Glossary

The following are terms that are commonly used throughout this book. Note that some of these terms are not limited to printing.

alias

An alternative name that can be assigned to a printer.

allow list

A file that includes a list of users who have access to forms or printers.

attached printer

A hardware printing device that is directly connected to a system. An attached printer is sometimes referred to as a local printer.

banner page

A cover page that is printed with each print request. This page displays the name of the user who submitted the print request, the request ID, and the date/time the request was printed. Banner pages can be disabled by using the lpadmin command in Solaris Print Manager.

baud rate

The rate at which information is transmitted between devices, for example, between a computer and a printer. Baud rate measures the number of events, or signal changes, that occur in one second.

BSD print server

A print server that uses the Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) version of the UNIX operating system.

BSD printing protocol

See RFC-1179 (Line Printer Daemon Protocol)

daemon

A special type of program that starts itself and carries out a specific task without any need for user input. Daemons are typically used to handle print jobs that have been queued for printing.

default printer

The printer that you designate as the default destination for all print requests. If no printer name is used, the default printer is used.

deny list

A file that includes a list of users who are denied access to forms or printers.

destination or network printer access name

The internal name of the printer node port that is used by the printer subsystem to access the printer. The access name is the name of the printer node or the name of the printer node with a printer vendor port designation. Any printer vendor port designation is explicitly defined in the printer vendor documentation.

device URI

The device Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) contains the type of interface and the device path for printing on the Internet. A device URI can be used with the IPP, RFC-1179, and Server Message Block (SMB) printing protocols.

Domain Name System (DNS)

A service that provides the naming policy and mechanisms for mapping domain and machine names to IP addresses outside of the enterprise, such as those IP addresses on the Internet.

filter

A file that converts a print request into a format that can be processed by a particular type of printer.

form

A form is a printed paper stock, such as letterhead or blank checks. A form can also be a software file that contains printing characteristics, such as page length, page width, number of pages, line pitch, character pitch, character set choice, ribbon color, and alignment pattern.

Internet Printing Protocol (IPP)

An Internet protocol that provides universal solutions to printing documents on the Internet.

IPP listening service

A service that monitors the network for service requests, accepts the requests, and then invokes services in response to these service requests. In the Solaris OS, the listening service provides server-side support for printing on a network.

Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)

A standard extensible directory access protocol that is used by LDAP naming service clients and servers to communicate with each other.

local printer

A print queue that has been defined on a system that is local to you.

Network Information Service (NIS) database

A distributed database that contains key information about the systems and the users on a network. The NIS database is stored on a master server and all replica or slave servers.

Network Information Service Plus (NIS+) database

A distributed database that contains hierarchical information about the systems and the users on a network. The NIS+ database is stored on the master server and all replica or slave servers.

network printer

A hardware printing device that is connected directly to a network. A network printer transfers data directly over the network to the output device. The printer or network connection hardware has its own system name and IP address.

Open Standard Print API (PAPI)

A programming specification for cross-platform and cross-print system printing.

PAPI

See Open Standard Print API (PAPI).

PostScript Printer Description (PPD) file

A file that describes the fonts, paper sizes, resolution, and other capabilities that are standard for a particular printer.

PPD File Manager

A command-line utility for administering PostScript Printer Description (PPD) files that are used with the Solaris print subsystem.

print client

A system that has the Solaris printing software installed on it and that has been enabled to access remote printers on a network.

print job

A file to be printed. A print job is also referred to as a print request.

print queue

1. Refers to the setup and configuration of a printer.

2. A temporary lineup of print requests that are scheduled to print on a printer.

print request

A file to be printed. A print request is also referred to as a print job.

print scheduler

A program that schedules print requests. In the Solaris OS, the print scheduler is the lpsched daemon.

print server

A system with a local printer configured on it that makes the printer available to other systems on a network.

print spooler

Software that intercepts a print request and then sends it to disk or memory, where the request is held until the printer is ready to print it. The term, spooler, is an acronym for Simultaneous Peripheral Operations On-line.

printer driver

A program that is used to convert the input file (or job data) into a format that is specific to the target printer.

printer-host device

The software and hardware, supplied by a vendor, that provides network printer support for a non-network-capable printer. The combination of the printer-host device with one or more printers attached to it creates a network printer.

printer interface program

A program, or interface script, that is the interface between the LP scheduler and the printers. The printer interface program enables insertion of customized software.

printer name

The name that is typed on the command line when you use print commands. You select the printer name at the time of the printer's configuration. Any one physical printer can have several printer or print queue names. Each name provides access to the printer.

printer node

Either the physical printer or the printer-host device. The printer node is the physical printer when network support resides in the physical printer. The printer node is the printer-host device when an external device is used to provide the network interface. The printer node name is the system name that is provided with the IP address.

printing protocols

Over-the-wire protocols that enable communication between a print client and a print server and between a print server and a printer. The supported protocols for communication between a print client and printer server are IPP and RFC-1179. The supported protocols for communication between a print server and a printer are TCP/IP, RFC-1179, and IPP. Often, the documentation from the printer vendor supplies the information regarding the protocol to select.

protocol

A set of formal rules that describe how to transmit data across a network. See printing protocols.

remote printer

A hardware printing device that has its print queue defined on a system that is not local to you.

RFC-1179 (Line Printer Daemon Protocol)

Defines a standard method by which print jobs can be transferred between hosts by using the TCP/IP protocol. The RFC describes the protocols with which a line printer daemon client can control printing. Also know as BSD or LPD.

Samba

An open-source free software suite that provides file and print services to Server Message Block (SMB) clients, including the numerous versions of Windows.

Server Message Block (SMB)

A protocol that enables clients to access files and to request services from a server on a network.

Solaris Print Manager

A Java technology-based GUI that enables you to manage local and remote printer configuration.

Uniform Resource Identifier (URI)

An addressing technology for identifying resources on the Internet or on a private intranet. URIs can be used with application-level protocols, which are called URI schemes.

URI scheme

A scheme that enables the inline inclusion of small data items, as if they were being referenced as an external resource.