Ricoh InfoPrint Pro C900AFP, InfoPrint Manager for Windows Planning Manual

InfoPrint Manager for Windows: Introduction and Planning Guide
Version 2 Release 3
G550-1071-02
InfoPrint Manager for Windows: Introduction and Planning Guide
Version 2 Release 3
G550-1071-02
Note:
Before using this information and the product it supports, read the information in “Notices” on page 49.
Third edition (September 2009)
This edition replaces G550-1071-01.
Internet
Visit our home page: http://www.infoprint.com
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InfoPrint Solutions Company 6300 Diagonal Hwy 002J Boulder, CO 80301-9270 U.S.A.
This product is or contains commercial computer software and commercial computer software documentation developed exclusively at private expense. As specified in Federal Acquisition Regulation 12.212 in the case of civilian agencies and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement 227.7202 in the case of military agencies, use, duplication and disclosure by agencies of the U.S. Government shall solely be in accordance with the accompanying International Program License Agreement in case of software products and in accordance with the licensing terms specified in the product’s documentation in the case of hardware products.
© Copyright InfoPrint Solutions Company 2000, 2009.
Contents
Figures ...............v
Tables ...............vii
About this publication ........ix
Organization of this publication........ix
Most recent information ..........ix
The InfoPrint publication library .......ix
InfoPrint Manager common publication library . ix InfoPrint Manager for AIX publication library . . x InfoPrint Manager for Windows publication
library ...............xi
Related publications ..........xi
What’s new in InfoPrint Manager for Windows
Release 3 ...............xi
Support for Windows Vista and Windows Server
2008 ................xi
Support for IBM Java Runtime Environment
Version 5.0 .............xii
Support for Managed IPDS Dialog (MID) . . . xii
Support for color management resources added
to selected transforms ..........xii
Support for Unicode Extended Code Pages . . . xii
Support for page count for AFP ......xii
Support for separator pages for AFP Download
Plus ................xii
Support for BCOCA desired symbol width . . xiii
Dropped support ............xiii
Chapter 1. Introducing InfoPrint Manager
for Windows .............1
Optimizing your print resources ........1
Understanding the InfoPrint Manager server . . . 2
Basic print flow ............2
Logical destinations ...........3
Queues ...............3
Actual destinations ...........4
Host receivers .............4
Documents and jobs ...........4
Auxiliary sheets ............4
Media ...............5
Resource contexts............5
Transforms ..............5
Sizing your InfoPrint Manager environment . . . 5
Understanding server configuration options ....7
Standard server environment ........7
InfoPrint Manager interfaces .........8
Comparing InfoPrint Manager on different platforms 9
Understanding common features ......9
Understanding InfoPrint Manager for AIX
features...............10
Understanding InfoPrint Manager for Windows
features...............10
Supported printers ............11
PCL printers .............11
PostScript printers ...........11
PPDS printers ............11
IPDS Printers .............11
||
Supported data streams ..........14
Chapter 2. Planning for configuration 15
Understanding destination configuration models . . 15
The default model ...........15
The pool model ............16
The desktop model ...........17
The funnel model ...........17
The hourglass model ..........18
Chapter 3. Planning to print with host
systems ..............19
Comparing DPF and MVS Download......20
Print shop scenarios ...........21
A black box shop ...........21
Printing from the LAN and the host: option one 21 Printing from the LAN and the host: option two 21
Spooling jobs to be printed later ......21
Distributed print shop using remote spooling . . 22
Managing resources with MVS Download ....22
Managing resources with DPF ........23
Chapter 4. Using AFP resources ....25
Chapter 5. Planning to share printers 27
Methods for sharing printers ........27
Sharing the communication link with IPDS
printers...............28
Sharing the communication link with PostScript,
PCL, or PPDS printers ..........28
Submitting jobs to the same print queue....29
Sharing printers between host and LAN applications 29
Printing from existing host applications ....29
Printing from existing LAN applications....30
Chapter 6. Verifying prerequisites . . . 33
Verifying hardware prerequisites .......33
Server hardware prerequisites .......33
Client hardware prerequisites .......33
Verifying software prerequisites .......34
Server software prerequisites .......34
AFP Download Plus prerequisites ......34
||
Client software prerequisites........35
Chapter 7. Migrating to InfoPrint Manager for Windows Version 2
Release 3 .............37
Migrating to InfoPrint Manager for Windows
Version 2 Release 3 ............37
© Copyright InfoPrint Solutions Company 2000, 2009 iii
Chapter 8. Collecting required
information .............39
Planning for a LAN connection ........39
Planning for a printer network connection ....40
Planning for printers ...........41
Planning for host receivers .........41
Chapter 9. Reviewing software
components ............43
Appendix. Accessibility .......47
Using assistive technologies .........47
Keyboard navigation of the user interface ....47
Notices ..............49
Trademarks ..............50
Glossary ..............53
Index ...............77
iv
InfoPrint Manager for Windows: Introduction and Planning Guide
Figures
1. InfoPrint Manager print flow. Job B is submitted directly to a logical destination, while Job A is
submitted to an actual destination .....3
2. Default destination configuration model 16
3. Pool destination configuration model ....16
4. Desktop destination configuration model 17
5. Funnel destination configuration model 18
6. Hourglass destination configuration model 18
7. Sharing printers ...........27
© Copyright InfoPrint Solutions Company 2000, 2009 v
vi InfoPrint Manager for Windows: Introduction and Planning Guide
Tables
1. Comparing DPF and MVS Download ....20
2. LAN TCP/IP configuration worksheet . . . 39
3. Printer Network TCP/IP configuration
worksheet .............41
4. Contents of the Common Clients CD-ROM shipped with InfoPrint Manager Server . . . 43
5. Separately-priced features available with
InfoPrint Manager for Windows......45
© Copyright InfoPrint Solutions Company 2000, 2009 vii
viii InfoPrint Manager for Windows: Introduction and Planning Guide
About this publication
This publication is for people who are interested in purchasing InfoPrint®Manager for Windows®and for people who perform the actual installation and configuration of an InfoPrint Manager environment.
