Configure Tandem OS for RPM printing

Wed, 06/19/2019 - 21:06 By Dave Brooks

Q: My RPM Remote Print Manager® will not receive jobs from the Tandem operating system on the mainframe. Can I configure RPM to receive jobs from a Tandem OS?

A: We have researched the Tandem operating system and found that the old OS versions do not support the LPR/LPD protocol natively.

There are 3rd-party LPR spoolers available, and RPM can receive jobs fine using their "raw" printing. Configure the Tandem systems as follows:

Create a file in $SYSTEM.SYSTEM called FASTCNFG with the following information.

  !****** CONFIGURE TCP/IP DIRECT FOR RPM Software ******
  Device $LPRT1
  CONTYPE	=TCP/IP
  ADDRESS	=192.168.1.50 (RPM host IP Address)
  PROTOCOL	=NONE
  PORT	=9100 (Telnet port setup in RPM)

Now, configure RPM to receive jobs using the Telnet protocol on port 9100. Note that this port number can be any TCP/IP port number you choose. Some port numbers are reserved for other protocols such as 21 for FTP and 23 for regular Telnet.

  1. In the RPM UI, select "Options/Protocols:".
  2. In the Protocol type drop-down list, select "Telnet".
  3. In the TCP/IP port, type "9100", and click Add. Make sure that you do not add telnet using port 515 or this will cause a problem with RPM.
  4. Choose the queue that will receive jobs from the Tandem.
  5. Click OK, then OK again on the Server Protocols dialog.
  6. Choose Yes to restart server protocols.

We have learned that new OS versions support the LPR/LPD protocol natively. To do this:

  1. Create a device name in Tandem using "SPOOLCOM".
  2. In your "FASTCNFG" file, create an entry similar to the above entry, using "LPD1179" in "PROTOCOL" in place of "NONE".
  3. Do not enter "PORT", or configure it to port 515, since this is the proper LPR/LPD port number.