If you are new to channel printing, review sections 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, and 1.4 to learn more about channel printing, supported printers, and product features.
Sections 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, and 1.8 describe PRINT370 package contents and PC requirements. Review these sections to make sure you have everything you need before you begin installation.
Barr PRINT370 hardware and software enable your PC to directly connect to System/390 (S/390) channel-attached printers. This section discusses S/390 concepts and describes how PRINT370 replaces traditional S/390 configurations.
The S/390 channel interface is a high-speed interface for attaching multiple devices, such as printers, to a single channel on an IBM System/390 mainframe. Devices are attached to the channel via control units, which can be built into the channel device or can be separate units. (S/390 printers have built-in control units.)
The channel interface uses one-inch thick bus and tag cables. The bus cable transmits data and has separate Bus In and Bus Out connectors. The tag cable controls the type of information on the bus and has separate Tag In and Tag Out connectors. The Bus In and Tag In connectors transmit information to the mainframe channel. The Bus Out and Tag Out connectors transmit information to the device’s control unit.
Traditionally, S/390 printers connected directly to mainframe computers via the channel interface (see Figure 1-1).
Figure 1-1. S/390 channel printers are designed to connect directly to a mainframe via the mainframe channel interface.
Other configurations, such as channel extender devices or Xerox 871-CM devices, evolved to allow printers to be remotely connected to the mainframe.
PRINT370 is a modern, high-volume, remote printing solution that is more cost effective and simpler to use than traditional S/390 remote configurations (see Figure 1-2).
Figure 1-2. A PC with PRINT370 hardware and software replaces the printer connection to the mainframe channel.
The adapter and cable included in your PRINT370 package enable you to physically connect S/390 channel devices to the PC (see Figure 1-3).
Figure 1-3. The PRINT370 adapter or CHANNEL-OUT (BT) adapter and CHANNEL-OUT cable connect channel printers to the PC.
The PC and the PRINT370 hardware and software supply the S/390 channel—normally the role of the mainframe. Because it supplies the channel interface, the Barr software controls the channel-attached printers. When data from the mainframe or local area network (LAN) arrives at your PC, PRINT370 sends the data through the adapter to the CHANNEL-OUT cable connecting the PC and the first printer.
You can attach multiple printers to the adapter by cabling, or daisy-chaining, the printers together. From the Barr software Assign Devices screen, you direct the data flow from sources to printers (see section 4.5 for more information). For example, you can direct data from the mainframe to the second channel printer. Data travels through the printer chain until it reaches the designated printer (see Figure 1-4).
Figure 1-4. Data assigned to print on S/390 Printer 2 flows from the data source to the PC and then through S/390 Printer 1 before reaching Printer 2.
Several different Barr printing solutions are available.
BARR/SPOOL with PRINT370 connects your printers to the LAN only (see Figure 1-5).
BARR/RJE with PRINT370 connects your printers to the mainframe and the LAN (see Figure 1-6). (For more information about the type of mainframe RJE systems supported, see your BARR/RJE manual.)
BARR/AFP connects your printers to AS/400 systems and the LAN (see Figure 1-7).
Figure 1-5. BARR/SPOOL with PRINT370 routes data from the LAN to S/390 channel printers.
Figure 1-6. BARR/RJE with PRINT370 routes data from the mainframe and the LAN to S/390 channel printers.
Figure 1-7. BARR/AFP routes data from the AS/400 and the LAN to S/390 channel printers.
You also can purchase software options that let you receive data from TCP/IP, UNIX, or VAX hosts, as described in section 1.4.
To write to channel printers, PRINT370 requires data to have specific formats and contain channel commands. Files can have the Barr S/390 file format, the ASCII format, or special Xerox formats. For more information about file formats and S/390 channel commands, see Appendixes A, B, and C.
This section lists the types of printers PRINT370 supports and discusses printer capabilities. Because channel-attached printers have various features and capabilities, different printers work with different Barr products.
Line printers, laser printers, and Océ (Siemens) 3800-3 Compatibility Mode printers can print data from Barr RJE, BARR/3270, or BARR/SPOOL products with PRINT370. Barr RJE products include BARR/RJE, RJE+3270, BARR/HASP, and BARR/3780.
AFP printers are controlled by the mainframe and can print data only from SNA-based products with the PRINT370 option. Barr SNA-based products include BARR/RJE, RJE+3270, BARR/3270, and BARR/AFP.
PRINT370 supports the printers listed in this section.
Line or band printers are traditionally used with Remote Job Entry (RJE) workstations. They print on continuous-form paper and range in speed from 300 to 5,000 lines per minute. Line printers excel in applications that use pre-printed, multi-part forms. They can accept data from 3270 sessions, RJE sessions, PC LANs, and the Barr print spool feature.