This publication helps you prepare to use InfoPrint Manager for Windows. It describes the features of this product and explains the differences between the
®
and Windows versions of InfoPrint Manager.
AIX
Organization of this publication
This publication contains these chapters:
v Chapter 1, “Introducing InfoPrint Manager for Windows,” on page 1
v Chapter 2, “Planning for configuration,” on page 15
v Chapter 3, “Planning to print with host systems,” on page 19
v Chapter 4, “Using AFP resources,” on page 25
v Chapter 5, “Planning to share printers,” on page 27
v Chapter 6, “Verifying prerequisites,” on page 33
v Chapter 7, “Migrating to InfoPrint Manager for Windows Version 2 Release 3,”
on page 37
v Chapter 8, “Collecting required information,” on page 39
v Chapter 9, “Reviewing software components,” on page 43
Most recent information
For the most recent information about InfoPrint Manager, go to the InfoPrint Solutions Company Web site at http://www.infoprint.com.
The InfoPrint publication library
For the most current information, see the InfoPrint Solutions Company Web site at
http://www.infoprint.com.
InfoPrint Manager common publication library
These publications are common to both InfoPrint Manager for AIX and InfoPrint Manager for Windows:
v InfoPrint Manager: SAP R/3 Planning and Configuration Guide, S550-1051. For print
administrators who need to create and configure both the SAP R/3 environment. we recommend that users possess a detailed knowledge of a SAP R/3 environment, as well as administering and maintaining either AIX or Windows operating systems. This publication describes how a business enterprise that uses SAP R/3 can use either InfoPrint Manager for AIX or InfoPrint Manager for Windows to manage its print environment.
v InfoPrint Manager: Reference, S550-1052. For print administrators, operators, and
application programmers with the need to do command-line functions. This
© Copyright InfoPrint Solutions Company 2000, 2009 ix
publication describes the commands, utilities, transforms, attributes, and attribute values associated with InfoPrint.
v InfoPrint Manager: PSF and Server Messages, G550-1053. This publication lists the
PSF and Server messages and explanations from InfoPrint Manager.
v InfoPrint Manager Print-on-Demand Feature: Submit Express User’s Guide, S550-1054.
This publication is for the user who installs, configures, and uses Submit Express on a Windows or Macintosh workstation. Although you can use this publication for general guidance in using Submit Express, you should use the online Help to find more detailed instructions.
v InfoPrint Job Ticketer: Job Ticketer User’s Guide, S550-1055. This publication is a
guide for using the InfoPrint Job Ticketer Web application. This guide provides descriptions of tasks and procedures that an end-user needs to know to set up their workstation to use the application, and then to create, layout, store, retrieve print jobs, and submit the jobs to a print server for printing.
v InfoPrint Job Ticketer: Administrator’s Guide, S550-1056. This publication is a guide
for system administrators who are responsible for the InfoPrint Job Ticketer Web application. This guide provides information about the Job Ticketer system requirements, installation and configuration, system maintenance, security, and problem determination.
InfoPrint Manager for AIX publication library
InfoPrint Manager for AIX includes publications in PDF format on a CD-ROM supplied with the product.
The publications for InfoPrint Manager for AIX are:
v InfoPrint Manager for AIX: Introduction and Planning Guide, G550-1060. This
publication gives an overview of InfoPrint Manager for AIX, introduces the concepts, and helps you prepare to use it. It addresses migration from previous versions of the product. And it explains the differences between the AIX and Windows versions of InfoPrint Manager.
v InfoPrint Manager for AIX: Installation Instructions, G550-1059. This publication
describes how to install InfoPrint Manager for AIX 4.3. These instructions explain the procedures for local and remote installations.
v InfoPrint Manager for AIX: Getting Started, G550-1061. This publication helps you
install and configure InfoPrint Manager for AIX. It focuses on the software configuration of server and client system.
v InfoPrint Manager for AIX: Configuration and Tuning Guide, S550-1062. This
publication provides information about configuring and tuning the InfoPrint Manager for AIX, Version 4.3. This book is designed for the InfoPrint Manager administrator who needs to understand how to configure and tune an InfoPrint Manager system. It helps administrators to evaluate, develop, and maintain both a logical and hardware configuration for their environment.
v Guidelines for Installing InfoPrint Manager for AIX 4.2 in an HACMP Configuration,
G550-1063. This publication helps you install and configure HACMP
with InfoPrint Manager for AIX. It also describes how to use HACMP with InfoPrint Manager for AIX.
v InfoPrint Manager for AIX: Using Generalized Fax, S550-1064. This publication
describes how to configure and use the Generalized Fax support that is included with InfoPrint Manager for AIX. This publication includes information about sending and receiving faxes from an InfoPrint Manager server.
x InfoPrint Manager for Windows: Introduction and Planning Guide
v InfoPrint Manager for AIX: Procedures, G550-1066. This publication describes how
to set up an InfoPrint environment, to submit print jobs, to schedule jobs, and to manage the print environment.
InfoPrint Manager for Windows publication library
InfoPrint Manager for Windows includes publications in PDF format on a CD-ROM supplied with the product.
