[comp.laser-printers] printer queues

curt%cieunix@CSV.RPI.EDU (Curt Signorino) (07/27/87)

We are running 4.3 bsd and have a decwriter and an Imagen laser
printer.  When we send something to either the decwriter or the
laser printer and then do an lpq, both queues appear to have the
file even though it was only sent to one of them.  Also, if a job
is interrupted on the decwriter or the laser printer, it finishes
printing out on the other.

Does anyone know why the queue is behaving this way?  I'm fairly 
ignorant in this area, so any information would be a big help.

Thanks,

Curtis S. Signorino
Center for Integrated Electronics
RPI

roy@phri.UUCP (Roy Smith) (07/31/87)

In <8707301846.AA02745@brillig.umd.edu> curt%cieunix@CSV.RPI.EDU (Curt Signorino) writes:
> When we send something to either the decwriter or the laser printer and
> then do an lpq, both queues appear to have the file even though it was
> only sent to one of them.

	Most likely, the two printers share the same spool directory.  This
is not necessarily bad, but will confuse lpq.

> Also, if a job is interrupted on the decwriter or the laser printer,
> it finishes printing out on the other.

	We've never seen this behavior, but we only share spool queues for
remote printers, i.e. on every machine, each local printer has its own
/usr/spool/printername directory, but all the remote printers share a
common spool directory: /usr/spool/lpd.  Since lpd jobs only exist there
for a very short amount of time (while being sent to the remote machine),
it's very likely that we've never lprm'd a job while it was there.

	I'm not sure why we chose this arrangement, and I keep thinking
that I probably should change it, but I'm a firm believer of "if it ain't
broke, don't fix it".
-- 
Roy Smith, {allegra,cmcl2,philabs}!phri!roy
System Administrator, Public Health Research Institute
455 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016

mao@voder.UUCP (Mike Olson) (07/31/87)

In article <8707301846.AA02745@brillig.umd.edu>, (Curt Signorino) writes:
> When we send something to either the decwriter or the
> laser printer and then do an lpq, both queues appear to have the
> file even though it was only sent to one of them.  Also, if a job
> is interrupted on the decwriter or the laser printer, it finishes
> printing out on the other.

my guess would be that you're using a single directory to spool jobs for
both printers.  check the /etc/printcap for each of them; the "sd=" entry
should be different for each printer.

					mike olson
					britton lee, inc.
					(...!ucbvax!ucsfcgl!blia!mao)