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-------- PCOUNTER -------- A Page Counting Print Server for Novell NetWare Networks Version 3.20 Copyright 1995 -------------- A.N.D. Technologies P.O. Box 64811 Los Angeles, CA 90064 USA E-Mail ------ Internet - andtech@netcom.com CompuServe - 71011,3570 or INTERNET:andtech@netcom.com (faster!) Phone/Fax --------- (213) 782-6923 ----------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS ----------------- Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 4 Hardware requirements for PCOUNTER.EXE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 5 Software requirements for PCOUNTER.EXE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 5 Software requirements for PCOUNTER.NLM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 5 Differences between the EXE and NLM versions . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 5 Features still to come . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 5 Netware 4.1 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 5 PCOUNTER Concepts - Types of configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 6 PCONTROL details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 6 PCOUNTER limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 6 Configuring and running PCOUNTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 7 How are pages counted? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 8 Where are the printers? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 9 How are print jobs handled? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 9 How is accounting done? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 10 Accounting utility: ACCOUNT.EXE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 11 Accounting utility: WBALANCE.EXE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 12 Client billing options: CLIENT.EXE and WCLIENT.EXE . . . . . . . . . Page 12 How can I speed up PCOUNTER? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 13 Why use TCP/IP and not IPX/SPX for networked printers? . . . . . . . Page 13 Why use only Novell's TCP/IP protocol stack and not a packet driver? Page 13 How do I setup PCOUNTER for Macintosh? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 14 How is text converted to PostScript? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 15 Creating queues in PCONTROL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 16 QUEUE - Price . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 16 QUEUE - Always place jobs on hold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 16 QUEUE - Accounting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 16 QUEUE - Action if below credit limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 16 QUEUE - Cut off job if below credit limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 17 QUEUE - Discard job if unknown user . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 17 QUEUE - Print banners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 18 QUEUE - Banner position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 18 QUEUE - Banner account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 18 QUEUE - Banner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 18 QUEUE - Job notify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 19 QUEUE - Notify at credit limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 19 QUEUE - Form feed (End of job codes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 19 QUEUE - Header files, Footer files, and Delays . . . . . . . . . . . Page 20 QUEUE - Reject paper sizes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 21 QUEUE - Reject print job types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 21 PRINTER - Type=PostScript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 22 PRINTER - Type=PCL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 22 PRINTER - Type=Laserjet 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 22 PRINTER - Type=Charge per job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 23 PRINTER - Type=Disabled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 23 PRINTER - Port=COMx - Serial Ports (RS-232) . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 23 PRINTER - Port=LPTx - Parallel Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 24 PRINTER - Port=Queue--> (Another Queue) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 25 PRINTER - Port=JetDirect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 26 PRINTER - Port=TCP/IP Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 26 PRINTER - Port=LPR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 28 PRINTER - Print buffer size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 28 PRINTER - Lines/page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 28 PRINTER - Pagecount Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 29 PRINTER - Error notify list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 29 PRINT SERVER - Broadcast error wait . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 29 PRINT SERVER - Central accounting server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 30 PRINT SERVER - Console keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 30 PRINT SERVER - Console screen lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 31 PRINT SERVER - Maximum printer status lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 31 PRINT SERVER - Screen blanker wait . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 31 PRINT SERVER - Auto reboot wait . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 31 PRINT SERVER - Delete held jobs after ? hours . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 32 PRINT SERVER - Create password file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 32 PRINT SERVER - Include file servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 32 The PCOUNTER console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 33 Important NLM Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 33 Remote control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 34 Solutions to Common Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 35 Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 36 Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 37 Payments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 38 Technical support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 39 Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 39 45 Day Trial Period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 39 Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 39 How to find the latest version of PCOUNTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 40 Other software by A.N.D. Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 40 Page 4 -------- Overview -------- PCOUNTER is a useful tool which will provide smart, fast, reliable printing on Novell networks. The EXE version is a replacement for PSERVER.EXE which runs on a dedicated CPU. An NLM version is provided with the same capabilities as the EXE. Please consider recycling an old AT and using PCOUNTER before you invest in a dedicated print server box. If you're looking at other print server programs, please compare their features to PCOUNTER's: - Counts pages on PostScript and LaserJet (PCL) printers, Laserjet 4s, and Deskjets. Maintains user account balances using the Novell accounting feature. Keeps a log file of all print activity. - Specific support for HP Laserjet 4s and JetDirects. - Fast parallel printing using direct port access. - Fast serial printing with baud rates up to 115K. (EXE only) - Excellent networked printer support: Writes jobs to an output queue serviced by another print server; Communicates directly with network printers using the TCP/IP protocol; Spool jobs to UNIX hosts using the LPR protocol. - Automatically converts text to PostScript if necessary; supports the extended character set. - Pleasant looking banner pages containing all (Correct!) information about the print job, including the page count and account balance. - Simple printer and queue management from the PCOUNTER console. - Remote control so that you can always see what's happening. - Automatically place jobs on hold; Delete old held jobs. - Reject incorrect print job types and incorrect paper sizes. - Built in screen blanker; automatic reboot on file server crashes. (EXE only) - Pcounter also comes with a 45 day unlimited usage trial period. Page 5 -------------------------------------- Hardware requirements for PCOUNTER.EXE -------------------------------------- PCOUNTER.EXE requires a dedicated computer as a print server. It will run on an 8086/88, but a 286 would be better; especially if page counts are manually calculated. No hard disk is necessary. A network interface certainly helps. Page counting requires a PostScript or PCL printer. 