The publications for InfoPrint Manager for Windows are:
v InfoPrint Manager for Windows: Introduction and Planning Guide, G550-1071. This
publication gives an overview of InfoPrint Manager for Windows, introduces its concepts, and helps you prepare to use it. It describes features of this product. Finally, this publication explains the differences between the AIX and Windows versions of InfoPrint.
v InfoPrint Manager for Windows: Getting Started, G550-1072. This publication helps
you install and configure InfoPrint Manager for Windows. It focuses primarily on server and client system software configuration.
v InfoPrint Manager for Windows: Procedures, G550-1073. This publication describes
the primary tasks necessary for setting up an InfoPrint environment, submitting print jobs, scheduling jobs, and managing the print environment.
Related publications
The related publications are:
v AFP Conversion and Indexing Facility User’s Guide, S550-0436.
v Page Printer Formatting Aid: User’s Guide, S550-0801.
v Using OpenType Fonts in an AFP System, G544-5876.
What’s new in InfoPrint Manager for Windows Release 3
The enhancements and changes in this release apply to InfoPrint Manager for Windows :
v “Support for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008”
v “Support for IBM Java Runtime Environment Version 5.0” on page xii
v “Support for Managed IPDS Dialog (MID)” on page xii
v “Support for color management resources added to selected transforms” on page
xii
v “Support for Unicode Extended Code Pages” on page xii
v “Support for page count for AFP” on page xii
v “Support for separator pages for AFP Download Plus” on page xii
v “Support for BCOCA desired symbol width” on page xiii
Important:
1. All client and server machines must be upgraded at the same time.
2. Make sure that all InfoPrint clients are at the same level as the InfoPrint
Manager server installed for optimum performance and experience.
Support for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008
This release includes support for Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Enterprise, and Windows Server 2008 operating systems for these things:
About this publication xi
v InfoPrint Manager for Windows Server
v Administration and Operations GUI
v AFP
v AFP Workbench
v Command Line Client
v InfoPrint Job Ticketer with IBM
v Notification Client
v PPDs for PSF
v SAP Clients
v InfoPrint Select
v Submit Express
Driver
®
Java™5.0 SR6 or Sun Java 5.0
Support for IBM Java Runtime Environment Version 5.0
InfoPrint Manager now supports IBM Java Runtime Environment Version 5.0. This is the only Java version supported by both the InfoPrint Manager clients and servers. However, InfoPrint Job Ticketer also supports Sun Java 5.0. All InfoPrint Manager components must use the same Java level.
Note: IBM Java Version 5.0 is not supported on the Windows 95 platform.
Support for Managed IPDS Dialog (MID)
InfoPrint Manager now supports Managed IPDS™Dialog (MID). This support allows additional sharing capability for specific print engines. Under this enhancement, the printer can request that the PSF host release its control of the print engine (but not drop the TCP/IP connection), thus allowing the print engine to print data streams other than IPDS during periods of time where the IPDS activity is minimal. This is to optimize the performance of the printer.
Support for color management resources added to selected transforms
Release 3 adds support for color management resources (CMRs) to the gif2afp, jpeg2afp, pdf2afp, ps2afp, and tiff2afp transforms. This support provides color fidelity with better printer performance.
Support for Unicode Extended Code Pages
Unicode Extended Code Pages (ECP) are code pages with additional information used by OpenType and TrueType fonts. This enables users to easily define new composite double-byte characters.
Support for page count for AFP
The page count for AFP function in InfoPrint Manager enables users to see the number of pages in an AFP file to be printed by PSF on a printer before sending it to the printer. Users can turn on and off this page count function. However, the result of the page count function might not be 100% accurate, because only the begin page group (BPG) and end page group (EPG) pages are counted.
Support for separator pages for AFP Download Plus
Release 3 adds support for AFP Download Plus (AFPDP) to have the option of sending the separator pages (header page, data set header page, and trailer page)
xii InfoPrint Manager for Windows: Introduction and Planning Guide
in MOD:CA format to the receiver. When AFPDP is enabled to send the separator pages, the separator pages generated by InfoPrint Manager will be suppressed for these jobs.
Support for BCOCA desired symbol width
With release 3, end users can specify a symbol width rather than specify the size for each bar and space within the bar code symbol. This enables users to have direct control over the total width of a bar code symbol. Also, the total width of the bar code symbols created by the printers does not vary as much based on the printhead resolution.
Dropped support
With this release, InfoPrint Manager no longer supports:
v These PSF Functions:
v The font downloader feature
v Impositioning assist function
v Tape Input
v The ability to view local files using plug-ins from the InfoPrint Job Ticketer
v Variable data support from InfoPrint Submit Express
v 3170 DSS support
v These Windows platforms:
v Printers that can only be driven by the 7913 IPDS Printer LAN attachment
– PSF Direct
– PSF DSS upload-SNA attachment
– PSF DSS channel attachment
– Windows Server 2003 Enterprise x64 Edition
– Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise x64 Edition
The InfoPrint Manager clients are no longer available in these languages:
v Danish
v Swedish
v Finnish
v Norwegian
About this publication xiii
xiv InfoPrint Manager for Windows: Introduction and Planning Guide
Chapter 1. Introducing InfoPrint Manager for Windows
InfoPrint Manager for the Windows Operating System, hereafter called InfoPrint Manager for Windows, is a flexible and scalable print management solution, providing you with many choices of how to expand and manage your print environment. Your print environment might be simple with a few high-speed devices located together, or you might support many printers dispersed across your enterprise. In either case, InfoPrint Manager helps you make the most of your printing resources.
