redirect decserver 700 printer port to PC serial port

[selcuk_1]

dear admins,

we have decserver 700 (ds700-16). There are 2 printers (LA30) configured on it as remote port. printers are used by an open VMS system (Aphaserver ds15)

I want to

1- remove physical printers
2- connect these 2 ports to a PC's serial ports
3- run a program (hyperterminal ?) on PC and save data coming from serial port into a file..(later if needed, I will take printouts)

How can I achieve this..

TIA..

M selcuk karaca
iller bankasi - Turkiye

[Karl Rohwedder]

Selcuk,

some PC based terminal emulators (the free putty e.g.) can connect via the serial port.
In addition to this they can log all data to a file. So it should be possible to specify your serial port and a logfile and save the data automatically.

regards Kalle

[John Gillings]

selcuk,

Just checking I understand this correctly... you want to PRINT a file on your OpenVMS system. The data will be sent to a LAT port on a DS700, go out a serial cable, then into a serial port on a PC, where some program will be running, capturing the data and logging it into a file on the PC, which you may eventually print from the PC. Yes?

This is a VERY complex and cumbersome way to just copy a text file from an OpenVMS system to a PC. Just one of the problems you'll encounter is determining the end of one file and the start of the next. You also need to deal with starting the application on the PC, filtering out carriage control junk, and dealing with flow control and/or data losses. All too hard!

Why not just copy the file using FTP, Pathworks, AdvancedServer, SAMBA, or any of the other myriad mechanisms whos purpose is file transfer? Much easier and much less error prone!

No doubt you'll tell me you have an application that prints to a queue, which you can't change? OK, try this... keep your existing LAT queue(s), but put into a permanent STOPPED state. Don't worry about where they're directed (probably best to direct the LAT device to a non-existent server and/or port so even if the queue is accidently started, the data won't go anywhere). Jobs will accumulate on the queue, so your application is happy without any changes.

Now run a procedure that periodically scans the queue looking for new entries. Any that are found, interrogate with F$GETQUI to determine the file to be "printed". Transfer the file using FTP or whatever is convenient, then delete the entry.

If all the terminal server does is drive your printers it can now be decommissioned. One less thing to go wrong.

If you want to get really fancy, you could write a symbiont process to catch the files and transfer them, but that's probably overkill.

[selcuk_1]

Hi folks,

firstly, I am a experienced Unix admin, and used heavily DEC servers. But I am too poor on VMS side. :(

there is a strange situation here. alpha machine is located in my site but its management is not on my hands. I have just a user account on it.

Karl, thank you for puTTY, I will evaluate it

John, you understood me correctly..I am weak on VMS side and OS management is in another party's hands (say The Firm)..

Now there is a new info.. It seems The Firm has "HP DECprint Supervisor (DCPS) for OpenVMS, Ver 2.6" . now They request us a networked attached postscript printer. And they will be able to configure printer's IP in VMS printer config file. And printer outputs will be sent to that IP.

Now, can I configure a windows Host as such a printer and save outputs to a file ..?

really thank you four your help..!

[Karl Rohwedder]

Selcuk,

to support John's remarks, what is the purpose of all this?

If you want to transfer a file from VMS to your PC, there are better solutions as simulating a printer, esp. when using DCPS leads to postscript output and that may not be what you want.

If e.g. the application on the VMS side can only 'print' the output and you want to capture it, you may use the EXECSMB print symbiont.
This nice piece of software simulates a print queue, but in reality invokes your own DCL procedure as a 'printer'. In that DCL procedure you can do what you want, e.g. FTP the file to your PC.
You find EXECSMB on the Freeware V8 CD.

regards Kalle

[Joseph Huber_1]

>> Now, can I configure a windows Host as such a printer and save outputs to a file ..?

Now this is really a question for the PC side software (Windows ?): if it can redirect LPD data (or reversed Telnet) to a file, then yes:
You can use DCPS directly or via LPR/LPD.
Otherwise a small file-transfer script for EXECSYMB as mentioned will do it.

Another point: the existing LA30 printers, if I remember correctly, are DEC Sixel (or plain Ascii ?) printers, not Postscript. So the endpoint (files) have to be interpreted/displayed somehow. If they contain only text (with simple line-breaks, vertical tabs, form feeds), this is (almost) no problem (except DECs national character set maybe).
If the print-output contains (semi-)graphic in Sixel language, then another transformation/rendering step will be needed on the PC side.
It will eventually be better to make the modifications on the VMS output program.

[Willem Grooters]

If you have your printers attached to the Ethernet LAN, there is no need. You van access your LA30 printers from either side.

My configuration is a ethernet-attached HP printer, printed to from all systems in the network: Windows, Linux and VMS (using DPCS 2.6) without a problem. It may be that you can do the same with your LA30's.

[Joseph Huber_1]

Willem, I think You are too young !
Although not explicitely written, the poster wants to get rid of the LA30's, not accessing them for printing from a PC.

LA30 was one of the first impact dot matrix printers from DEC, around 1970. So they are 30 years old ! in operation up to now!