640K of conventional memory. Expanded/Extended memory is not needed nor used. -------------------------------------- Software requirements for PCOUNTER.EXE -------------------------------------- DOS 3.3 or above, NetWare 2.1 or above. TCP/IP support requires the Novell Lan Workplace TCPIP.EXE protocol stack. Remote control support requires SPX (IPXODI D). NETX (3.32 recommended) or VLM (1.1 or above). Bindery emulation for Netware 4.x. -------------------------------------- Software requirements for PCOUNTER.NLM -------------------------------------- NetWare 3.11 or above. Updated CLIB.NLM and TCPIP.NLM if used with NetWare 3.11. (These are available at http://www.novell.com or Compuserve/Netwire.) Bindery emulation for Netware 4.x. -------------------------------------------- Differences between the EXE and NLM versions -------------------------------------------- All queue settings are supported by both versions. Some print server and printer settings are distinguished by notes beginning with << EXE >> and << NLM >>. Any feature not containing individual EXE and NLM notes is supported by both versions. ---------------------- Features still to come ---------------------- Native NDS (Netware 4.x) version is currently in development. Plot size accounting for Postscript and HPGL/2 roll plotters. ----------------- Netware 4.1 Notes ----------------- PCOUNTER requires bindery emulation in order to work with Netware 4.1 file servers. A NW 4.1 server may have up to 16 containers in its bindery context. PCOUNTER cannot see any objects (Users, Queues, Print Servers) in any container unless that container is listed as a Bindery context. Please see SET BINDERY CONTEXT console command (in the Netware documentation) for more details. Page 6 ------------------------------------------- PCOUNTER Concepts - Types of configurations ------------------------------------------- Print server configurations affect all aspects of PCOUNTER's operation; example options are "Central accounting server" and "Screen blanker wait". A print server configuration includes a list of printer configurations. Printer configurations (found in PCONTROL, Print Servers, Printer list) are used to tell PCOUNTER how to handle and communicate with each printer, such as the "Printer type" and "Printer port". The "Printer port" setting has nothing to do with the CAPTURE settings on each workstation - it refers to the port which connects the PCOUNTER server to the printer. The list of printers is unique to each print server. A printer configuration includes the queues which should be serviced by that printer. Queue configurations determine how PCOUNTER handles each print job serviced in that queue. Many options (such as those pertaining to accounting) are specific to PCOUNTER, others (Job notify, Banners, Form feed) provide extensions to Novell's printing services. A PCOUNTER print server configuration must include at least one printer configuration, which in turn must include at least one queue to be serviced. This queue must also have its own configuration. If there are no printers set up completely, PCOUNTER will not run. ---------------- PCONTROL details ---------------- A user may not use PCONTROL to change anything unless they are a supervisor. PCOUNTER supports print service on up to eight file servers; therefore you must be a supervisor on each file server where you wish to run PCONTROL. A user need only be a print server operator to use PCONTROL's remote control feature on that particular print server. Context-sensitive help is available. Make sure PCONTROL.HLP is located in the same directory as PCONTROL.EXE. All configuration parameters that are relevant to PCOUNTER are set up using PCONTROL. The use of PCONSOLE is not necessary, except for queue management. PCONTROL creates the directory SYS:SYSTEM\PCOUNTER if it doesn't already exist. The PCOUNTER server is given read, write, and create access in this directory; here is where it writes log files and reads header and footer files. --------------- PCOUNTER limits --------------- Each PCOUNTER print server may login to up to 8 file servers. Each PCOUNTER print server may print on up to 32 printers. Each printer may service up to 16 queues. A printer name may not exceed 14 characters. Page 7 -------------------------------- Configuring and running PCOUNTER -------------------------------- Two additional programs are provided to help you configure and manage your PCOUNTER environment. PCONTROL is a menu driven utility which is used for print server, printer, and queue configuration, user/group account balance management, and remote control of PCOUNTER servers. ACCOUNT is a command-line utility for user account balances. << EXE >> 1. Run PCONTROL. Choose PControl Defaults first. The printer/queue definitions and relationships defined in PCONSOLE do not apply to PCOUNTER. If you are installing PCOUNTER for the first time, please create a new print server for testing purposes. To start your 45 day trial period, choose File Servers, Register for each file server you intend to have PCOUNTER running on. PCOUNTER configuration details will be described below. 2. Copy all banner templates (*.BAN) and the Text->PostScript conversion header file (T2PS.PS) to the SYS:SYSTEM\PCOUNTER directory. If your default paper size is A4, rename T2PS-A4.PS to T2PS.PS. 3. Copy PCOUNTER.EXE to a boot disk or to the SYS:LOGIN directory. 4. Copy the encrypted password file (*.PWD) to the same directory as PCOUNTER.EXE. 5. If you want remote control, make sure SPX is installed on the PCOUNTER computer. Include IPXODI or IPXODI D in AUTOEXEC.BAT. 6. Run PCOUNTER. The command line syntax is: PCOUNTER [FileServerName/]PrintServerName NOTE: PrintServerName is required. example: PCOUNTER PSERVER1 << NLM >> 1. Run PCONTROL. Choose PControl Defaults first. The printer/queue definitions and relationships defined in PCONSOLE do not apply to PCOUNTER. If you are installing PCOUNTER for the first time, please create a new print server for testing purposes. To start your 45 day trial period, choose File Servers, Register for each file server you intend to have PCOUNTER running on. PCOUNTER configuration details will be described below. 2. Copy all banner templates (*.BAN) and the Text->PostScript conversion header file (T2PS.PS) to the SYS:SYSTEM\PCOUNTER directory. If your default paper size is A4, rename T2PS-A4.PS to T2PS.PS. 3. Copy PCOUNTER.NLM to the SYS:SYSTEM directory. 4. Keep the encrypted password file (*.PWD) in SYS:SYSTEM\PCOUNTER. 5. Run PCOUNTER on the file server console. The command line syntax is: LOAD PCOUNTER PrintServerName NOTE: PrintServerName is required. example: PCOUNTER PSERVER1 Page 8 ---------------------- How are pages counted? ---------------------- There are two methods by which PCOUNTER can count pages. The preferred method is done by establishing a bi-directional communication link to the printer (hereby referred to as bidir). When a bidir link exists between PCOUNTER and the printer, it can query the printer for page count and job information, as well as printer status, (out of paper, toner, etc.). A bidir link can occur via serial, parallel, or TCP/IP. The other method is called manual counting. With manual counting, PCOUNTER must calculate the page count itself. Obviously, this method requires more processing and results in longer print times. It is not recommended to overload a file server running PCOUNTER.NLM with many manually counted printers, as the processing overhead may impede file server performance. PCOUNTER always attempts bidir page counting on Laserjet 4's and PostScript printers. If the bidir link fails, then manual counting is the result. Manual counting always occurs if PrinterType=PCL and if PrinterPort=LPR or PrinterPort=AnotherQueue. PCOUNTER cannot monitor a printer's status when counting manually. This method has not been tested with every software package. A.N.D. Technologies would like to immediately fix any page count errors which may occur. The PostScript language is complex; standard commands may be redefined in many different ways. Care has been taken to include all possibilities, but here are possible problem areas in manual PostScript counting: * The incoming PostScript program uses character/line counts in order to eject pages instead of explicitly issuing a page eject command. Applications which generate such output are Paradox 4.0. Text to PostScript converters may also cause problems. The solution? Let PCOUNTER convert text to PostScript! * Invalid sequences which cause the printer to abort a job. PCOUNTER is not a PostScript interpreter and does not check syntax. The overhead involved in implementing such a scheme would be too costly in terms of processing time and hardware requirements. Therefore PCOUNTER checks only for page-eject related commands. PCOUNTER cannot detect pages printed by resident error handlers. * PostScript Level 2 with binary encoding. Works ok with the Windows 3.x AdobePS (2 and 3), Mac Laserwriter 8 drivers, and Windows 95 PSCRIPT.DRV. The nature of the HP LaserJet Printer Control Language (PCL) is such that, unlike PostScript, two way communication between the computer and the printer was not supported until the LaserJet IIISi and LaserJet 4. Therefore the print data must be examined and the number of pages then calculated. Given that there are many combinations of PCL commands which can eject a page, and that the PCL data may be itself incorrect (such as font commands when a cartridge does not exist), there is no guarantee that PCOUNTER will count correctly 100% of the time. However, for software programs configured correctly which format print data, there should generally be few problems. If you discover page counting errors, please contact A.N.D. Technologies. Page 9 ----------------------- Where are the printers? ----------------------- In Netware 2.x and 3.x, printer information is kept in configuration files created by PCONSOLE for each print server. No printer bindery object exists. In Netware 4.x, a printer is an object in the Directory Services database. In PCOUNTER, a