Optimizing your print resources
Your print resources are the applications that generate print jobs, your printer devices, and the InfoPrint Manager objects that control the jobs as they process and print. Your default InfoPrint Manager configuration includes one InfoPrint Manager server, a queue, a logical destination, and an actual destination (physical printer). Before adding more InfoPrint Manager objects, consider how InfoPrint Manager can help you:
v Manage your printer devices and distribute your printing work load:
Many print environments have a significant investment in printer devices and a significant printing work load. InfoPrint Manager gives you the ability to manage all of your printer hardware centrally. You can establish a configuration that lets you route jobs with common requirements to a particular printer or set of printers that support those types of jobs. This lets you mitigate situations where some printers are idle while others have a backlog of jobs waiting to print. By optimizing the use of each printer, you can distribute your print demands among all available printers.
v Balance the use of Windows systems:
By balancing the printing work load, you can also optimize the use of your Windows systems that support printing. These systems can use a significant amount of their resources to accept, schedule, and process jobs, and to manage the printers they control. System usage includes processing time, memory, and fixed disk capacity. If you use several InfoPrint Manager servers running on several Windows or AIX systems, you distribute the printing demands of your organization and produce output more efficiently.
v Control print jobs:
InfoPrint Manager provides you with flexibility in specifying defaults for your print jobs. You might want to use different job defaults for specific output devices or for specific types of jobs. When you configure your system, you should consider when and how you plan to use defaults and how to use them most effectively. Effective use of defaults can influence other configuration decisions you make.
v See significant events when they happen:
InfoPrint Manager supports event notification to inform job submitters, operators, and administrators of conditions that require their attention. For example, InfoPrint Manager can notify operators when queues have a backlog of jobs or when the printers they operate are out of paper. Your job submitters can receive notification if InfoPrint Manager cannot schedule their jobs at the requested destination. Notifications include event messages to help your personnel diagnose and isolate the cause of the problem. When you configure
© Copyright InfoPrint Solutions Company 2000, 2009 1
InfoPrint Manager, you select the types of notification you want to make sure that the appropriate people are alerted when significant events occur. The most common form of notification is that a job has completed successfully. For example, when a set of payroll checks has finished printing, someone in the Payroll department can be notified that they are ready.
Continue with the “Understanding the InfoPrint Manager server” section that describes the different InfoPrint Manager objects and basic configuration considerations for each.
Understanding the InfoPrint Manager server
The InfoPrint Manager server runs as a service on Windows. The server manages jobs submitted to it from client applications (including InfoPrint Select and Windows applications that support a print function). The InfoPrint Manager server contains a number of “objects” that are used to control the processing of submitted jobs. Objects include queues, logical destinations, actual destinations, and any defaults for job and document characteristics. The server administrator creates, deletes, and modifies these software objects to optimize the management and performance of the InfoPrint Manager environment.
The InfoPrint Manager server can also contain auxiliary sheets, media, resource-context objects, and transform objects. You can use auxiliary sheets to separate jobs and to print job identification information. Resource-context objects point to the directory locations of Advanced Function Presentation resources, such as fonts and overlays, that some jobs require.
(AFP)
Basic print flow
You can submit print jobs to the InfoPrint Manager server in a variety of ways. Various print submission methods are described in Chapter 3, “Planning to print with host systems,” on page 19 and Chapter 5, “Planning to share printers,” on page 27. No matter which method you use, your jobs will travel similar paths once they get to the server.
In the most common configuration, you submit jobs to an InfoPrint Logical Destination (LD). The LD forwards the job to a print queue, and the print queue forwards the job to an InfoPrint Actual Destination (AD). The AD then sends the job to the printer. See Job B in Figure 1 on page 3 for an illustration. This configuration is especially useful if you have multiple printers and want to balance the workload between them.
Another common configuration is to submit jobs directly to the AD. The AD then forwards the job to the LD that is associated with it. The LD sends the job to a print queue, and the print queue sends the job back to the AD where it started. Then, the AD sends the job to the printer. See Job A in Figure 1 on page 3 for an illustration. This configuration is particularly useful when you need to make sure jobs are sent to a specific printer.
Notes:
1. If you submit jobs directly to an AD, the AD and LD that you associate with it
must reside on the same server.
2. If you use the Distributed Print Facility (DPF) to print from a host system, you
must submit directly to an AD.
2 InfoPrint Manager for Windows: Introduction and Planning Guide
Job B
Logical
Destination 1
Job/Document
Queue 1
Defaults
Job A
Actual
Destination 1
Figure 1. InfoPrint Manager print flow. Job B is submitted directly to a logical destination, while Job A is submitted to an actual destination
Actual
Destination 2
Actual
Destination 3
These sections provide more information about the different kinds of InfoPrint objects and what happens to your print job at each step of the process.
Logical destinations
Logical destinations are objects in your InfoPrint Manager system that you can submit jobs to. Your initial InfoPrint Manager environment has one default logical destination. You might want to add more logical destinations to support specific types of jobs and specific groups of job submitters. When you create an additional logical destination, you specify a name for the logical destination and associate it with a specific queue. The logical destination and the queue must reside in the same InfoPrint Manager server.
You can specify default job and document attributes for a logical destination, so that all jobs submitted to that logical destination are automatically assigned certain default values. This saves time for the job submitter, and helps make sure that jobs submitted will not fail because of missing resources. If necessary, the submitter can override the default values by explicitly setting the attributes at submission time.
Printer pooling (or clustering) is a powerful feature of InfoPrint Manager. Pooling allows jobs to be submitted to a single logical destination and then routed to appropriate physical devices. This feature enables you to distribute your work load evenly among available printing devices and to optimize printer utilization. It prevents bottlenecks where a large number of jobs are queued for a few printers while other equally capable printers sit idle. In short, printer pooling lets you see your output faster, and logical destinations make printer pooling possible.
Queues
A queue receives jobs from one or more logical destinations and routes jobs to one or more actual destinations. The queue holds a job until an actual destination capable of processing the job becomes available. Your initial InfoPrint Manager environment has one default queue. The queue and the actual destination that it
Chapter 1. Introducing InfoPrint Manager for Windows 3
sends jobs to do not have to be in the same server. The actual destination can be in an InfoPrint Manager server on a different AIX or Windows system.
