Patton electronics MODEL 2126, 2126 User Manual

USER
MANUAL

MODEL 2126

PeNetTMMiniature
10Base2 to
Parallel Print
Server

SALES OFFICE
[phone]
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
[phone]

07M2126-A
Doc# 081021UA
Revised 3/07/96

Table of Contents

1.0 WARRANTY INFORMATION ......................................2

Radio and TV Interference ...........................................2

Service ........................................................................2

2.0 GENERAL INFORMATION..........................................3

Features.......................................................................3

Description...................................................................3

3.0 INSTALLATION ...........................................................4

Checking the Supplied Parts........................................4

Connecting to the Printer .............................................4

Physical Connection and Operation.............................4

Installing UCONNECT..................................................6

Using PCONSOLE.......................................................7

UCONNECT Commands .............................................9

4.0 NOVELL OPERATION...............................................10

Locating the Print Server on the Novell Network .......10

Configuration using UCONNECT...............................14

Testing with UCONNECT...........................................18

Printing within Novell..................................................19

Upgrading within Novell .............................................19

Troubleshooting within Novell....................................20

5.0 TCP/IP OPERATION..................................................22

Locating the Print Server on the TCP/IP Network......22

Configuration within TCP/IP.......................................23

Printing within TCP/IP................................................25

Upgrading within TCP/IP............................................27

Troubleshooting within TCP/IP...................................28

APPENDIX A - Specifications...........................................29

APPENDIX B - Interface Connections .............................30

1

1.0 WARRANTY INFORMATION

Patton Electronics warrants all Model 2126 components to be
free from defects, and will—at our option—repair or replace the product
should it fail within one year from the first date of shipment.

This warranty is limited to defects in workmanship or materials, and
does not cover customer damage, abuse or unauthorized modification.
If this product fails or does not perform as warranted, your sole
recourse shall be repair or replacement as described above. Under no
condition shall Patton Electronics be liable for any damages incurred
by the use of this product. These damages include, but are not limited
to, the following: lost profits, lost savings and incidental or
consequential damages arising from the use of or inability to use this
product. Patton Electronics specifically disclaims all other warranties,
expressed or implied, and the installation or use of this product shall be
deemed an acceptance of these terms by the user.

1.1 Radio and TV Interference

The Model 2126 generates and uses radio frequency energy, and if
not installed and used properly—that is, in strict accordance with the
manufacturer's instructions—may cause interference to radio and
television reception. The Model 2126 has been tested and found to
comply with the limits for a Class A computing device in accordance
with the specifications in Subpart J of Part 15 of FCC rules, which are
designed to provide reasonable protection from such interference in a
commercial installation. However, there is no guarantee that
interference will not occur in a particular installation. If the Model 2126
does cause interference to radio or television reception, which can be
determined by disconnecting the Centronics cable or twisted pair cable,
the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more
of the following measures: moving the computing equipment away
from the receiver, re-orienting the receiving antenna and/or plugging the
receiving equipment into a different AC outlet (such that the computing
equipment and receiver are on different branches).

1.2 Service

All warranty and non-warranty repairs must be returned freight
prepaid and insured to Patton Electronics. All returns must have a
Return Materials Authorization number on the outside of the shipping
container. This number may be obtained from Patton Electronics
Technical Service at [phone].

Packages received without an

RMA number will not be accepted.

Patton Electronics' technical staff is also available to answer any
questions that might arise concerning the installation or use of your
Model 2126. Hours: 8AM to 5PM EST, Monday through Friday.

2

2.0 GENERAL INFORMATION

Thank you for your purchase of this Patton Electronics product.
This product has been thoroughly inspected and tested and is
warranted for One Year parts and labor. If any questions or problems
arise during installation or use of this product, please do not hesitate to
contact Patton Electronics Technical Support at [phone].

2.1 Features

• Concurrent Novell (Versions 2.x, 3.x and 4.x) and TCP/IP support

• 802.2 and 802.3 compatible (works with Ethernet II, Ethernet SNAP
frames)

• LEDs monitor Power and Link Status

• Installation and diagnostic utility tools supplied with units

• Supports the full range of Novell notify options

• Supports LPQ for Unix print queue examination

• Can Logon to up to ten (10) file servers

• Automatically detects and reconnects to “downed” file servers
(Auto-relog)

• Configured using Novell compatible utility or via Telnet session

• Novell operation can be disabled for TCP/IP only sites

• Printing at 60 Kbytes per second

• Software upgrades performed by network via FLASH EPROM.

2.2 Description
The Patton Model 2126 PeNet

TM

Print Server supports multi­protocol printing in both Novell and TCP/IP LANs, and is fully compliant
to the ANSI/IEEE 802.2 and 802.3 Standards. Able to recognize up to
250 servers, the Model 2126 can simultaneously logon to ten of them. If
the network moves and changes frequently, the Model 2126 can also
be configured to continuously scan and log on to new servers.

In case of power loss, the Model 2126 can restore connection to
servers that are downed. It also supports all the Novell printing and
print server features. The PeNetTMsupports print speeds greater than
60,000 bytes per second. Configuration is accomplished using a Novell
compatible utility. (For TCP/IP environments, configuration is
accomplished via Telnet sessions.) FLASH EPROM allows upgrades to
be done efficiently through the network.

3

3.0 INSTALLATION

The PeNetTMPrint Server is easily installed on a Novell and/or
TCP/IP network using standard Coax cabling. The following section of
this manual describes the installation procedure required. It is highly
recommended that you follow the instructions provided to ensure a
simple and trouble free installation. Note: Please read the file named
“readme.doc” on the enclosed 3.5” hard diskette.