printer is a property of a print server. Therefore, PCOUNTER printers will not appear as Directory Services entities. --------------------------- How are print jobs handled? --------------------------- In PCOUNTER, each queue has its own configuration, including header, footer, and banner files, which make it easier to centralize the administration of print jobs, rather that using PRINTDEF. Pcounter detects the type of print job (Postscript? PCL?), and then proceeds according to the queue/printer configuration. Headers are files sent before the print job, and footers are files sent after the print job. This is easier to implement than PRINTDEF's concept of modes. PCOUNTER always places the correct user name on a banner page, regardless of the Banner Name or Name field in a queue job. PCOUNTER and Queue Job parameters: Number of Copies: PCOUNTER prints the job this number of times. File Contents (Text/Byte Stream) and Tab Size: Ignored. PCOUNTER always treats print data as a binary stream. Form: Ignored. Form Feed: Notify: Banner: See below for PCOUNTER's extensions of these features. The queue job reject feature is very important, as this enables you to restrict the types of print jobs which can be sent to a printer. There are also various queue settings which control how jobs should be treated in case a user has an insufficient account balance. Page 10 ----------------------- How is accounting done? ----------------------- User account balances are maintained using the Novell accounting feature. If you want to use this feature, then you must enable it using SYSCON/NWADMIN. If you are currrently using accounting for tracking connect time or disk usage and the account balances are not in currency units, then user account balances will not appear to be consistant if PCOUNTER is also used. Please check to make sure none of these features are enabled on your file server before implementing PCOUNTER in this fashion. You will also have to choose the numerical format: Pages: one accounting unit = one page Currency: accounting is kept in terms of local currency. The type and format of the local currency are determined from DOS information from CONFIG.SYS (note: US users need not set anything in CONFIG.SYS). The cost for each print job is defined in the queue's configuration. If you're collecting money for printing, and you wish to deduct the cost of each print job from a user's account balance, then use positive prices. Only use negative prices if you want to keep a running total of print activity in account balances. Also, the PCOUNTER server keeps a running log of all print activity in the text file SYS:SYSTEM\PCOUNTER\PCOUNTER.LOG. Multiple PCOUNTER servers will write to a single PCOUNTER.LOG file and share header/footer files. PCOUNTER automatically flags PCOUNTER.LOG as shareable. PCOUNTER.LOG can be written in either of two formats: readable and ASCII delimited. If PCOUNTER.LOG is Readable, then limited information is kept in it, but it's very easy to read. It is best for showing users their print activities. If PCOUNTER.LOG is ASCII Delimited, then all information about the print job is placed in it. You can then import it into a spreadsheet or database program for further analysis. It's not easy to read, but is best for keeping more detailed information, such as total print activity for each printer. The Numerical format and PCOUNTER.LOG Readable/ASCII Delimted choices are necessary in 3 places: PCONTROL, PControl Defaults: for PCONTROL transactions PCONTROL, Print Servers: for PCOUNTER ACCOUNT /CONFIG : for ACCOUNT transactions The ASCII delimited field names are as follows: Username, Job Description, Printer, Print server, Queue, Banner name, Banner file, Date, Time, Size in bytes, Pages, Cost, Balance Page 11 Once accounting is installed on your file server, each user should have an account balance and a credit limit. You can use PCONTROL and ACCOUNT to modify user account balances and credit limits. In addition, PCONTROL may be used for groups. PCONTROL and ACCOUNT can optionally keep records in PCOUNTER.LOG. One side effect of accounting is that Netware creates the file SYS:SYSTEM\NET$ACCT.DAT. This file contains binary records of all accounting transactions on the file server, as well as logins, etc. In most cases this file can/should be deleted periodically. In time it can grow to a rather large size. SYSCON/NWADMIN may be used to alter user account balances and credit limits, but no record will be kept of any transactions. ------------------------------- Accounting utility: ACCOUNT.EXE ------------------------------- ACCOUNT is a DOS command-line accounting tool which is designed for quick accounting access to user accounts. Only a supervisor or workgroup manager may change another user's account information. ACCOUNT [DEPOSIT | BALANCE | LIMIT] [[FileServerName/]UserName] [Amount] DEPOSIT: Add to a user's account balance. BALANCE: Set a user's account balance. LIMIT: Set a user's low balance limit. ACCOUNT CHARGE [[FileServerName/]UserName] [Amount] [ChargeReason] Subtract from a user's account balance. ACCOUNT BALANCE [FileServerName/] For a user to view his/her own account balance. ACCOUNT CONFIG To set PCOUNTER.LOG and formatting defaults for this program. ACCOUNT.CFG is written into the same directory as ACCOUNT.EXE. ACCOUNT.CFG must be kept in the same directory as ACCOUNT.EXE. Accounting transactions recorded with ACCOUNT.EXE are optionally recorded in PCOUNTER.LOG. Make sure workgroup managers have write access in the SYS:SYSTEM\PCOUNTER directory. Page 12 -------------------------------- Accounting utility: WBALANCE.EXE -------------------------------- WBALANCE is a small MS Windows utility for users to view their account balances quickly (so they don't always have to ask you). WBALANCE defaults to the primary login file server (often the Preferred Server in NET.CFG), and a currency display using two decimal digits. If you wish to change these values, set the following command line options in Program Manager, File, Properties: d=n, where n=the number of decimal digits. If Numerical format=Pages, use d=0. Default is d=2. s=FileServerName, where FileServerName is a file server other than the primary login file server. -------------------------------------------------- Client billing options: CLIENT.EXE and WCLIENT.EXE -------------------------------------------------- CLIENT (DOS) and WCLIENT (Windows) are small utilities which can help you perform client billing using ASCII Delimited PCOUNTER.LOG. You may type a client name of up to 12 characters, and the name will be stored in the Banner name field of PCOUNTER.LOG (and the print job itself, you can see it in PCONSOLE). When a client name is entered here, all subsequent print jobs will use this value until another name is entered. Importing PCOUNTER.LOG into a spreadsheet/database keyed to the banner name and cost fields will allow total page counts to be calculated for each client. Entering "*" (asterisk, no quotes) restores the banner name to the proper username. Page 13 ---------------------------- How can I speed up PCOUNTER? ---------------------------- PCOUNTER.EXE does not require or use expanded or extended memory. Therefore it should not be necessary to use an memory manager such as QEMM or HIMEM with PCOUNTER. While a memory manager may increase DOS conventional memory, it will also slow down processing speed. If you are using the Queue--> port option, you may setup the input and output queues to reside on different file servers, but this is not recommended. Keeping them on the same file server reduces the load on the print server and the file server(s). Please read the section "PRINTER - Print buffer size". ------------------------------------------------------ Why use TCP/IP and not IPX/SPX for networked printers? ------------------------------------------------------ Typically, network printer interfaces (such as the HP JetDirect) and dedicated print server boxes (such as the Intel NetPort) contain their own internal software for handling Novell printing; they run in either queue server mode (where they can independently service queues) or in remote printer mode (where they run as RPRINTER equivalent slaves to PSERVER). Unfortunately, they don't provide any method of communication via IPX/SPX. However, they usually provide TCP/IP communication for usage with UNIX systems. If it is not possible to use the TCP/IP protocol on your network, you can still use the Queue-> port feature to utilize the speed of your Jetdirect or equivalent print server with PCOUNTER. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Why use only Novell's TCP/IP protocol stack and not a packet driver? -------------------------------------------------------------------- There are way too many TCP/IP protocol stack vendors to support. Life is too short. And, after all, we are running a Novell network, aren't we? Seriously though, in preliminary testing (Novell's TCPIP.EXE vs. public domain packet driver), the Novell solution provided far greater throughput. Page 14 -------------------------------------- How do I setup PCOUNTER for Macintosh? -------------------------------------- The following instructions are for Netware 3.x. For Netware 4.x, use ATPSCON.NLM to configure ATPS, and use the same strategy illustrated below. If a Mac can place a job into a Novell queue, then PCOUNTER can work with it. You will need to load ATPS.NLM (Appletalk Print Services) on each file server where there are print queues which need to be accessible to Macs. ATPS has two modules, the print spooler (queues print jobs) and the print server (prints the jobs). PCOUNTER does not support Appletalk as a protocol for communicating with network printers, but using ATPS as a print spooler will enable Macs to view Novell queues in the Chooser as network printers, and place print jobs in the queues. However, you must use the -wb parameter in ATPS.CFG (for each queue serviced by PCOUNTER) in order to turn off the ATPS Print Server and allow an external print server (PCOUNTER!) to service the queues. If you do not want Mac users to bypass PCOUNTER and print directly to Appletalk printers, then you should either use ATPS to hide the printers or turn off Appletalk on the printers, and have PCOUNTER print to them via serial, parallel, or TCP/IP. Sample AUTOEXEC.NCF parameters ------------------------------ load APPLETLK net=500 zone={"PRINTING"} load NE2000 name=ETALK int=5 port=300 frame=ETHERNET_SNAP bind APPLETLK to ETALK net=501-505 zone={"MACS"} load atps -v Sample ATPS.CFG --------------- "Lab Laser:PRINTING" -o LAB-LASER -wb -f hplaser "Library Laser:PRINTING" -o LIBRARY-LASER -wb -f hplaser "Color Printer:PRINTING" -o COLORPS -wb -f applwpls For more information about ATPS, see the Netware for Macintosh manuals. User Accounting --------------- ATPS will allow Mac users to print to Novell queues without being logged into the file server. In this case, the owner of the print job becomes ATPS_QUSER, which is an object created by ATPS. Mac users set the network user and group names in Control Panel, and typically a user name will appear in parentheses () in the banner field of the print job. In order for PCOUNTER to account for print jobs this way, it is necessary for each user to be placed in the map file PCOUNTER.MAP. PCOUNTER.MAP syntax: (macname) NOVELLNAME (ringo) RINGO (george) HARRISON : : Please read "QUEUE - Discard job if unknown user" for more information about PCOUNTER.MAP. Page 15 ------------------------------------ How is text converted to PostScript? ------------------------------------ The file T2PS.PS is included with PCOUNTER. PCOUNTER must download T2PS.PS before each print job which must be converted. T2PS.PS must be located in SYS:SYSTEM\PCOUNTER on the default file server. If your default paper size is A4, then rename T2PS-A4.PS to T2PS.PS. If you wish, you may change the encoding for characters 128-175. The other data must not be changed. DO NOT alter any of the other PostScript code, or it may not work correctly. Any characters extending beyond the printable right margin are wrapped around to the next line. The font used is always Courier. Extended characters such as box, line, and European characters are supported, but spaces are printed instead of control codes (below decimal 32). There are attributes of a Text To PostScript job which are user configurable: point size, page orientation, tab size, and margins. One may include an optional first line (which is not actually printed) in the text file to be sent with the syntax in either uppercase or lowercase: %* [S=n] [O=L] [T=n] [MT=n] [MB=n] [ML=n] [MR=n] where n - an integer value S - point size from 3 to 100 (default=11) O=L - landscape orientation (default=portrait) T - tabsize in spaces (default=5) Mx - margin size in points (1/72 inch - default=36) (Top, Bottom, Left, Right) Not all of the above options need to be specified, for example, %* S=14 --- portrait orientation using Courier 14pt; %* O=L T=3 --- landscape orientation with a tab size of 3 spaces; %* MT=108 MB=108 --- top and bottom margins set to 1.5 inches. You may use these commands as the first line of the file, in a setup string, or in a PRINTCON print job configuration, but NOT in a PCOUNTER header file! Just make sure a linefeed character (decimal 10) is included. You may change the default settings in PCONTROL. The settings listed above yield 65 lines/page and 81 characters/line on an 8.5" x 11" page. ****** IMPORTANT NOTE ****** PCOUNTER assumes that a printer defined as PostScript can understand PCL as well, unless the particular queue is configured to reject PCL jobs. Therefore, if PCL jobs are not rejected, then text jobs will be sent unmodified to the printer; if PCL jobs are rejected, then text jobs will be converted to PostScript before being sent to the printer. ******** WARNING! ******** If your software (or hardware) takes a long time creating PostScript output, you are using CAPTURE for network printing, and the timeout value is not large enough, then the print job gets broken into pieces. This could result in PostScript code being converted to text and many unnecessary pages printed. Page 16 --------------------------- Creating queues in PCONTROL --------------------------- If a queue is created by PCONTROL, the user group EVERYONE is added to the Queue Users propery. If you wish to have selective access to queues, use PCONTROL to add/delete users and user groups to be queue users. PCONTROL allows you to choose any volume and/or directory to place your print queue, unlike PCONSOLE, which always creates queues in SYS:SYSTEM (or SYS:QUEUES for NW 4.x). PCONTROL always adds a PCOUNTER server to the Queue Users and Queue Operators lists. ------------- QUEUE - Price ------------- This is an amount which refers either to the price per job (Charge Per Job printers) or to the price per page (all other printers). If this value is negative, then PCOUNTER will add to (keep a running total in) the user's account balance. If you don't wish to charge for certain jobs, set QueueAccounting=None. If QueueAccounting=None, then this value is meaningless. If Numerical Format=Pages and this value is negative, then PCOUNTER will add the number of pages in each print job to the user's account balance. --------------------------------- QUEUE - Always place jobs on hold --------------------------------- PCOUNTER can place jobs on hold automatically. Users will have to release each job in order for them to be printed - this can be done from the PCOUNTER console queue manager, or from another queue control utility such as PCONSOLE or Windows Print Manager. ------------------ QUEUE - Accounting ------------------ None - No page counting for this queue Log file only - Count pages, maintain log file, no user accounting User accounting and Log File - Count pages, maintain log file & user accounts ------------------------------------ QUEUE - Action if below credit limit ------------------------------------ If a job is placed in a queue by a user whose balance is below his/her credit limit, you can tell PCOUNTER to: - Print job anyway - Delete job from queue - Place job on hold Page 17 ----------------------------------------- QUEUE - Cut off job if below credit limit ----------------------------------------- This feature is only available with manual page counting. You can tell PCOUNTER to cut off a print job at the point where a user's balance would go below his/her credit limit. ----------------------------------- QUEUE - Discard job if unknown user ----------------------------------- If you are using the Charon gateway, ATPS, or an LPD NLM to route print jobs from other networks or hardware platforms, it is possible that the client's username may not be included in a queue job description; or that a queue user on one file server doesn't have the same username on the central accounting file server. If QueueAccounting is enabled, and you want PCOUNTER to discard the print job, then set this value to Yes. See also USING ONE CENTRAL FILE SERVER FOR ACCOUNTING for more details. When such a print job lands in a Novell queue, the Novell queue job client becomes the object that moved the job into the queue. For PCOUNTER to account for print jobs this way, it is necessary for the username to be placed in the banner field of the Novell queue job description. For example, on a UNIX system you can force the banner off by typing: lpr -h filename. PCOUNTER then cannot determine who created the job. Have your UNIX administrator set the default for a UNIX->Novell queue so that banners always get printed. When PCOUNTER starts processing a new job, it automatically checks to see if the job was placed there by a user or by another object type. If the job client is not a user (as opposed to print server, file server, etc.), PCOUNTER then reads the client name from the banner field, converts it to uppercase, and verifies that it is a valid Novell username. If it is not, then PCOUNTER reads the file PCOUNTER.MAP and again verifies the username. If this fails and QueueDiscardJobIfUnknownUser=Yes, then PCOUNTER discards the job. The syntax for PCOUNTER.MAP is simple: unixname1 NOVELLNAME1 (macname2) NOVELLNAME2 OTHER_FILE_SERVER1/USERNAME1 CENTRAL_USERNAME1 jimi HENDRIX kmoon MOON (daltrey) ROGER (allman) DUANE FS1/JOPLIN JANIS : : Since UNIX names are case-sensitive and limited to 8 characters, and Novell converts everything to uppercase, type the Novell column in uppercase and the UNIX column the way it appears. You may map multiple UNIX accounts to single Novell accounts. YOU MUST PLACE PCOUNTER.MAP IN SYS:SYSTEM\PCOUNTER. Page 18 --------------------- QUEUE - Print banners --------------------- There are 3 choices: "Never", "Only If Requested", and "Always". If you choose "Only If Requested", then banners are printed only if they are specified in the print job's configuration, or on the CAPTURE or NPRINT command line. ----------------------- QUEUE - Banner position ----------------------- You