Actual destinations
An actual destination represents an output device, such as a printer. In general, you create one actual destination for each physical output device that you use with InfoPrint Manager. It is possible to create more than one actual destination for a device, but that configuration is not common. You configure the actual destination to mirror the features and capabilities of the output device, such as the output resolution of a printer. You also configure the actual destination to control the order in which it processes jobs, for example, by job size or by submission time.
If you do not specify values for all of the attributes when you create an actual destination, InfoPrint Manager provides default values for many of them. You can make modifications, as required, at a later time.
Host receivers
A host receiver provides the point of connection between InfoPrint Manager and a host system. The host system connects with the host receiver and downloads print jobs.
There are two kinds of host receivers: DPF host receivers and MVS Download receivers. You create the type of host receiver you need, depending on the host print method you select. Both host receivers receive print jobs from MVS submit them to InfoPrint Manager.
and
Note: In InfoPrint Manager, the term MVS Download refers to both the Download for z/OS PSF for z/OS.
For additional information about host printing, see Chapter 3, “Planning to print with host systems,” on page 19.
®
feature of PSF for z/OS and the AFP Download Plus for z/OS feature of
Documents and jobs
A job is a unit of work you send to InfoPrint Manager for processing. A job can consist of a single file or many files. (To submit multiple files in a single job you must use the pdpr command, InfoPrint Submit Express, or InfoPrint Job Ticketer.) In InfoPrint Manager terminology, each file in the job and its accompanying attributes is called a document. (Both jobs and documents include attributes that define their respective requirements.)
Job validation is the process of ensuring that there is an actual destination capable of processing the requirements of the job. The values of job and document attributes determine the requirements (such as duplex printing or card-stock media) that the actual destination printing the job must support.
A job can include a complete description of its requirements, or the job submission process can be streamlined through the use of defaults. See “Logical destinations” on page 3 for details.
Auxiliary sheets
An auxiliary sheet is a sheet of paper that can print at any or all of these points during a job:
v At the beginning
4 InfoPrint Manager for Windows: Introduction and Planning Guide
v At the end
v Between sections
The auxiliary sheet can have information printed on it, or it can be blank. InfoPrint Manager provides five default types of auxiliary sheets, but you can customize your own sheets if necessary. You can also apply a user-exit program to control the information printed on an auxiliary sheet.
Media
A medium represents the type of media, that is, paper, envelopes, transparencies, or multi-part forms, that an actual destination prints on. You can configure a medium to describe its dimensions, color, purpose, or any other useful information.
InfoPrint Manager uses the names of media as values for actual destination attributes, such as media-supported. Actual destination attributes that reference media can use any name as long as the name is within syntax limits.
Resource contexts
When properly configured, InfoPrint Manager automatically locates the AFP resources (fonts, overlays, form definitions, page definitions, and page segments) that print jobs require. You can store the resources in a centrally available location and then use InfoPrint Manager resource contexts to identify the location. After you have configured the resource contexts, InfoPrint Manager automatically locates the AFP resources required by a job and then uses them for processing.
Transforms
Transforms are InfoPrint objects (like queues and destinations) that you create and configure in InfoPrint Manager. Transforms receive data in a particular format or formats, process the data in some way, and output the changed data. When you create a transform, you have complete control over what data format or formats it operates on and what type of processing it does. The processing that the transform performs can be anything from simply copying the data to a different place on disk, to filtering the data stream that the transform receives (for example, to remove a particular PostScript different format (for example, converting PCL to AFP).
In addition, you can specify whether you want the file that the transform produces to be printed. If the transform doesn’t submit the file to be printed (for example, if the transform completes its processing and saves the file to a different location), it is called a terminating transform.
®
order), to transforming the data to a completely
Sizing your InfoPrint Manager environment
The number of InfoPrint Manager servers you need depends on many factors. In this section, we provide only an overview of the most important performance issues that can influence your server purchase plans. To begin, the features and configurations of each InfoPrint Manager server system are extremely important. Important server factors that affect printing system performance includes:
v Processor speed
v Number of processors
v Available RAM
v Available hard disk space
Chapter 1. Introducing InfoPrint Manager for Windows 5
v Hard disk speed
v Number of hard disk drives
v Balance of InfoPrint Manager data sets across available disk drives
v Tuning specifications for hard disk drivers
v Paging space allocations (drive locations and size)
v Number of data paths (single or dual)
The output devices that InfoPrint Manager drives are also important:
v Speed and resolution of printers or other output devices
v Number of output devices operating concurrently
v Number of output devices per actual destination
Finally, how you submit print jobs to each InfoPrint Manager server is important:
v Number of client systems submitting jobs
v Frequency of job submission from client systems
v Speed of network data transfer
v Size (density) of jobs to be printed
v Complexity of jobs to be printed
v Number and types of input data streams
v Overall network traffic
Sizing your InfoPrint Manager environment is a complex task. It might be impossible to determine in advance precisely how many Windows and AIX systems will adequately serve your printing needs.
Note: You can run only one InfoPrint Manager server on a Windows system.
A dedicated InfoPrint Manager for Windows system that meets the Minimum recommended hardware requirements (see “Server hardware prerequisites” on page 33 for details on hardware configurations) can drive one InfoPrint 4000 ID3/ID4 printer at rated speed (1002 pages per minute) with simple text data. This is a very specific benchmark. Each additional device you attach to a server causes considerable network overhead and processor overhead.
