Defining the Printer in the IBM i Using a Device Description Object (*DEVD)

Prerequisites

The printer must be attached to the network or locally to a twinaxial workstation controller on the IBM i server. If the printer is attached to the network, TCP/IP must be configured, so that the printer can be reached from the IBM i server by its IP address or network name.

Context

You want to define the printer in the IBM i operating system using a device description object (*DEVD).

Procedure

Depending on the type of printer, proceed as follows:
- Locally Attached Printer
  
  If the printer is attached locally to a twinaxial workstation controller, a device description object (*DEVD) for the printer is created automatically if system value QAUTOCFG is set to 1. This is the default setting and is also recommended when running SAP on IBM i.
  
  Note
  An output queue with the same name as the device description is automatically created in library QUSRSYS.
- Network Attached Printer
  
  To create a device description for a network attached printer, enter the following command:
  
  CRTDEVPRT DEVD(<printer name>) DEVCLS(*LAN) TYPE(3812) MODEL(1) LANATTACH(*IP) PORT(<port number>) FONT(11) TRANSFORM(*YES) MFRTYPMDL(<printer type>) WSCST (<library name>/<name>) SYSDRVPGM(<system driver>)
  - PORT(<port number>) and SYSDRVPGM(<system driver>)
    
    The parameters PORT and SYSDRVPGM ( System driver program) depend on the printer that you are configuring. The port is typically 9100, and for the parameter SYSDRVPGM you can select an entry from the list of special values, such as *HPPJLDRV.
  - TYPE(3812) and MODEL(1)
    
    The values for the parameters TYPE and MODEL are always set to 3812 and 1.
  - MFRTYPMDL(<printer type>)
    
    The parameter MFRTYPMDL ( Manufacturer type and model) is used together with TRANSFORM(*YES) and offers a variety of predefined printer drivers. It is used when sending EBCDIC based spool data from a non-SAP (legacy) application to an ASCII based printer, for example when printing the spooled output of IBM i commands that offer an option OUTPUT(*PRINT). Choose a type and model that is close to the printer that you are using with this output queue. To configure the remote output queue for the default size of the paper that is loaded in the printer, you can specify a special value for the manufacturer type and model, such as MFRTYPMDL(*WSCSTA4) for A4 sized paper (210 x 297 mm).
  - WSCST(<library name>/<name>)
    
    If you specify MFRTYPMDL(*WSCSTA4), you must specify a workstation customization object in parameter WSCST of the command CRTOUTQ. To create a workstation customization object (*WSCST), enter the following commands:
    - CRTSRCPF FILE(<library>/QTXTSRC)
    - RTVWSCST DEVTYPE(*TRANSFORM) MFRTYPMDL(<printer type>) SRCMBR(<name>) SRCFILE(<library>/QTXTSRC)
    - CRTWSCST WSCST(<library>/<name>) SRCMBR(*WSCST)
    If you specify a value other than *WSCST<xxx> for the parameter MFRTYPMDL, you can leave the default value set to WSCST(*NONE).
Note
An output queue with the same name as the device description is automatically created in library QUSRSYS.
To start the writer job for the output queue, enter the following command:

STRPRTWTR DEVD(<printer name>)

Note
For printers that are accessed through a device description with associated output queue, a writer job is started automatically at IPL time unless the IPL attribute STRPRTWTR ( Start print writer) has been set explicitly to *NO prior to the IPL.

Results

You have created a device description with its associated output queue in the SAP system. You are ready now to define the output device in the SAP system.

Next Steps

SAP Printing Guide Start Page