may print banners before or after a print job. It might seem unusual to print a banner after a job, but there are advantages in doing so: * PCOUNTER can only include <PAGES>, <COST>, and <BALANCE> on a banner after a job - they are ignored if any of these are specified in a banner which is printed before a job. * Typically, the page on top will be the banner. ------------------------- QUEUE - Banner accounting ------------------------- Here you choose whether PCOUNTER should include banner pages in page counts. PCOUNTER will not print a banner after a zero (0) page job. ---------------------------- QUEUE - Banner template file ---------------------------- If you want PCOUNTER to print banners, then here you must specify a banner template file name. Nine banner templates are provided (with a .BAN extension) - for Letter and A4 paper sizes - use them if you wish. You may also design your own banner. BANNER.WP is a WordPerfect 5.1 file which was used to generate the included banner templates. If you wish PCOUNTER to insert specific print job information, then you must use the following variables (as they appear with the brackets) in your template: <JOB_DESCRIPTION> <FILE_SERVER> <USERNAME> <BANNER_NAME> <PAGES> <PRINT_SERVER> <COST> <QUEUE_NAME> <PRINTER_NAME> <DATE> <BALANCE> <MESSAGE> <FULLNAME> It's a good idea to keep the banner templates as small as possible - obviously larger banner files take longer to print. Also, if you use a word processor to generate a banner template, make sure that it doesn't insert printer language commands BETWEEN THE CHARACTERS. If this happens, PCOUNTER won't be able to place any information on the banner. Banner template files must be placed in \SYSTEM\PCOUNTER on the default file server. Page 19 ------------------ QUEUE - Job notify ------------------ There are 3 choices: "Never", "Only If Requested", and "Always". If you choose "Only If Requested", then banners are printed only if they are specified in the print job's configuration, or on the CAPTURE or NPRINT command line. If PrinterPort=AnotherQueue, notification will occur after the job is moved to the other queue, but before it actually gets printed. ------------------------------ QUEUE - Notify at credit limit ------------------------------ If QueueAccounting is enabled, then this determines whether PCOUNTER should send a broadcast message after a job if the user's account balance reaches or goes below the QLimit. ------------------------------------ QUEUE - Form feed (End of job codes) ------------------------------------ This determines how PCOUNTER interprets the queue job Form Feed flag. If enabled, the following data is sent after each print job: PCL jobs: <ESC>E [27][69] PS jobs: Ctrl-D [4] Unknown or Text jobs: <FF> [12] Set this to Always for compatibility with earlier versions of PCOUNTER. This setting and the queue job form feed flag are ignored for Laserjet 4's. Page 20 ---------------------------------------------- QUEUE - Header files, Footer files, and Delays ---------------------------------------------- Headers are files sent to the printer before the print job. Footers are files sent to the printer after the print job. This feature serves multiple purposes. Header and footer files may contain special printer command data for setting up certain jobs, may be used for soft fonts, or may contain printer codes for emulating other printers. Emulation is where the delay enters the picture. After you start or stop an emulation, the printer may need time to reinitialize. If more data is sent too quickly, data may be lost; or the printer could hang. You will need to experiment in order to find the best setup. Most printers today can auto-sense print job types such as PostScript and PCL and don't require any special commands to tell them to enter a certain print mode. If your printer auto-senses print jobs correctly, then you probably shouldn't deal with any of this. PCOUNTER does not parse the data in header or footer files for page count information. Header and Footer files MUST be placed in \SYSTEM\PCOUNTER on the default file server. If a header or footer is specified in the configuration and is not in the home directory, PCOUNTER will stop servicing the queue. Page 21 -------------------------- QUEUE - Reject paper sizes -------------------------- Sometimes a user can send a print job requesting a paper size not supported or used by a particular printer, such as an A4 job on a letter sized printer - causing the printer to pause. This feature enables PCOUNTER to reject a job if a specified paper type is found in the print job. If no paper sizes are specified here, then PCOUNTER will not check paper sizes. If you don't have this problem, then don't worry about this feature. ------------------------------ QUEUE - Reject print job types ------------------------------ This is a very important setting. It tells PCOUNTER how to handle particular print jobs, and also prevents waste. Sometimes users send print jobs to the wrong queue, with unpleasant results. Have you seen a PostScript printer choke on PCL data? Have you ever watched a PCL or dot-matrix printer print out endless pages of PostScript code? With this option, you can prevent this from happening by not allowing certain types of print jobs to be printed. The choices are PostScript, PCL, Text, Unknown, or any combination of three. An unknown print job typically occurs when an inexperienced user sends some sort of binary data file to a print queue. Effects on print job control: Printer Type Job Type Reject Type Result ------------ -------- ----------- ------ PS (Manual) PCL None Job treated as PCL PS (Manual) PCL PCL Job rejected (not printed) PS (Manual) Text None Job treated as Text PS (Manual) Text Text Job rejected (not printed) PS Text PCL Text converted to PS PCL PS None Job treated as Text PCL PS PS Job rejected (not printed) Page 22 ------------------------- PRINTER - Type=PostScript ------------------------- Can handle PostScript, PCL, and text print jobs. PCOUNTER will attempt to use bidir page counting; if the test fails, then manual page counting is used. Do not use this setting with the Laserjet 4M in bidirectional mode. PCOUNTER assumes that a printer defined as PostScript can understand PCL as well, unless the particular queue is configured to reject PCL jobs. Therefore, if PCL jobs are not rejected, then text jobs will be sent unmodified to the printer; if PCL jobs are rejected, then text jobs will be converted to PostScript before being sent to the printer. ------------------ PRINTER - Type=PCL ------------------ Can handle PCL and text print jobs. Manual page counting is used. Includes LaserJets, DeskJets, and PaintJets (unless of course a PostScript option is installed). ------------------------- PRINTER - Type=Laserjet 4 ------------------------- Will work for any HP Laserjet 4, 4M, etc. model printer. The LJ4M can determine the type of print job automatically if (on the printer) you set PERSONALITY=AUTO. If a Laserjet 4 is connected by serial, parallel, or JetDirect (TCP), then bidir page counting is expected. If Port=Queue-> or LPR, then manual page counting is used. Bidir counting will work on the Laserjet 4/4M, 4/4M Plus, 4V/4MV, 4SI/4SIMX, 4P/4MP, 5P/5MP. Bidir counting will NOT work with the Laserjet 4L - use Type=PCL for this printer. Parallel port setup: On the LJ4's parallel menu, set ADV FUNCTIONS=ON (so that the LJ4 will talk back to PCOUNTER) and HIGH SPEED=YES. Then configure PCOUNTER to use the parallel hardware port. It is fast. Some early models of the LJ4M don't support Printer Pagecount Type=PJL Bidirectional, so in these cases you'll have to use PS Bidirectional. Postscript Level 2 introduces binary extensions to the language, which will drastically reduce data requirements, especially for large bitmaps. The LJ4M supports pure binary Postscript only over a TCP/IP or Appletalk connection. If the LJ4M is connected by parallel, serial, or is acting as a Novell print server, then it is necessary to use the Tagged Binary Control Protocol (TBCP). In these cases, if your drivers don't support TBCP, you will have to use ASCII PostScript. If you prefer to use the LJ4/JetDirect as a Novell print server, please use Printer Port=Queue-->. Page 23 ----------------------------- PRINTER - Type=Charge per job ----------------------------- No page counts; PCOUNTER charges a fixed rate for each print job. Useful for plotters or dot-matrix printers. ----------------------- PRINTER - Type=Disabled ----------------------- Printer not used. ------------------------------------------- PRINTER - Port=COMx - Serial Ports (RS-232) ------------------------------------------- << EXE >> Require a null modem cable. Baud rates are supported up to 115K BAUD. Serial printers should be set for 8 data bits, no parity, and 1 stop bit. Flow control: XON/XOFF (software) or DTR/DSR (hardware handshaking). COM3 and COM4 are untested, and PCOUNTER needs to know the port IRQ setting. On the LaserJet, for DTR/DSR set the printer's DTR POLARITY=HI. For XON/XOFF you may set the printer's ROBUST XON/XOFF to either ON or OFF. If XON/XOFF doesn't work, try using DTR/DSR. << NLM >> Not supported. If you must connect a serial printer/plotter to the file server, then use the Queue-> port option in conjunction with PSERVER.NLM. Page 24 ------------------------------------ PRINTER - Port=LPTx - Parallel Ports ------------------------------------ << EXE >> Flow method: hardware port or ROM BIOS. Direct hardware port is MUCH faster than BIOS, and is the recommended setting. If printing doesn't work this way, then use ROM BIOS printing. If your printer has a high speed parallel port, make sure you set the printer's port to the high speed setting. Direct hardware port does not require an IRQ. The Hardware port timeout value should be set as low as possible. However, assigning it too low a value could result in lost data. This value represents the number of timer ticks to wait when the port goes offline. 