Your InfoPrint Solutions Company sales representative can help you determine if you have enough physical printing devices to address the printing needs of your enterprise. Essentially, this is a question of how many pages of output must be produced in how much time. Your estimate of printed output, combined with the rated speeds of your print devices, should give you the information you require to guide printer purchases.
Determining how many servers you need to drive your printing devices, however, requires experimentation and patience. Consult with your InfoPrint Solutions Company Sales Representative to agree on a reasonable number to start with. We recommend setting up your environment one server at a time, one printer at a time. (Draw diagrams similar to those in “Understanding destination configuration models” on page 15, but realize that these diagrams are subject to change.) After adding each printer to a server, do a stress test. Try to drive the printers at rated speed with the types and number of jobs expected during peak periods. Also, try to have the server system perform all other activities it will have to do while processing the jobs. In short, make your stress test as realistic as possible. If the server system handles the work load without a problem, consider attaching an
6 InfoPrint Manager for Windows: Introduction and Planning Guide
additional printer. If the addition of a printer degrades performance to an unacceptable level, add an additional server to your network to drive this printer. You might also consider upgrading system and network hardware.
Finally, it is important to monitor the performance of your printing environment regularly to see how the system reacts to actual usage and the changing needs of your business. InfoPrint Manager provides useful tools to make such monitoring easy. You can use standard accounting and audit logs to collect statistical data on jobs processed by any printing device in your environment. You can even customize these logging activities to suit the needs of your business. These logs provide invaluable information about workload balancing. You can also use these logs to determine billing procedures or simply to determine how resources are being used at your installation.
Note: The InfoPrint Manager server provides standard accounting logs, and you can also get customized accounting and audit logs with printers that use the PSF DSS.
Understanding server configuration options
Because InfoPrint Manager for Windows Version 2 Release 3 provides print management for many different environments, it provides two different types of installation on the InfoPrint server: standard and basic installations. Once you have decided to use InfoPrint Manager, the next decision you must make is whether to use the standard server environment or the basic server option. These topics describe how each server runs and should give you an idea of which installation you need.
Note: If you read over these information and are unsure about which server configuration is best for you, consult with your InfoPrint representative to make sure that you create the environment that meets your needs.
Standard server environment
When you install the InfoPrint Manager Server, a standard printing environment is created. This environment is generally appropriate for data center printing or distributed printing of many different types of data (including ASCII, line data, GIF, JPEG, PCL, PDF, PostScript, XML, and TIFF data). Print jobs in the standard environment often consist of billing statements, payroll statements, and application forms. Users submit these jobs from a command line, a workstation application (such as a word processor), or an InfoPrint client (such as InfoPrint Select).
In a standard printing environment, InfoPrint Manager assigns jobs to printers through late binding. Late binding is much like going to a crowded restaurant and being put on a waiting list for the next available table: you are not “bound” to a particular table until one becomes available. You might have special requirements, such as a non-smoking table with six places (much like a print job that requires document finishing capabilities or a particular paper size), but the hostess (much like the scheduler on the Infoprint
Basic server option
When you install the Print-on-Demand Feature, the standard server environment is replaced or extended with the basic printing environment. The basic printing environment is generally appropriate for commercial print shops printing large
®
Server) handles these qualifications for you.
Chapter 1. Introducing InfoPrint Manager for Windows 7
runs of image data (usually in PostScript or TIFF format). Users submit these jobs from a client (Windows or Macintosh) personal computer using InfoPrint Submit Express or InfoPrint Job Ticketer.
In a basic printing environment, InfoPrint Manager assigns jobs to printers through early binding. Early binding is much like standing in a checkout line at a supermarket. Once you pick the line, you “bind” yourself to it, no matter what happens. Whether the cashier has a problem with the cash register (much like a paper jam occurring in the physical printer) or a customer in front of you requires a few price checks (much like adding new forms to the server), the only way to change your position is to physically move to another line (much like manually moving a print job from one print queue to another).
Note: To use the basic view of the GUI instead of the standard view, see “Using the basic view of the GUI” in the InfoPrint Manager for Windows: Getting Started.
InfoPrint Manager interfaces
The main InfoPrint Manager interfaces are the InfoPrint Manager Administration GUI and the InfoPrint Manager Operations GUI, collectively known as the InfoPrint Manager GUIs. To administer your InfoPrint Manager environment, you will primarily use the InfoPrint Manager Administration GUI. You can use this Java-based interface to create, delete, or modify most InfoPrint objects. Printer creation wizards make it easy for you to create InfoPrint actual destinations.
To oversee the day-to-day operation of your InfoPrint Manager environment, you will use the InfoPrint Manager Operations GUI. This interface includes a subset of the functions available in the InfoPrint Manager Administration GUI. In the InfoPrint Manager Operations GUI, you can release jobs for printing and disable actual destinations. You cannot, however, modify the fundamental configuration of the InfoPrint Manager environment; you cannot delete or add logical destinations, for example.
Both of the InfoPrint Manager GUIs are installed on the Windows system that the InfoPrint Manager server is installed on. In addition, they can both be installed on remote systems. As a result, administrators and operators can manage the InfoPrint Manager system without going to the Windows system that InfoPrint Manager is installed on.
Note: Mixing different levels of the interfaces, servers, or both might cause unexpected results with the Printer Details. Keep all of the clients and servers in the same namespace at the same level.
