Printer queues seem to be locked or very slowq

[Greyfoxvt]

This is a strange problem, it seems every day about 4:30 PM or so, the Novell 6.0 pritner queues seem to slow down. If a print job is executed, it may or may not print, but it shows up in the queue ready to print. If it does not print, when we come in the next moring it has printed.

I cannot find any scheduled application except for the ightly file-save which kicks off about 10:30PM weeknights.

I am stumpped!

Any ideas from our pannel or experts?

Thanks...

 

[marvhuffaker]

Can you elaborate on your printer configuration? You're using Print Queues? Queue based printing sucks.

If you need queues, you should at least have NDPS printers to service the queues. Much easier to manage and troubleshoot.

Marvin Huffaker MCNE, CNE
Marvin Huffaker Consulting

http://www.redjuju.com

 

[Greyfoxvt]

Marv, thanks for responding to my thread. BTW - Your website is very nice, I am proposing my Town Manager consider joining your support program, you seem to know more than most CNE's I have met. I too am an Eagle Scout (1973 Burlington, Vermont), and I hold a CNE certification from 1985 on 3.1 Novell.

As for our printing issues, we have non NDPS printer queues defined (8 of them), which control HP Laserjet network ready printers through IP. Each has a printer, print server, and printer queue assigned. This problem is not specific to one printer, but instead it seems to be random. If one printer queue gets hung, all the printer seem to hang until the original culprate is cleared and released, then they all start printing.

To make the issue even more strange, it a single user causes the problem while printing a document from their PC, all the printers hang until that PC is restarted and logged in, and then all the printers begin printing again. All are accessable through a ping even during the hangs.

Now how strange is that?

Since our Novell world is all IP, and non IPX, I am not running NDPS. I am open for ideas here, since I am now totally confused.

 

[marvhuffaker]

Grayfox, thanks.. I understand somewhat what you are saying, but you have actually confused me even more as to how you are setup.

You mention that you are All IP based.. with no IPX. Yet you are using full queue based printing, NON-NDPS.

Given that scenario, it is impossible that you are running Only TCP/IP on your network. IPX is a required component of Queue based printing. The Queue based printing model (Print queue, Print Server, Printer) can't be done with TCP/IP.

The only way to get Pure IP with your printing is to use NDPS (you can still use print queues that are in turn serviced by the NDPS printer agents).

Anyway, with that said.. I would probably look at network errors or somehow try to pin it on a specific client.

But... You really should look at setting up NDPS.. It is pretty simple to setup on Netware 6. And you don't have to get rid of your existing print queues. You would really just tell the queues to go to the NDPS agents instead of the Queue based print server that you're doing now.

If after you setup NDPS, and set it to service the print queues, it will be much easier to troubleshoot than what you're using now. But I'm guessing your problems will go away unless you're having a physical network error problem.

You need the following on your server for ndps:

1 NDPS Broker
1 NDPS Manager
8 NDPS PRinter Agents (One for each Network Printer)

This can generally be setup and fully running in about an hour.


Marvin Huffaker MCNE, CNE
Marvin Huffaker Consulting

http://www.redjuju.com