18 ticks = 1 second. (Default value=9) << NLM >> Direct hardware port flow method is always used. PCOUNTER uses the following default port addresses (in hex): LPT1: 378 LPT2: 3BC LPT3: 278 Sometimes it's necessary to use the 3BC address for LPT1. In this case, on the file server console command line, type: PCOUNTER PrintServerName /LPTSWAP This causes PCOUNTER to swap (exchange) the default LPT1 and LPT2 addresses. If LPT1 or LPT2 aren't either of those, then it won't work. Parallel printing is entirely CPU dependent. Expect high CPU utilization when parallel printing from the file server. Page 25 --------------------------------------- PRINTER - Port=Queue--> (Another Queue) --------------------------------------- Another Queue (Queue-->) is included as a "port" in order to take advantage of NetWare's remote printing capabilities and printers with built-in network interfaces which have built in print server software. Here is the idea: 1 - 2 queues are necessary: 1 for page counting, 1 for printing 2 - User places job in queue serviced by PCOUNTER server 3 - PCOUNTER counts pages, charges account, places job in other queue 4 - NetWare print server or networked printer prints job remotely In order to implement this scenario, you must have previously used PCONSOLE to configure the NetWare print server as a queue server for the other queue and set up the remote printing parameters. If a networked printer comes with its own configuration program then you must use it. Do not choose a queue as a port if it is already being serviced by the same PCOUNTER server. Here is a diagram: CHARGE PER JOB QUEUE ------> PCOUNTER ------> DOT-MATRIX (LPT1) PRINT PAGE -------> SERVER --- (Queue-->) COUNT | QUEUE | | --------------------------- | --> REMOTE PRINTER QUEUE -----> PSERVER -------> REMOTE PRINTER PRINT ADMIN -----> SERVER -------> REMOTE PRINTER PRINT QUEUE However, after PCOUNTER places a job in another queue, there is no way to know what happens to the print job after that; such as whether it was actually printed or not. For that reason PCOUNTER will not service a job in this way unless another print server is attached to the other queue, or if for some reason it is unable to place jobs in the other queue. You should set the Maximum Number of Jobs value according to the speed of the remote printer. If a remote printer is offline, jobs (which have already been charged to user accounts) may back up in Queue-->. However, if the Maximum Number of Jobs is 1, PCOUNTER will wait for Queue--> to be empty before placing additional jobs there; you may not achieve the maximum throughput that the remote printer offers, but it allows users the opportunity to delete jobs before they are charged for printing. Page 26 If PrinterPort=Queue-->, PCONTROL adds the PCOUNTER server to the other queue's Queue Users property. If you want all jobs routed through PCOUNTER, then remove all other users and groups from the Queue-->'s Queue Users property. You cannot set PrinterPort=Queue--> if PrinterType=LaserJet 4. If PrinterPort=Queue-->, then all page counting is computed manually. You may setup the input and output queues to reside on different file servers, but it is not recommended. Keeping them on the same file server reduces the load on the print server and the file server(s). ------------------------------ PRINTER - Port=JetDirect (TCP) ------------------------------ PRINTER - Port=TCP/IP Printer ------------------------------ If you prefer to use the LJ4/JetDirect as a Novell print server, please use Printer Port=Queue-->. Using the TCP/IP protocol with the JetDirect allows PCOUNTER to maintain a direct peer-to-peer connection to the printer which is not available with IPX/SPX. If it is not possible to use the TCP/IP protocol on your network, you can still use the Queue-> port feature to utilize the speed of your Jetdirect or equivalent print server with PCOUNTER. PCOUNTER does not require any Novell-oriented feature to be active on the JetDirect, print server box, or other network printer interface. Therefore, a connection to the file server is not necessary for each printer. The only thing PCOUNTER needs to know is the printer's IP address, and (except for the JetDirect) the IP port number to use to communicate with the printer. JetDirect TCP Behavior: In the TCP/IP configuration, the TIMEOUT setting determines how long the printer waits before breaking a TCP connection if no data is sent during that time period. If an error occurs (such as paper running out) during a print job, it is possible that the connection may break before the printer gets attention from an operator, and display a "40 MIO ERROR" message. This is not cause for concern. Simply press the Continue button to complete the job, or the Reset button to abort the job. PCOUNTER will automatically reconnect to the printer. It is recommended to refer to the printer's IP address instead of its name. If you do not have the TCP/IP protocol installed on your network, then please read the Novell manuals pertaining to TCP/IP. You will need to run TCPIP.NLM on your file server so that packets get routed correctly. Using JetAdmin with PCOUNTER: PCOUNTER must reserve the following PJL commands exclusively for its own use: @PJL USTATUS, @PJL JOB, @PJL RDYMSG, and @PJL INFO. If you want to use JetAdmin with a PCOUNTER queue, you must configure the queue for no accounting (and restrict access to yourself only). Page 27 << EXE >> Novell's TCPIP.EXE must be loaded. Some example NET.CFG parameters: Link Support Buffers 8 1500 MemPool 4096 Link Driver NE2000 INT #1 5 PORT #1 300 Frame ETHERNET_II Frame Ethernet_802.3 Protocol IPX 0 Ethernet_802.3 Link Driver TOKEN Frame TOKEN-RING_SNAP Frame TOKEN-RING Protocol IPX E0 TOKEN-RING Protocol TCPIP path script c:\lwp\script path profile c:\lwp\profile path lwp_cfg c:\lwp\hstacc path tcp_cfg c:\lwp\tcp ip_netmask 255.255.255.0 ;Ethernet - subnet 3 ip_router 128.100.3.1 ip_address 128.100.3.99 :Token Ring - subnet 4 ; ip_router 128.100.4.1 ; ip_address 128.100.4.99 tcp_sockets 8 udp_sockets 8 raw_sockets 1 << NLM >> TCPIP.NLM must be loaded. Sample AUTOEXEC.NCF parameters ------------------------------ load TCPIP forward=yes rip=no load NE2000 name=E_TCP int=5 port=300 frame=ETHERNET_II bind IP to E_TCP addr=128.100.3.1 mask=255.255.255.0 load TOKEN name=T_TCP frame=TOKEN-RING_SNAP bind IP to T_TCP addr=128.100.4.1 mask=255.255.255.0 Page 28 ------------------ PRINTER - Port=LPR ------------------ PCOUNTER can send print jobs to UNIX hosts running the LPD/LPR protocol. PCOUNTER needs to know the ip address and the printer name. Typically, the printer name is defined in the printcap file on UNIX systems. If you don't know, use the default "lp". If that doesn't work, ask your local friendly UNIX guru. If PrinterPort=LPR, then all page counting is computed manually. --------------------------- PRINTER - Print buffer size --------------------------- The print buffer size is the most important setting regarding PCOUNTER performance. It specifies the size of the data chunks sent to the printer. The sizes range from 64 to 16K bytes. However, if the buffer size is too large and the printer's receive buffer fills up then PCOUNTER may have to wait. It is recommended to use large buffers on fast lasers and small buffer sizes on slow dot matrix printers and serial printers with low baud rates. Try a few different settings to see what works best. Try these settings: Old IBM ProPrinters: 64 bytes Serial printers @ 9600 baud or below: 512 bytes or less Serial printers @ 19200 baud or below: 1K Serial printers @ 38400 baud: 2K Laserjet 4M @ 57600 baud: 4K LaserJet II (Parallel/EXE): 1K LaserJet II (Parallel/NLM): 512 LaserJet III (Parallel/EXE): 2K LaserJet III (Parallel/NLM): 1K LaserJet 4 (Parallel/EXE): 4K LaserJet 4 (Parallel/NLM): 2K LaserJet 4+ (Parallel/EXE): 8K LaserJet 4+ (Parallel/NLM): 4K Really, really, really fast printers: 16K If PrinterType=PostScript, then it's print buffer size has a minimum of 512. If PrinterType=Laserjet 4, then it's print buffer size has a minimum of 1K. If PrinterPort=Queue-->, then buffer=1K, 2K, or 4K. If PrinterPort=JetDirect or TCP/IP Printer or LPR, then buffer=1K or 2K. -------------------- PRINTER - Lines/page -------------------- This value is only used for text job manual page counting. It should correspond to the printer's default lines-per-page setting. Therefore, settings of less than the printer's default may result in over-counting, and settings of more than the printer's default may result in under-counting. Page 29 ------------------------ PRINTER - Pagecount Type ------------------------ PCOUNTER's method for calculating the page count: Manual: PCOUNTER calcluates page count PS Bidirectional: PCOUNTER calculates page count using interactive Postscript commands PJL Bidirectional: PCOUNTER calculates page count using interactive LJ4 Print Job Language commands Some early models of the LJ4M don't support PJL Bidirectional, so in these cases you'll have to use PS Bidirectional. Bidirectional