Question Regarding Filter for TWO Printers.

[Calvin Hayden]

>From article <2380 at ucrmath.UCR.EDU>, by yakker at ucrmath.UCR.EDU (The Rastafari Yakker):
> We are trying to obtain some public domain program out there somewhere
> that allows two (or more) printers to run on a single queue in SunOS,
> or BSD.  We would like to get this program without having to change
> our entire structure of the way we print materials here...Has anyone
> written a proper filter to allow for this, and if so, can you send it
> to me via E-mail?  It would be MUCH appreciated.  The code we have 
> written is a quick patch-like job, but we need something for the
> long haul.  Thanks for your help.  It uses the BSD lp(?) format.
> 
> yakker at ucrmath.ucr.edu                         ..!ucbvax!ucsd!ucrmath!yakker
> Matt Robinson, Systems Group                   "People use algebraic symbols
> University of Califonia at Riverside            to describe things they don't
> Department of Math and Computer Science         know anything about."

I'm not sure that this'll help.  Right now we have a Vax 8600 
Running System V.  We've got a series of printers in different 
areas around the plant.  Under our system, we have 4 print 
queues - lno3d, lno3c, lno3f, lno3w.  Each of these print queues
has anywhere from 2-6 printers associated with it.  The lno3d queue
is used to access printers ldd[1-6], for example.  What we did was to put
our own script in place of the lp command, and renamed the lp command.  
Our print command looks something like "lp -dldd2 ...".  Our script 
rebuilds the actual command to be executed to something like 
"reallp -dlno3d -odldd2 ...", and then executes the built command.  
The interface script for lno3d is used, and it adds some control info
to the top of the data to be printed (control information indicating
that ldd2 is the printer to be used), and shoves the data out the
lno3d port.  This port is connected to a Net Commander (Digital
Products Inc. - I dont have an address on hand right now)
which interprets the control information in the incoming data, and
based on this information, chooses which output port it is to be
send to.  It's different output ports are connected to printers
ldd[1-6].  It works for us, but I'm not sure how BSD handles things.
If you think that this information would help, email me and I'll get
you a copy of our lp script, the lno3d interface as examples.  I didn't
email these now because I wasn't sure if the'd be of any help.

Calvin Hayden
Texas Instruments, Johnson City, Tn.    
Voice (615)461-2254
UUCP:  ...mcnc!rti!tijc02!{root,cgh018}