PSF/AIX processes only 4 jobs, prints, and then waits
ITEM: RTA000089949
Q:
ABSTRACT: PSF/AIX processes only 4 jobs, prints, and then waits
for the NPRO timer before continuing to process more.
SEARCH ARG: psf/6000
TOPIC THREAD: PRINT
AFP
PSF6000
..
We have PSF/AIX running two 3835-002's. We have 4 print queues set up
for each printer. When we have several jobs (like 300) waiting to print
the printer will print 4 jobs, wait for the NPRO (which is set for 15
seconds), and then print another 4 jobs. It does not matter what the
NPRO timer is set for, the results are the same. When we set the NPRO
timer to all nines, it printed the 4 jobs and then waited for the NPRO,
which naturally did not occur. What's wrong?? By the way, those 300
jobs were all the same length.
A:
This problem sounds very similar to a problem that was handled for a
customer through the AIX Support Line this morning. Same customer?
As they described the problem, only one job would print, then the
printer would stop until the NPRO timer popped. Then the next job would
print, then the printer would stop until the NPRO timer popped again.
They had one PSF/AIX queue defined per 3835 (you can only have one
queue per IPDS printer), but with only one *queue device* per PSF/AIX
queue (though the default and recommended number of queue devices for
channel-attached and TCP/IP-attached printers is four). A job is not
considered complete until the last page of the job reaches the output
stacker. However, if you only have one queue device, you can only
process one job at a time, and the last page will never make it to the
output stacker unless the NPRO timer pops or a manual NPRO is done at
the printer console.
With more than one queue device, you can have multiple jobs processing
and preparing to print at once. As I mentioned above, the default is
four queue devices. It should be noted that each queue device does
take a bit of memory. The current maximum number of queue devices is
99.
If this is a different customer/problem, please reopen or suggest that
the customer open a PMR.
Q:
Yes, this is the same customer. The problem still exists in that only
four jobs will print, then it waits for the NPRO timer to pop before the
next four jobs will print. Is this normal? I thought that as long as
there are jobs to print, the printer will keep on printing and the NPRO
timer does not play a part until there are no more jobs to print. But
then I've worked with MVS more than AIX.
A:
Hmmm. The only thing I can think of is that their jobs are so short
and/or their paper path (any post-processing device?) is so long that
four queue devices are still not sufficient to get the last page of
the first job into the output stacker so that a queue device frees up
to begin processing the next job. It is possible to have up to 99
queue devices per queue, but before they try that, please check to see
if the last page of the first job makes it to the output stacker.
Also, please check to see if they have any maintenance on. There have
been some PTFs to the channel device driver, although I'm not aware
of any that relate to a problem such as this. If they are backlevel,
they should probably install the maintenance and reload the device
driver onto the S/370 Channel Emulator/A adapters anyway.
Let me know what you find out, or have the customer reopen the problem
with the Support Center. Thanks for using WWQ&A.
| Note that Infoprint Manager will behave the same way. The
| attribute that is equivalent to the number of queues devices in
| PSF/AIX is maximum-concurrent-jobs.
(Reviewed Feb 1999)
S e a r c h - k e y w o r d s:
AIX PSF/6000 PSF FOR AIX NPRO QUEUE DEVICE WAIT psf/aix
infoprint ipmgr
WWQA: ITEM: RTA000089949 ITEM: RTA000089949
Dated: 02/1999 Category: XPSF6000
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