The third interface that you use for some administrative tasks is the InfoPrint Manager Management Console. These tasks include:
v Stopping and restarting the InfoPrint Manager server v Submitting test jobs v Managing DPF host receivers v Managing MVS Download receivers v Viewing and deleting resources in the DPF Resource Database v Managing security v Managing server configuration v Viewing server and destination logs v Controlling tracing
8 InfoPrint Manager for Windows: Introduction and Planning Guide
The Management Console only runs on the Windows system where the InfoPrint Manager server is installed. To be able to use the Management Console on a remote system, you must use the built-in Terminal Server capabilities and install the InfoPrint Manager server on one of these systems:
v Windows 2000 Professional SP4
v Windows 2000 Server SP4
v Windows XP Professional SP2
v Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition
v Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard Edition SP2
v Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition SP2
v Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition SP2
v Windows Vista Business (x86 only, User Account Control (UAC) off)
v Windows Vista Enterprise (x86 only, UAC off)
v Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition SP1 (x86 only, UAC off)
Comparing InfoPrint Manager on different platforms
To select a platform (AIX or Windows) on which to run your InfoPrint Manager server, be advised that while InfoPrint Manager for AIX and InfoPrint Manager for Windows support many of the same features and functions, each product has unique features not available in the other.
Understanding common features
These InfoPrint Manager features are available on both platforms:
v Fully functional version of the InfoPrint Manager server
v Impositioning, that is, arranging pages so they will appear in proper sequence
after press sheets are folded and bound
v Interoperability with other InfoPrint Manager servers (AIX or Windows)
v BSD and PSF device support systems
v Print-on-Demand, which includes:
– A simplified “basic” version of the InfoPrint Manager server that defaults to
one-to-one mapping of logical and actual destinations. – InfoPrint Submit Express client support – InfoPrint Job Ticketer support
v Support for these input document formats:
– AFP
– ASCII
– DBCS ASCII
– GIF
– JPEG
– Line data (EBCDIC)
– PCL (PCL 6 and earlier)
– PDF Version 1.7 and earlier
– PostScript Level 3 and earlier
– TIFF
– SAP ABAP and OTF
– XML
Chapter 1. Introducing InfoPrint Manager for Windows 9
– PPML
– DITROFF
®
v Adobe
v PCL transform
v XML transform
v Full event notification
v InfoPrint Manager Notifications to enable client systems to receive messages
from InfoPrint Manager server systems
v The InfoPrint Manager Administration GUI for performing most administrative
tasks
v The InfoPrint Manager Operations GUI for performing operator tasks
v InfoPrint Select client for job submission
v A powerful command-line interface to all InfoPrint Manager features
v Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) support
v MVS Download for job submission from z/OS, OS/390
v InfoPrint Page Printer Formatting Aid (PPFA)
v The pdaccount command, which you can use to generate comma-delimited
reports of print server data to be fed into spreadsheets
v Configurable transform support (through transform objects)
v InfoPrint SAP Print Feature, which includes the SAP Output Management
Support (OMS) and the sap2afp transform.
v The IPP Gateway to allow you to print from an IPP client system to printers that
are not IPP-enabled
PostScript transform
®
, and MVS host systems
Understanding InfoPrint Manager for AIX features
These features are currently available only in InfoPrint Manager for AIX:
v InfoPrint E-Mail output support
v Generalized Fax input and output support
v SAPconnect support for fax-in and fax-out in the InfoPrint SAP Print Feature
v Support for printers that use standard AIX printer back-end programs (piobe
and some versions of rembak)
v AFP Upload TCP/IP
v SMIT interface for performing tasks not supported by the InfoPrint Manager
Administration GUI, including PPO and security administration
If you require the features currently only available on InfoPrint Manager for AIX, but prefer the Windows platform, consider a mixed environment of AIX systems and Windows systems. In many cases, a mixed environment provides you with immediate access to all InfoPrint Manager features.
Understanding InfoPrint Manager for Windows features
This release of InfoPrint Manager for Windows includes these features that are unique to the Windows platform:
v The InfoPrint Manager Management Console interface for performing
administrative tasks not supported by the InfoPrint Manager Administration GUI. The InfoPrint Manager Management Console also features graphical administration of the Access Control List (ACL).
10 InfoPrint Manager for Windows: Introduction and Planning Guide
v Interaction between InfoPrint Manager and the Windows print spool to expand
InfoPrint capabilities
v Distributed Print Facility (DPF) for host printing
v Support for the Internet Print Protocol (IPP) to allow InfoPrint Manager to access
a printer using a Uniform Resource Indicator (URI) string
v The Windows gateway printer to allow job submission to InfoPrint Manager
without using an InfoPrint Manager client. (The destinations appear as shared printers on the Windows network.)
v Customization of MVS Download without programming
Supported printers
InfoPrint Manager for Windows supports a wide range of printers from InfoPrint Solutions Company and other vendors.
PCL printers
InfoPrint Manager for Windows supports all compatible printers capable of interpreting the Hewlett-Packard Printer Control Languages (PCL4, PCL5, PCL5c, PCL5e, PCLXL, and PCL6). InfoPrint Manager is capable of converting all kinds of data streams to PCL4, PCL5, PCL5c, or passing through any version of PCL to your PCL printer.
PostScript printers
InfoPrint Manager for Windows supports printing to PostScript printers by passing your PostScript directly to your PostScript printer.
PPDS printers
In addition, InfoPrint Manager for Windows is capable of driving any printer that accepts the Personal Printer Data Stream (PPDS). InfoPrint Manager is capable of converting all kinds of data streams, except formatted ASCII, to PPDS or passing through any version of PPDS to your PPDS printer.
Note: InfoPrint Manager only supports non-impact PPDS printers as PSF Other-driver and PSF Command devices.
