ITEM: J9257L

Connect a printer to token ring

Question:

I want to put a printer on the network and access it from our RS6000.
Can this be done?  (Token Ring)  Or, we have an OS/2 server on this
network, could we access the printer from it?  I believe the server is
running Netware.

Response:

You are running Netware/6000 (IPX) with Netware clients attached.  You
need to have a printer close to these workstations that is available
to the AIX users on the RISC/6000.  Your Netware clients occasionally
log into the RISC/6000 via NVT and need to print various things.

If you are running v3.11B of Netware/6000 you will be able to print
from AIX through Netware/6000 to a printer attached to one of your
Netware clients or your Netware server.  If you have an earlier version
of Netware/6000, you will have to select one of the options below.

Here are your options:

1) Attach a terminal server to the network and a printer off of the terminal
   server.  You can then define the printer on the RISC/6000.  The disadvantage
   of this option is that you will be buying more connections than you need.

2) You could purchase a lan attached printer such as the HP4.  The disadvantages
   here are the price of the printer and the fact that most of these devices
   operate off of Ethernet.  You are running token-ring.  You might be able
   to purchase a lan attached device that you could then attach a printer to,
   but I don't have any information on such things.

3) You could attach a DOS workstation to the token-ring network and run TCP/IP
   protocols on the station.  This would allow you to use the lpd printing
   scheme to remote print to the workstation.  The disadvantage here is the
   price of the token-ring adapter.  You have an OS/2 server on the token-ring
   already.  This server is running IPX protocols for Netware.  If this server
   could also run TCP/IP protocols, you could attach the printer off of this
   workstation.

4) You say your RISC/6000 and your workstations are seperated by a router.  If
   this device has a port for an Ethernet connection, you could attach an
   Ethernet segment to the device and attach a lan attached printer or a DOS
   workstation running TCP/IP software as discussed above.  The advantages
   here are the low cost of the hardware, and you can keep the TCP/IP packets
   from interfering with the performance of your workstations running IPX.



Support Line: Connect a printer to token ring ITEM: J9257L

Dated: June 1994 Category: N/A

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