECURITY AND THE IMPLICATIONS OF NETWORK BASED SUBMISSIONS WITHOUT PROTECTIONS. THIS IS NOT RECOMMENDED BY DEC OR MYSELF. 8. The speed of transfer is directly related to the speed of the DECnet link and how large the file is to transfer. 9. There are some qualifiers of the PRINT command, such as /HOLD and /AFTER, that cause a print job to remain on the Client node UNTIL the job is released or times in. The transfer then takes place. This mode of operation is a problem to my working methods and I hope DEC takes my suggestions to heart about changing this aspect. 10. Both Client and Server startups are done at boot time AFTER DECnet starts and can be done in batch or in-line. 11. The use of 'Forms' when printing can be a trouble spot. This product makes the assumption that ALL systems have ALL the same forms defined and that they ALL have the SAME form number. This is the only really touchy area that I had. In my case, define ALL my forms on ALL systems was not a problem. DQS has the smarts to copy form names and numbers across DECnet when its installed if you need this done. Taking care of the specific form definition is another matter. There may be things I have left out, but overall I am EXTREMELY satisfied with the product and it works as advertised. If you have the conditions that I have listed above, I would recommend the purchase of the product. NOTE*** This article is a statement of my information on the product and is based on information which can now be publicly talked about thanks to the DECWorld announcement. I have not and will not divulge any information pertaining to the internals of DQS or other areas of beta testing the product except those available to the public. This article is freely given by me and is not meant to be a 'Sales' pitch of the product. I have no connections with DEC, short of HEAVILY using their equipment. My employer also disowns rights or ownership to any statements made here by me. Any electronic reprint of this article MUST completely contain this NOTE. NO PERMISSION IS GIVEN TO REPRINTING THIS ARTICLE OR ANY PARTS OF IT ON PAPER, OR SIMILAR SUBSTANCES. Hope this sheds some light on the DQS product and what its capabilities are and how it may help you. :-) Paul D. Clayton - Manager Of Systems TSO Financial - Horsham, Pa. USA Address - CLAYTON%XRT@CIS.UPENN.EDU