This document describes possible print queue statuses for AIX Version 3.2.3 and later. (AIX 3.2.5 is the latest version at the time of this writing.)
If a printer or device is added as a tty, then the queuing system looks for carrier detect (CD) to recognize the printer. If it is an LP device, then it will use CTS to detect the printer.
The following are possible queue statuses:
This status occurs when
To recover from a DEV_BUSY, wait until the queue or application has released the printer device or kill the job or process that is using the printer port.
This status means that the queue is waiting on the printer because the printer is off-line, out of paper, or jammed, or the cable is loose, bad, or wired incorrectly. DEV_WAIT can be caused by improper flow control to the printer (particularly when using XON/XOFF software control) or bad or incorrectly wired cabling.
To recover from a DEV_WAIT, correct the problem that caused it to wait. Check to see if the printer is off-line, out of paper, jammed, or loosely cabled. Sometimes you must remove the jobs from the queue before you can correct the problem.
NOTE: A queue that is in DEV_WAIT for longer than the value, in seconds, of TIME OUT will go into a DOWN state. See DOWN for more information on the TIME OUT value and the DOWN state.
This status is set when the device driver cannot communicate with the printer (CD or CTS dropped or is low) after a number of seconds equal to the TIME OUT value. The TIME OUT value, which can be set through SMIT, indicates the amount of time, in seconds, that the queuing system waits for a printer operation to complete.
A queue usually goes into a DOWN state after it has been in the DEV_WAIT state. If a queue goes directly into the DOWN state, it may be that the TIME OUT value is too small or that there are cabling problems. Usually, this situation occurs when the printer device driver cannot tell if the printer is there due to the absence of correct signaling. However, some printers may not have the capability to signal "off-line" and may signal "off" instead (that is, drop CTS if it is an lp or drop CD if it is a tty).
If the printer device is off, the queue will go DOWN. Also, the system administrator can intentionally bring a queue to the DOWN state with the queuing commands (qadm, disable, enq, and so on). This may be necessary for system maintenance.
To recover from a DOWN state, correct the problem that brought the queue down and have the system administrator bring the queue back up (that is, use the qadm, enable, or enq commands with appropriate flags). The queue MUST be manually brought up before it can be used again.
This status is set when the backend program is waiting on the operator to change paper, change forms, and so on. This is usually software-related (as in the write command).
To recover from a OPR_WAIT state, respond appropriately to the request that is made by the queuing system.
This status is set when a print file is queued and is waiting in line to be printed.
This is the status of a queue when everything involved with the queue is ready to queue and print a job.
This status is set when the print file is printing.
This status is set when a user creates a queue on a device file that another queue is using and its status is DEV_WAIT. The queue cannot get a status from the printer device (lp0) when it is on hold (DEV_WAIT).
To correct this, bring down the other queue or fix the problem with the printer (paper out, jammed, off-line, and so on). Bring the new queue down and then back up so that the queue will register as READY.