From: ems@work.wpd.sgi.com (Ed Sesek)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.sgi
Subject: Re: printing: lpr-remote host -> lp-local-printer host
Date: 12 Jan 93 07:08:06 GMT
Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc.  Mountain View, CA

In <104435@netnews.upenn.edu> yates@a.chem.upenn.edu (John H. Yates) writes:

>Now that we know SGI wants local printers set
>up with only lp (and not lpr), is it transparent
>to print to a local SGI lp printer from our 100's
>of Berkeley lpr /etc/printcap machines? If so,
>what is needed in the printcap and in the lpadmin
>setup?

>Sigh. Why can't they just join the lpr world?

Here is one suggestion I pulled off the net awhile ago:

One idea to BSD print from a SUN on a remote SGI ATT printer is to convert 
the SUN's BSD print job into an ATT print job on the SGI.

My environment:

	SUN Sparcstation1 running OS 4.1.1

	SGI Indigo	  running IRIX 4.0
			  HP Laserjet III Si connected to the parallel
			     port and configured as parallel printer lp4
			     by means of the printer tool.
			  Default printer set to lp4.

	/usr/etc/lpd running as verified by ps -ef
	/usr/spool/lpd existing
	Network connection between both machines operational

A quick and dirty method:

	- On the SUN add to the /etc/printcap file the following
	  entry:

	  sun_printer_name|sun_printer_name|SGINetworkPrinter:\
		:lp=:rm=remhost:rp=sgi_printer_name:sd=/usr/spool/lw:

	- On the SGI add to the /etc/printcap file the following
	  entry:

	  sgi_printer_name|sgi_printer_name|full_printer_name:\
		:lp=/dev/null:if=/usr/spool/lp/filter.lpr:sd:/usr/spool/lpd:

	- On the SGI create the file /usr/spool/lp/filter.lpr with
	  mode/owner/group/name

		-rwxr-xr-x root sys	filter.lpr

	  and containing the following 3 lines (nothing else):

	  #!/bin/csh -f

	  lp -dsgi_printer_name < d*

remhost:	   The SGI's hostname. In my environment it is not a fully
		   qualified domain name but simply 'bflsgg'.

sun_printer_name:  The (network) BSD printer name used on the SUN for network
		   printing on an ATT printer installed on the SGI. In my 
		   environment this printer name is lp4.

sgi_printer_name:  The name of the ATT printer installed on the SGI and to 
		   be employed as network printer by the SUN. In my 
		   environment this printer name is lp4.

full_printer_name: The name describing the physical printer. In my environment
		   the name is 'HPLaserjetIIISi'.

I choose identical printer names on both the SUN and the SGI so people can
correlate the printer name with the physical device irrespective of their
operating position on the SUN or the SGI.

The following commands have been checked-out successfully by an 'ordinary' 
user:

	On the SUN:	lp -dlp4 filename
			lpr -Plp4 filename
			lpr -Plp4 -#2 filename

	On the SGI:	lp -dlp4 < filename
			lpr -Plp4 filename

On the SGI the command 'lpr filename' resulted in the error messsage

		lpr: lp: unknown printer

I expected that lpr would default to the default printer (lp4, see above). Is
this a bug ?

Print options like -h or -o"nobanner" are not supported by this approach.
Maybe someone has an appropriate idea.

Best regards.

Ralf Beyer

P.S.: I'm not an expert but the approach does its job.

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Ralf Beyer				| 
German Aerospace Research Establishment | Phone:    (0531) 395-2530  
Institute for Flight Guidance		| Fax:      (0531) 395-2550
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