SNA Communications Server printer support

Overview

SNA Communications Server (formerly VTAM) Printer Support (VPS) feature, which is available for the IBM z/OS operating system, lets you direct output to a SNA Communications Server printer, utilizing the USE command. The creation and maintenance of a print queue is accomplished by formatting a Model 204 file's Table D pages into multiple print queues.

A request is the spooled output produced from a USE command.

The VPS feature uses two types of pages:

• Definition pages are the individual print queue definitions. Each print queue definition has two types of print request pages chained from it.
• Print request pages are of two types:
  • Requests waiting to print
  • Requests waiting to purge

Each print queue is assigned a unique SNA Communications Server printer definition. For each SNA Communications Server printer definition, a subtask is attached that handles all communications between Model 204 and the SNA Communications Server printer.

The printer daemon manages the interaction between the print queue and SNA Communications Server printer subtask. The printer daemon is an IODEV=3 user running as a pseudo-subtask.

The VPS system does the following:

• Lets you direct output to SNA Communications Server type TTY and 328X printers utilizing the USE command.
• Makes available a print queue for spooling and maintaining USE print requests.
• Provides commands to display the status and control the destination of VTAM USE requests.

Initializing SNA Communications Server printer support

Use the following JCL to initialize SNA Communications Server printer support on the z/OS operating system:

//CCAPRQ DD DSN=MODEL204.PRINT.QUE,DISP=SHR PRINT QUE FILE //CCAIN DD *  :  :  : VTPRNAME=M204PRT,SPOOLOPT=1 VTAM APPLID and AUTO INIT. CCAPRQ IODEV=3,LECHO=1,INPUT=DAEMONI,OUTPUT=DAEMONO  :  : /* //DAEMONO DD SYSOUT=* //DAEMONI DD * IODEV 3 INPUT LOGIN USERID PASSWORD CREATEPQ FORMAT CCAPRQ TO BE USED AS A PRINT QUE THIS CAN BE ELIMINATED WITH SPOOLOPT=1 DEFINE PRINT QUEUE DEFINE INDIVIDUAL PRINT QUEUES DEFINE VTAM PRINTER DEFINE VTAM PRINTERS PRTQDAEMON START THE PRINT DAEMON /*

Spool control

SPOOLOPT: Print queue spooling options:

Setting	Description
X'01'	Automatic initialization. Attempts to open CCAPRQ if present, but does not stop the run if the open fails.
X'02'	CCAPRQ is required, insist open has succeeded.
X'04'	Do not attempt recovery of CCAPRQ.
X'08'	If there is a DDNAME CCAPRQ, attempt to create the CCAPRQ file automatically, without the user doing the CREATE.
X'10'	Print daemon prints tracing information after tracing messages.

Spool status

SPOOLFLG: Current status of print spooling:

Setting	Description
X'01'	CCAPRQ is open.
X'02'	Print daemon is active, the DEFINE VTAM PRINTER and DEFINE VTAM PURGE commands are allowed.
X'04'	CCAPRQ recovery is required, and will be performed by the print daemon.
X'80'	CCAPRQ open has failed.
X'40'	0_pgfICCAPRQ recovery has failed.
X'20'	CCAPRQ recovery was successful.

SPOOLMAX: Maximum of Table D pages in CCAPRQ.

SPOOLNOW: Current number of CCAPRQ pages in use.

SPOOLHWM: CCAPRQ high water mark for pages in use.

VTPRNAME: SNA Communications Server printer APPLID.