counting is only available if Printer Port=Parallel (LPTx), Serial (COMx), TCP/IP, or Jetdirect (TCP). Page counting is automatically manual if Printer Port=Queue-> or LPR, or if Printer Type=PCL. --------------------------- PRINTER - Error notify list --------------------------- Users in this list are notified about printer errors using a broadcast message if the Broadcast error option is enabled. ----------------------------------- PRINT SERVER - Broadcast error wait ----------------------------------- This is the number of seconds that PCOUNTER will wait before sending broadcast messages to users in the printer notify list when a printer needs attention. Don't set too low of a value, or you might get messages often! Setting a value of zero (0) disables this feature. Page 30 ---------------------------------------- PRINT SERVER - Central accounting server ---------------------------------------- PCOUNTER can be setup to perform all of its user accounting on one central file server. Choose one of the included file servers to enable this feature; otherwise, accounting occurs on the file server where the print queue resides. If a user's name is not the same on the central file server as on the queue's file server, then PCOUNTER reads the file PCOUNTER.MAP and verifies the username. If this fails and QueueDiscardJobIfUnknownUser=Yes then PCOUNTER discards the job. The syntax for PCOUNTER.MAP is similar to that shown above, except that the queue's file server name is necessary: QUEUE_FILE_SERVER1/USERNAME1 CENTRAL_USERNAME1 FS1/PAGE JIMMY FS2/PLANT ROBERT : : You may put UNIX and non-central Novell server user maps in PCOUNTER.MAP. PCOUNTER.MAP must be placed in SYS:SYSTEM\PCOUNTER. ------------------------------- PRINT SERVER - Console keyboard ------------------------------- << EXE >> The PCOUNTER console has a queue job manager function activated by pressing the F1 key, and a printer control funcion activated by pressing F4. Anyone with access to the PCOUNTER console may delete print jobs in the PCOUNTER server's queues. Jobs may also be held and released. The space bar switches printer status displays if you have more printers than status lines. You may disable the keyboard completely, or simply disable Ctrl-Alt-Del soft reboots. The keyboard state has no effect on remote control features. << NLM >> Not supported. Page 31 ----------------------------------- PRINT SERVER - Console screen lines ----------------------------------- << EXE >> If you have an EGA or VGA on your PCOUNTER server, you may run it in 43 (EGA) or 50 (VGA) line screen mode. << NLM >> Not supported. ------------------------------------------- PRINT SERVER - Maximum printer status lines ------------------------------------------- << EXE >> On the PCOUNTER console, if you prefer to see more of the screen dedicated to the Recent and Pending Print Jobs windows, set a lower value. Range: 1-16. The Space key changes which printers are shown in the status display. << NLM >> Not supported. ---------------------------------- PRINT SERVER - Screen blanker wait ---------------------------------- << EXE >> The time (in seconds) to wait before PCOUNTER blanks the screen. Pressing a key lights the screen again. Setting this value to zero (0) disables this feature. Maximum value=1800. << NLM >> Not supported. ------------------------------- PRINT SERVER - Auto reboot wait ------------------------------- << EXE >> The time (in seconds) to wait before PCOUNTER automatically reboots itself after a network critical error occurs, such as after a server crash. Setting this value to zero (0) disables this feature. Maximum value=1800. << NLM >> Not supported. Page 32 --------------------------------------------- PRINT SERVER - Delete held jobs after ? hours --------------------------------------------- PCOUNTER can delete held print jobs after a specified number of hours. A value of zero (0) disables this feature. ----------------------------------- PRINT SERVER - Create password file ----------------------------------- For security purposes, it is recommended that you create and use a password file for your PCOUNTER server. By default, a password file is not generated and a password is not used. After entering a password for the PCOUNTER server in PCONTROL, a file is created (in SYS:SYSTEM\PCOUNTER) called PSName.PWD, where PSName is replaced by up to the first 8 characters of the print server's name. If the password file is not present at that time, then PCOUNTER will attempt to login without a password. If the password file is present, it will be automatically used by PCOUNTER. The password is encrypted in the file so that only PCOUNTER can read it. DO NOT SPECIFY THE PASSWORD ON THE COMMAND LINE. In PCONTROL, the password will be set on all included file servers. << EXE >> Put the password file in the same directory as PCOUNTER.EXE. << NLM >> Keep the password file in SYS:SYSTEM\PCOUNTER. ----------------------------------- PRINT SERVER - Include file servers ----------------------------------- Here is where you specify whether a single PCOUNTER server should service queues on multiple file servers. Adding a file server to the list will create the print server account on that file server. Removing a file server from the list will delete the print server account along with all printer definitions from that file server. You cannot remove a file server from the list if it is the default file server. All printer setups appear the same on all included file servers and PCOUNTER can login as this print server on any of them. << EXE >> Logs in to all included file servers; uses one user connection on each. << NLM >> Logs in to all included file servers; does not use a user connection on the file server where the NLM is running; uses one user connection on each remote file server. Page 33 -------------------- The PCOUNTER console -------------------- << EXE >> F1 - Queue Manager - Users may hold, release, and delete jobs in all print queues. Jobs are sorted by username. Unlike PCONSOLE, jobs are shown with the true username. F4 - Printer Control - Users may pause/unpause the printer, restart the current job, or delete the current job. F8 - Pauses all PCOUNTER operations. Space - Switches printer status displays if you have more printers than printer status lines. Ctrl-End - Exit Colors in the Current Print Jobs window: Green - Job is ready to print Cyan - Job is still in progress Red - Job is held Reverse - Job is being printed << NLM >> There are 2 screens, one for Printer Control and one for messages and recent print jobs. In the Printer Control screen: P - Pause/Unpause(Release) printer control Del - Delete the current print job R - Restart the current print job Q - Quit servicing the current job, reset the PCOUNTER.NLM control for this printer, and bypass accounting Ctrl+End - Unload PCOUNTER.NLM Space - See more printer status lines, only if more than 24 printers The current printer is shown with the character; use the Up and Down keys to select the current printer. ------------------- Important NLM Notes ------------------- Each PCOUNTER printer runs as a separate thread of execution on the file server, as well as the keyboard process. Therefore, pressing a key may not result in instant screen updates if the printer process is busy. If you unload PCOUNTER.NLM from the console command prompt, each printer process will set itself to an idle state before the NLM unloads. If a print job is currently active, then unloading will take a little longer. A printer process may appear to be hang occasionally, for example during a TCP/IP connection which has been broken. It is recommended that you unload the NLM from the Printer Control screen, so the console command process does not have to wait for the printer processes to finish. Otherwise, the console command prompt will not be available to you until the NLM has finished unloading. Remember to press the P (pause) key only once. Page 34 -------------- Remote control -------------- << EXE >> In order to use the remote control feature of PCONTROL, a user must be supervisor equivalent, or be a print server operator. The list of print servers displayed are those which: - are logged in - have a PCOUNTER configuration - the user has the necessary rights to operate At this time remote control is limited to one client at a time. When a client is connected, an asterisk (*) is displayed on the console. The client can perform any keyboard operation remotely, even if the console keyboard has been disabled. Therefore, pressing Ctrl-End will cause the PCOUNTER program to terminate (as it normally would). Special keys: Alt-Q : Quit remote session Alt-R : Reboot remote print server Alt-H : Help It is necessary for SPX to be installed on the PCOUNTER station, but not on the client stations. However, if things don't appear to work correctly without SPX on the client, then perhaps it would be a good idea to install it. To enable SPX, include IPXODI or IPXODI D in AUTOEXEC.BAT. Reaction is not instantaneous - PCOUNTER allocates little time for the remote control process, so that it can spend more time printing and counting pages. 