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Chapter 8

LP Print Service (Reference)

This chapter provides background information on the LP print service.

Where to Find Printer Tasks

Printer Task	For More Information
Set up printers with Solaris Print Manager and the lp commands	Chapter 4, Setting Up Printers (Tasks)
Administer printers with the lp commands after the printers are setup	Chapter 5, Administering Printers (Tasks)
Manage character sets, filters, forms, and fonts	Chapter 6, Managing Character Sets, Filters, Forms, and Fonts (Tasks)
Customize the LP print service	Chapter 7, Customizing the LP Print Service (Tasks)

The LP Print Service

The LP print service is a set of software utilities that allows users to print files while users continue to work. Originally, the print service was called the LP spooler. (LP stood for line printer, but its meaning now includes many other types of printers, such as laser printers. Spool is an acronym for system peripheral operation off-line.)

The print service consists of the LP print service software, any print filters you might provide, and the hardware, such as the printer, system, and network connections.

The Structure of the LP Print Service

This section describes the directory structure, files, logs, and commands of the LP print service.

LP Print Service Directories

The files of the LP print service are distributed among seven directories, as shown in the following table.

Table 8-1 Directories for the LP Print Service

Directory	Contents
`/usr/bin`	The LP print service user commands
`/etc/lp`	A hierarchy of LP server configuration files
`/usr/share/lib`	The `terminfo` database directory
`/usr/lib/print`	The lp conversion scripts, `in.lpd` daemon and the `printd` daemon. The `printd` daemon transfers all pending jobs in the`/var/spool/print` directory once per minute. When no jobs are remaining to transfer, it exits.
`/usr/sbin`	The LP print service administrative commands
`/usr/lib/lp`	The `lpsched` program, binary files, PostScript filters, and the `model` directory, which contains the standard printer interface program.
`/var/lp/logs`	LP log files such as `lpsched.`n, which includes messages from `lpsched` and `requests.`n, which includes information about completed print requests.
`/var/spool/lp`	The spooling directory where files are queued for printing
`/var/spool/print`	The LP print service client-side request staging area

LP Print Service Configuration Files

The lpsched daemon stores configuration information in the /etc/lp directory, as described in the following table.

Caution! Caution - The configuration files listed in this table are private interfaces, and are subject to change in future releases. You should not build software that relies on these files being in their current locations or that relies on the data being in the format currently used.

Table 8-2 Contents of the /etc/lp Directory

File	Type	Description
`classes`	Directory	Files identifying classes provided by the `lpadmin -c` command.
`fd`	Directory	Description of existing filters.
`filter.table`	File	Print filter lookup table.
`forms`	Directory	Location to put files for each form. Initially, this directory is empty.
`interfaces`	Directory	Printer interface program files.
`logs`	Link to `/var/lp/logs`	Log files of printing activities.
`model`	Link to `/usr/lib/lp/model`	The standard printer interface program.
`printers`	Directory	Directories for each local printer. Each directory contains configuration information and alert files for an individual printer.
`pwheels`	Directory	Print wheel or cartridge files.

These configuration files serve a similar function to the /etc/printcap file on lpd-based print servers.

Note - You can check the contents of the configuration files, but you should not edit these files directly. Instead, use the lpadmin command to make configuration changes. Your changes will be written to the configuration files in the /etc/lp directory. The lpsched daemon administers and updates the configuration files.

The /etc/lp/printers directory has a subdirectory for each local printer known to the system. The following example shows the /etc/lp/printers subdirectories of printers sparc1 and luna.

$ ls -l /etc/lp/printers
drwxrwxr-x 2 lp lp 512 Jan 23 23:53 luna
drwxrwxr-x 2 lp lp 512 Jan 11 17:50 sparc1

The following table describes the files within each of the printer-specific directories.

File Name	Description
`alert.sh`	Shell to execute in response to alerts
`alert.vars`	Alert variables
`configuration`	Configuration file
`users.deny`	List of users to whom printer access is denied
`comment`	Printer description

The configuration file for the printer luna, /etc/lp/printers/luna/configuration, would typically appear as follows:

Banner: on: Always
Content types: PS
Device: /dev/term/b
Interface: /usr/lib/lp/model/standard
Printer type: PS
Modules: default

The `terminfo` Database

The /usr/share/lib directory contains the terminfo database directory, which contains definitions for many types of terminals and printers. The LP print service uses information in the terminfo database to initialize a printer, to establish a selected page size, character pitch, line pitch, and character set, as well as to communicate the sequence of codes to a printer.

Each printer is identified in the terminfo database with a short name. For a description of the structure of the terminfo database, see Printer Type. If necessary, you can add entries to the terminfo database, but doing so is a tedious and time-consuming process. For more information, see Adding a terminfo Entry for an Unsupported Printer.