How to configure SGI IRIX to print to RPM

Tue, 06/25/2019 - 11:13 By Dave Brooks

Q: How do I configure my SGI IRIX lpr to print through RPM Remote Print Manager® ("RPM")?

A: To print through RPM from SGI IRIX, the following instructions will help you configure the remote printer definition.

The daemon /usr/etc/lpd should already be running by default if the proper software has been installed. This software is installed from the eoe2.sw.bsdlpr subsystem on 3.3.1 or later versions of IRIX.

  1. Edit the /etc/printcap file and add your printer information. If you need help here, see the man pages for printcap. If you want to make a printer the default printer for the lpr command, add lp to the list of printer name aliases. A typical printer entry looks like:

    hp4|rpmqueue|lp:\
    :sd=/usr/spool/print/hp4:\
    :rm=rpm.brooksnet.com:\
    :rp=rpmqueuename:\
    :lf=/var/adm/lpd-errs:

  2. Create the general spool directory and set the correct ownership and permissions. This step should only be done if this is the first printer created. You cannot perform this step more than a single time.

    cd /usr/spool
    mkdir print
    chown lp print
    chgrp lp print
    chmod 755 print

  3. Create the spool directory for the new printer and set the correct ownership and permissions. The name of the directory is specified in the /etc/printcap entry on the sd= line.

    cd /usr/spool/print
    mkdir hp4
    chown lp hp4
    chgrp lp hp4
    chmod 755 hp4

  4. At this point, the system should be restarted or you may restart the /usr/etc/lpd to allow the changes to take effect.

Note: To print, enter the following command at the shell prompt:

lpr -Php4 path/to/file