3.1 Checking The Supplied Parts

Unpack the unit and check that the following items have been
supplied:

1. PeNet

TM

Print Server

2. 5v DC wall mount power adapter

3. This Manual

4. Software utilities diskette (contains UCONNECT utility)

If any of these items are missing, then contact your supplier
immediately.

3.2 Physical Connection and Operation

The PeNetTMPrint Server is straightforward to connect and operate.
As Figure 1(below) illustrates, the rear panel of the Print Server
incorporates an external power supply connection, one coaxial
connector, a Link Status LED and a Power LED. (The Centronics
connector on the front of the Print Server plugs directly into a standard
parallel printer port.)

(Continued)

4

Figure 1. Print Server Rear Panel

External Power Jack

BNC Connection

Link Status LED

Power LED

Follow the steps below to connect the Print Server to the printer and
network (the order is not critical):

1. Connect the required network cable (10Base2) to the modular
connector on the Print Server (The Link Staus LED will not glow
until power has been applied to the Print Server.)

2. Plug the power supply adapter into the jack on the rear of the Print
Server and then into a (surge protected) AC wall outlet.

When sufficient power is applied to the Print Server (external or
interface power), the Power LED will glow and the Print Server will
boot up. The Link Status LED should also glow, since you have
presumably accomplished Step 1 already.

3. Immediately after performing steps 1 & 2, connect the Print Server
directly to the parallel port of the printer and turn the printer ON (if it
is not already ON)

Approximately 15 - 30 seconds after booting up, the Print Server will
spool a status page to the Centronics port. If you have connected
the Print Server to the printer and turned the printer ON within that
time frame, the status page should print. The status page shows
the unit’s current operating parameters and proves that a good
printer connection exists.

What if a status page does not print after 15 - 30 seconds?

a) If you did not connect to (and turn ON) the printer right away, it is
possible that the Print Server spooled a status page

before

the
printer could respond. Disconnect and reconnect power to the Print
Server. This will reboot the print server and spool another status
page.

b) Is your printer set up for Postscript? If so, this will interfere with
the

default

set-up of the Print Server. The status page may be
garbled or may not print at all. See Section 4.8 on General
Troubleshooting.

c) If your printer has a large buffer, the printing of the status page
may depend on the timeout setting within your printer. It may take a

few minutes for a large print buffer to timeout and print.

5

Note: Some printers are able to supply 5 V DC (TTL Spec.) on

pin 18 of the Centronics connector. If your printer is one
of these, you may not need the AC power adapter.

3.3 Installing UCONNECT on a Workstation

UCONNECT is the configuration utility that is supplied with the
Print Server. UCONNECT allows the Print Server to be installed on a
Novell network, and will run on any Novell compatible workstation.
(Note: Both Novell and TCP/IP parameters can be configured using
UCONNECT. However, you cannot run a TCP/IP session in
UCONNECT. See Section 5.0 for more information.)

UCONNECT is supplied on a PC-DOS diskette. For your
convenience, we recommend that you copy the utility (file name
UCONNECT.EXE) to your workstation hard drive. The transaction
might look something like this:

MD C:\UCONNECT

(insert diskette into drive A)

COPY A:\*.* C:\UCONNECT
Once the utility program has been copied to the hard drive, type

UCONNECT at the DOS prompt and press [ENTER] to execute the
utility.

(Continued)

6

STOP! If you are connecting the Print Server to a TCP/IP
network that is

not

Novell based, go immediately to Section 5.0
TCP/IP Operation. If you are connecting the Print Server to a
Novell network, or to a Novell network running TCP/IP, continue
on to Sections 3.4 and 4.0.

3.4 Using PCONSOLE

PCONSOLE is a Novell supplied utility for setting up Print Queues
and Print Servers. Before it is possible to print using the Print Server
unit, it will be necessary to use PCONSOLE to inform Novell of the
presence of a new Print Server and to create/attach print queues to this
Print Server. You will require Supervisor privileges to create a new
Print Server and Queue.

Run PCONSOLE from the command prompt on a workstation and

the following screen will appear:

From the Available Options Menu select Print Server Information. This
will display a list of currently available Print Servers. Press the INSERT
key and enter the name you allocated to the PeNet

TM

Print Server unit
(Units LOGIN Name) within the configuration procedure explained
earlier. Press ENTER to inform Novell of the newly installed device.
Once this new Print Server is displayed in the list of available Print
Servers, select it by hi-lighting it using the cursor keys and then

7

Stop! Before running UCONNECT, check the following Novell
operating system parameters. If you are unfamiliar with any of
them, consult your Novell manual or contact your Novell
Administrator.

1) Check that ‘Allow Unencrypted Passwords’ has been
set to ON

2) Ensure that the unit’s Name and Password are as
allocated in PCONSOLE

3) Check that there is a connection available for the Print Server
(use Monitor on the Server Console)

4) If Selective Login is enabled, ensure correct File Server
name(s) have been entered

5) Check that Novell Mode is not disabled

Available Options

| Change Current File Server
| Print Queue Information
| Print Server Information

pressing enter. It is now possible to enter further details about the
device in question. For full details of the various options available, refer
to the relevant Novell manual.

The available option fields now displayed are as follows:

• Change Password The password allocated within the
configuration utility (Units
PASSWORD) must be entered
here.

• Full Name This field is optional. A more
descriptive unit name may be
entered here if required.

• Print Server Configuration This option allows more specific
configuration information to be
entered. See the next section for
further details.

• Print Server ID displays the units Network
identification.

• Operators / Users These two sections allow a list of
permitted operators and users to be
assigned to the interface.

• Status / Control This section displays the current
status of the Print Server and
allows control over the current state
of the individual printers.

Selecting this option will produce the following screen:

(continued)

8

Print Server Configuration

| File Servers To Be Serviced
| Notify List For Printer
| Printer Configuration
| Queues Serviced By Printer