50 line VGA screens take twice as long to update remotely than their 25 line counterparts. Use the provided PCONTROL.PIF under Windows 3.1x. If the necessary background priority is not provided, then the connection will fail if the DOS session is not allocated enough time slices. If you insist on pushing a PCONTROL session to the background in Windows, the connection may be lost. Try adjusting the PCONTROL.PIF settings if there are problems. << NLM >> Use RCONSOLE. Page 35 ---------------------------- Solutions to Common Problems ---------------------------- Problem: The printer status line always reads "Offline or busy" when trying to access an LPT port using the NLM version on the file server. Solution: Try the /LPTSWAP command line option. See the Parallel Ports section for more details. ---- Problem: When loading PCOUNTER.NLM, the server issues the following messages: Loader cannot find public symbol:AttachToFileServer Loader cannot find public symbol:NWQAbortJob :etc. :etc. Load file referenced undefined public variable. Module PCOUNTER.NLM NOT loaded Solution: Your 3.11 server needs an updated CLIB.NLM. The archive file LIBUP5.EXE is the latest version as of this writing, and is probably on Novell's Top 20 download list. This is readily available for downloading from www.novell.com, ftp.novell.com and mirrors, and Compuserve/NOVLIB. ---- Problem: After upgrading a server to Netware 4.1, accounting no longer works. Solution: Even if you previously had accounting installed, the upgrade will not install accounting for you automatically. You will need to do it using NETADMIN. Also check and make sure that the Pcounter server(s) are listed as accounting servers. ---- Problem: Port is configured for Queue->, job prints, no accounting. Solution: Make sure that jobs are being placed in the queue which PCOUNTER is servicing, not the the output queue (Queue->). If jobs go into the output queue directly from users, then page counting is being bypassed. You can remove user access to any queue using PCONSOLE or PCONTROL. Solution: Make sure that the other print server and PCOUNTER are not servicing the same queue. This means the other print server is getting the jobs first. Remember, you need two queues (one for page counting, one for printing) and two print servers (PCOUNTER and another print server such as PSERVER or the built in Novell functions of a Jetdirect). Solution: Make sure that PCOUNTER and the other print server are NOT using the same print server name/account. This will definitely not work at all. See the above solution. Page 36 Problem: Remote control screen is garbled. Solution: Close the connection (Alt-Q) and try it again! ---- Problem: When PCOUNTER.EXE is loaded, the console says "Error logging in on file server xxxx, Invalid password". Solution: If you set the password in PCONTROL, an encrypted password file was created (*.PWD) in SYS:SYSTEM\PCOUNTER. Place it in the same directory as PCOUNTER.EXE. ---- Problem: Print jobs on the parallel printer are garbled or data is being lost. Solution: If the parallel port flow method is set to hardware port, make the timeout value higher. If that fails, use the ROM BIOS setting. -------- Security -------- A separate document discussing Pcounter security issues is available by email from A.N.D. Technologies. This document is available only to registered customers. Page 37 ------------ Registration ------------ Each file server license allows you to run as many PCOUNTERs as you require to be logged in to that file server. Pricing (In US Dollars): ------------------------ 1 file server license - $125.00 Each additional file server license - $ 75.00 PCOUNTER site license - $650.00 ***************************************************** * THESE PRICES WILL BE CHANGING ON JANUARY 1, 1996. * ***************************************************** Upgrades from PCOUNTER 2.xx (If purchased before March 1, 1995): ---------------------------------------------------------------- - For one maintenance fee of $50, your number of PCOUNTER 2.xx print server licenses may be upgraded to an equal number of PCOUNTER 3.xx file server licenses. - Each additional file server license - $75.00. (Maintenance fee waived.) - Site license mainenance fee - $150. Upgrades from PCOUNTER 2.xx (If purchased March 1, 1995 or later): ------------------------------------------------------------------ - Each PCOUNTER 2.xx print server license may be upgraded to 1 PCOUNTER 3.xx file server license for $50.00. - Each additional file server license - $75.00. - Site license upgrades - $250.00. NECESSARY INFORMATION FOR REGISTRATION -------------------------------------- In PCONTROL, File Servers, Register, please note your file server(s) serial number, and (if shown) IPX internal network number. Also your name, company, and email address. If you don't include these, it will take longer for you to receive your registration! When you register, you will be sent a registration number by E-Mail. Enter the number in PCONTROL, and PCOUNTER is yours. No diskettes or manuals need to be sent. By supporting PCOUNTER now you will be supporting future versions. If you register and later decide that you need more licenses, then you may order more at the additional network license price. Page 38 -------- Payments -------- Address for correspondence: A.N.D. Technologies P.O. Box 64811 Los Angeles, CA 90064 USA Payments by cheque ------------------ If you are registering from outside the U.S., please make sure your payment is cashable at a U.S. bank so that there are no conversion fees. Purchase orders --------------- Purchase orders are accepted and may be mailed to the above address or faxed to (213) 782-6923. Terms are Net 30. Credit cards ------------ For credit card orders, please include: Your name as it appears on the card Visa or Mastercard Card Number Expiration Date If you are concerned about security issues regarding credit card transactions by email, you may also fax the above information to (213) 782-6923. Wire Transfers -------------- Please add $10 for wire transfers. Page 39 ----------------- Technical support ----------------- Technical assistance is available only by email or fax. Email is preferred, and will result in a faster response. Please feel free to leave questions and comments at: Internet: andtech@netcom.com CompuServe: 71011,3570 or INTERNET:andtech@netcom.com (faster!) Phone/Fax: (213) 782-6923 If you have a technical problem, please include as much information about your setup as possible in your communication. In PCONTROL, Print Servers, Create Summary File, you can generate a complete text description of your print server's setup, including printers and queues. -------- Warranty -------- PCOUNTER is distributed as is, with no warranty implied or otherwise. Use at your own risk. A.N.D. Technologies is not responsible for your use or misuse of PCOUNTER. ------------------- 45 Day Trial Period ------------------- You may use PCOUNTER without restriction for 45 days after your first print server installation using PCONTROL. To start your 45 day trial period, run PCONTROL and choose File Servers, Register for each file server you intend to have PCOUNTER running on. If you have not registered PCOUNTER and the trial period expires, its use will be limited to 2 hours running time, and accounting functions will be disabled. Please contact A.N.D. Technologies if you require a longer trial period. ------------ Distribution ------------ You may distribute PCOUNTER as part of shareware/software/utility collections or upload it to other computers. However you may not charge any fees for the PCOUNTER software except to cover media costs for its shipment. If you do so, please distribute it in the zip archive PCNTxxxx.ZIP, where xxxx indicates the revision number; for example, version 3.01B would be distributed in the file PCNT301B.ZIP. Page 40 ------------------------------------------ How to find the latest version of PCOUNTER ------------------------------------------ Note: The XXXX in the filename denotes the version number. Version 3.11b would be pcnt311b.zip. A.N.D. Technologies WWW site: http://www.andtechnologies.com/andtech [Always up to date] Using Web Browser/FTP on the Internet: ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/an/andtech/ [Always up-to-date] ftp://ftp.mechnet.liv.ac.uk/apps/ftp/anonftp/novell/andtech/ [Always up-to-date] ftp://netlab2.usu.edu/apps/ [Always up-to-date] http://www.coast.net/SimTel/msdos/novell/ [Somewhat up to date, might be a revision or 2 behind] [This site has many mirror sites!] On CompuServe: in the NOVUSER forum When PCOUNTER is first uploaded, it will first be placed in New Uploads, then later moved to Printer Utilities. This forum is also mirrored at Novell's ftp server - ftp.novell.com, in the directory /netwire/novuser. The subdirectories (libraries) are then listed by number - 01 is New Uploads and 06 is Printer Utilities. The ftp mirror (ftp.novell.com) is updated occasionally, it seems. PCOUNTER - Copyright (c) 1992-5 A.N.D. Technologies ------------------------------------- Other software by A.N.D. Technologies ------------------------------------- PSPS 3.0 - A POSTSCRIPT PRINTSCREEN UTILITY Support for text and graphics modes on MDA, CGA, Herc, EGA, MCGA, VGA, and Super VGA adaptors. Monochrome, reverse monochrome, grayscale, reverse grayscale, and color PostScript modes. Support for PostScript Level 2. Optionally print to LPT port, Novell print queue, PostScript File, or EPS file for integration into other documents. AWESOME LOGIN 2.1 - A GRAPHICAL NOVELL LOGIN SHELL Customize your login screens (and discourage hackers and password stealers) with this graphical login program. It uses Novell's LOGIN.EXE as a secondary program, so there's no need to rewrite login scripts. Also use it in place of LOGOUT, so that a pleasant screen always awaits the next user.