Adding network printers to Solaris

For Solaris 2.5/2.6 make sure you have the following pkgs installed: 

	SUNWlpmsg, SUNWlpr, SUNWlps and SUNWlpu.

For Solaris 7/8 make sure you have the following pkgs installled:

	SUNWscpu, SUNWpsu, SUNWpsr, SUNWpcr and SUNWpcu .

First verify the printer service is installed and running:

# lpstat -r
scheduler is not running

Ok the scheduler is not running so we need to start/restart it:

# /usr/lib/lp/lpsched
Print services started.

Ok now that printer services are running lets see what printers
we have defined:

# cat /etc/printers.conf
#
#       If you hand edit this file, comments and structure may change.
#       The preferred method of modifying this file is through the use of
#       lpset(1M) or fncreate_printer(1M)
#
1254L8K:\
        :bsdaddr=faulkner,1254L8K,Solaris:

The name before the colon is the printer queue name.

bsdaddr=server,destination[,Solaris]

Make sure server and destination are in /etc/hosts.

For more info on printers.conf:

man -s 4 printers.conf

"destination" of course needs to be running lpd (or software 
enabled lpd such as an HP JetDirect), listening on TCP port 
515, if the remote printer is on a Sun or unix server make 
sure the line in /etc/services on the remote Solaris is 
uncommented out:

printer   515/tcp   spooler  # line printer spooler

(Consult RFC 1179 for more info on lpd)

and of course network connectivity (no firewall port 
blocking on 515 between the client and the server, etc...)

You can use the lpget command to view the printer config. 
for a specific queue:

# lpget 1254L8K
1254L8K:
        bsdaddr=faulkner,1254L8K,Solaris

Use lpstat -v to show what printers are defined:

# lpstat -v
device for 1254L8K: /dev/1254L8K

Use lpadmin to add printers to the queue. 

# lpadmin -p printer -s remote-system-name[!printer-name]

For example you have a printer named "1159X3090HC" with an IP
of 167.208.170.253. 

First add this printername to /etc/hosts:

# echo "167.208.170.253    1159X3090HC" >> /etc/hosts

Now create the print queue:

# lpadmin -p 1159X3090HC -s 1159X3090HC

(since 1159X3090HC is a self-contained printer and not a
unix system the remote printer-name is not needed).

If the printer we created is local we must "enable" it
(this has no meaning if the printer is remote):

# enable 1159X3090HC

Now verify the new printer you have added:

# lpstat -v | grep 1159X3090HC
system for 1159X3090HC: 1159X3090HC

Make sure you can ping the remote printer (or host):

# ping 1159X3090HC
1159X3090HC is alive

(note ICMP echo may be turned off at the remote host or printer for
security reasons).

Verify our new remote prinbter is accepting connects:

# lpstat -a 1159X3090HC 
1159X3090HC accepting requests since May 21 12:37 2002

Check out configuration and network connectivity:

# lpstat -p 1159X3090HC -Dl
printer 1159X3090HC faulted printing 1159X3090HC-0. enabled since May 21 12:49 2002. available.
        server 1159X3090HC not responding
        Description: 1159X3090HC@1159X3090HC
        Remote Name: 1159X3090HC
        Remote Server: 1159X3090HC

Now notice the printer is "faulted" and also that server
"1159X3090HC" is not responding. This probably means that
the lpd service is not running on the printer or port 515
is blocked. Let's see if that is the case:

# telnet 1159X3090HC 515
Trying 167.208.170.253...
telnet: Unable to connect to remote host: Connection timed out

Ok we do have a connectivity problem so this will have to be resolved first.

However assuming everything has gone ok so far lets send a test page:

# echo "testing" | lp -d1159X3090HC -
request id is 1159X3090HC-0 (1 file)

End User Printing FAQ:

1) How can I print from Command Line?

Use the command lp filename, where filename is the name of a PostScript file. 
This will print on your default printer. To get the name of your default 
printer, call lpstat -d. 

If you want to print on another printer, use lp -d destination filename. Where 
destination is a valid printer queue. See item 6 on how to change or create
your default printer.


2) What is a Print Request?

When you print something, you create a print request. A print request is sent 
to a destination (a printer queue). A print request is owned by the user who 
created it. Every print request has an ID in the form DESTINATION-NUMBER, 
e.g. i22ps-13. The lp command shows the request ID when creating the print 
request. 

Use lpstat to get a list of your print requests. Beware: The request ids in 
the output of lpstat usually are incorrect! 


3) What is a Print Queue?

A print queue is a place where print requests are stored until the printer 
is ready to print them. The print queue usually points to a printer server 
(a computer to which the printer is connected via a serial or parallel 
interface). The printer server often is integrated into the printer. 


4) What Print Queues do Exist?

To get a list of all print queues available on your workstation, 
call lpstat -v, which shows the queue name and the printer server hostname 
for every queue. 


5) How can I cancel a Print Request?

Use the cancel request-id command, where request-id is the request 
ID you got when you called the lp command for printing. 


6) How can I setup my default print destination?

To change your default printer, define your $PRINTER 
environment variable. In Solaris 7+ you can also create a file 
in your home directory called .printers ($HOME/.printers) with 
the name of your default print queue.

Consult "man -s 4 printers".

lpstat -d show the default destination.