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IPDS Printers
InfoPrint Manager for Windows supports IPDS printers including but not limited to:
v InfoPrint 75
v InfoPrint 100
v InfoPrint Color 130 Plus
v InfoPrint EMP156
v InfoPrint Pro C900 AFP
v InfoPrint Pro 907
v InfoPrint Pro 907EX
v InfoPrint Pro 1107
v InfoPrint Pro 1107EX
Chapter 1. Introducing InfoPrint Manager for Windows 11
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v InfoPrint Pro 1357
v InfoPrint Pro 1357EX
v InfoPrint 1145 (no MFP support)
v InfoPrint 1422
v InfoPrint 1532
v InfoPrint 1540 MFP
v InfoPrint 1552
v InfoPrint 1560 MFP
v InfoPrint Color 1567
v InfoPrint 1570 MFP
v InfoPrint 1572
v InfoPrint 1572 MFP
v InfoPrint 1580 MFP
v InfoPrint 1585
v InfoPrint Color 1654
v InfoPrint Color 1664
v InfoPrint Color 1754 Express
v InfoPrint Color 1759 MFP
v InfoPrint Color 1764
v InfoPrint Color 1764 MFP
v InfoPrint Color 1767
v InfoPrint Color 1769 MFP
v InfoPrint 1832
v InfoPrint 1834
v InfoPrint 1846 MFP
v InfoPrint 1850 MFP
v InfoPrint 1852
v InfoPrint 1854
v InfoPrint 1856 MFP
v InfoPrint 1860 MFP
v InfoPrint 1866 MFP
v InfoPrint 1870 MFP
v InfoPrint 1872
v InfoPrint 1880 MFP
v InfoPrint 1930 MFP
v InfoPrint 1940 MFP
v InfoPrint 2000 SCS and AFP Models
v InfoPrint 2060ES
v InfoPrint 2075ES
v InfoPrint 2085
v InfoPrint 2090ES
v InfoPrint 2105
v InfoPrint 2105ES
v InfoPrint 2190
v InfoPrint 2210
12 InfoPrint Manager for Windows: Introduction and Planning Guide
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v InfoPrint 2235
v InfoPrint 3000
v 3160 Advanced Function Printer with Feature 4120, 4161, 4162, or 4163
v 3900 Advanced Function Printer Models 001, D01, D02, 0W1, 0W3, DW1, and
DW2 (including support for the MICR Post-Processing Interface Feature, the Set Media Modifications command to drive post-processing devices, such as Beste Bunch spot color printers, and the Interface Feature 4720)
v 3930 Page Printer Models 03D and 03S
v InfoPrint 4000
v InfoPrint 4000 Model ID5/ID6
v InfoPrint 4000 Model IR3/IR4
v InfoPrint 4100 MD1/MD2
v InfoPrint 4100 Model HD1/HD2
v InfoPrint 4100 Model HD3/HD4
v InfoPrint 4100 Model HD5/HD6
v InfoPrint 4100 Model HS1
v InfoPrint 4100 Model HS2
v InfoPrint 4100 Model HS3
v InfoPrint 4100 Model PD1/PD2
v InfoPrint 4100 Model PS1
v InfoPrint 4100 Model PS2
v InfoPrint 4100 MS1
v 4312 Network Printer 12. OS Code Release Level 2.23 or later is required. For
IPDS printing, the IPDS feature with IPDS Code Level 1.25 or later is required.
v 4317 Network Printer 17. OS Code Release Level 2.23 or later is required. For
IPDS printing, the IPDS feature with IPDS Code Level 1.25 or later is required.
v 4324 Network Printer 24. OS Code Release Level 2.35 or later is required. For
IPDS printing, the IPDS feature with IPDS Code Level 1.25 or later is required.
v 4400 Thermal Printer
v InfoPrint 5000 Model AD1/AD2
v InfoPrint 5000 Model AD3/AD4
v InfoPrint 5000 Model AS1
v InfoPrint 5000 Model AS3
v InfoPrint 6500
v InfoPrint 6700
v InfoPrint SP 8200 DN1
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You typically configure Other-driver or Command attachment for printers such as the InfoPrint 1116 or InfoPrint Color 1220 through the server system’s parallel or serial port by using either the Print Services Facility support system (DSS). However, you can use one of these alternatives to attaching directly to a port:
v IBM 4033 LAN Connection for Printers and Plotters
v IBM 7318 Serial Communications Network Server
v IBM 8260 Multiprotocol Intelligent Switching Hub
(PSF) or Passthrough device
Chapter 1. Introducing InfoPrint Manager for Windows 13
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These alternatives allow InfoPrint Manager for Windows to drive printers as if they were directly attached, even when all parallel and serial ports are in use. These alternative attachment methods can also improve system performance.
Supported data streams
InfoPrint Manager for Windows is capable of converting these data streams to IPDS, PCL4, PCL5, PCL5c, or PPDS:
v Advanced Function Presentation (AFP)
v ASCII
v DBCS ASCII
v CompuServe Graphics Interchange format (GIF)
v EBCDIC
v Joint Photographic Experts Group image (JPEG)
v PCL (PCL 6 and earlier)
v PDF (1.7 and earlier)
v PostScript (level 3 and earlier)
v Personalized Print Markup Language (PPML) (with purchase of the InfoPrint
Manager: Print-on-Demand feature)
v SAP ABAP and OTF (with purchase of the InfoPrint Manager: SAP Print
Feature)
v Tagged Image File Format (TIFF)
v eXtensible Markup Language (XML)
In addition, InfoPrint Manager will pass through any data stream including PostScript, PCL5e, PCLXL, PCL6 (which is a combination of PCL5e and PCL XL), and PPDS.
Note: If you send PostScript data generated by an InfoPrint 1700 model PS printer driver to an IPDS printer via InfoPrint Manager, specific controls inserted in the data stream are lost. To avoid this, you can use the generic PostScript driver.
To provide optimal system performance, the InfoPrint Manager server can transform input data and drive printers concurrently. InfoPrint Manager can support multiple document formats on the same printer.
14 InfoPrint Manager for Windows: Introduction and Planning Guide
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