PRINT370 supports these line printers and plotters:
IBM 3203, 3211, 4245, 4248, and 6262
IBM 3203 or 3211 type plotters
STK 5000
Laser printers produce high-quality output on cut-sheet paper or continuous-form paper. Many have electronic forms overlay, graphics, and duplex capabilities. Some can print over 100 pages per minute. Laser printers can print data originating from 3270 sessions, RJE sessions, PC LANs, XPAF, and the Barr print spool feature.
Océ laser printers that operate in IBM 3800 Compatibility Mode can print on continuous-form paper. They can accept data from 3270 sessions, RJE sessions, PC LANs, and the Barr print spool feature. To use these printers with PRINT370, you must obtain software utilities from Océ (formerly Siemens Nixdorf Printing Systems).
PRINT370 supports these laser printers:
Comparex 6890, 6900
Nipson Series 3000
Océ 2050-300, 2075-2, 2090-2, 2140-2, 2140-3, 2200-2, 2200-3, 2240-2, 2240-3, and 2300-2
STK 6100-19, 6100-26
Xerox 377 CF, 4050, 4075, 4090, 4135, 4635, 4650, 4850, 4890, 8790, and 9790
AFP printers have graphics capabilities and range in speed from 20 to 100 pages per minute. Because the mainframe directly controls Advanced Function Printing (AFP), AFP printers can only print files sent from the IBM Print Services Facility (PSF). AFP printers cannot print files generated on the PC or files from the job entry subsystem (JES). Additionally, data received from PSF must be sent directly to the printer. PSF data cannot be written to the Barr print spool or to a PC disk.
AFP printers communicate with the mainframe via an SNA LU 6.2 session. They are divided into two groups, according to whether or not they implement SNA communications. Printers that can communicate with SNA (for example, the IBM 3820) are called VTAM-Attached IPDS printers. Printers that cannot perform SNA communications (such as the IBM 3825 and Océ 2050) are called IPDS Group 3 printers. For these printers, the PRINT370 software implements SNA communications.
PRINT370 supports these AFP printers:
IBM 3820, 3825, 3827, 3828, 3835, 3900
Océ 2030-2, 2050-200, 2075-200, 2090-4, 2140-4, 2240-4, 2300-4
IPDS Group 3 equivalent printers
Software with AFP or IBM 3820 support is available at no additional charge.
Computer output microfiche devices write computer output to microfiche or microfilm at speeds from 30,000 to 35,000 lines per minute. They can print data originating from 3270 sessions, RJE sessions, PC LANs, XPAF, and the Barr print spool feature. Some devices include graphics capabilities.
PRINT370 supports these computer output microfiche devices:
Anacomp DatagraphiX, XFP 2000
Kodak Komstar, Optistar
Micrographics Technology COM 6831
BARR/RJE and PRINT370 are ideal for driving the fastest S/390 channel-attached printers. BARR/RJE supports high-speed communications at up to T1 (1.536 Megabits-per-second) and E1 (2.048 Megabits-per-second) speeds. Print speeds range from 1,000 lines per minute to more than 20,000 lines per minute, depending on the mainframe communications speed, printer capabilities, data type, and page density.
Refer to Table 1-1 or Table 1-2 to determine the print speed you can achieve for a given line speed. Use Table 1-1 if you only need a rough estimate or you do not know the page density. Use Table 1-2 for a more accurate estimate, especially for graphics-based data or for data other than standard ASCII or EBCDIC.
To determine the possible print speed, find the speed for your printer in one of the tables, and then note the required communications line speed. If your line speed is greater than or equal to the value in the chart, Barr software can drive the printer at its rated speed. For example, if you have a 120-page-per-minute printer and print data that contains no graphics, you can drive the printer at full speed with a 56 kilobits-per-second (Kbps) line. If your line speed is less than the value in the chart, use the Barr print spool feature, if possible, to drive the printer at full speed, or consult mainframe personnel to determine if they can increase the line speed.
Table 1-1. Communication Speeds Based on Printer Speed
Print rates in this table are for average density, character-only data. For graphics-based data, see the notes below.
|
Lines Per Minute |
Pages Per Minute |
Communications Speed (bps) |
|
660 - 1440 |
20 |
9,600 |
|
1320 - 2880 |
40 |
19,200 |
|
2640 - 5760 |
80 |
38,400 |
|
3850 - 8400 |
116 |
56,000 |
|
4400 - 9600 |
133 |
64,000 |
|
8800 -19200 |
266 |
128,000 |
AFP Printing: AFP printers do not support compression. Double the line speed in this table to achieve the corresponding print speed.
Graphics Printing: Triple the line speed in this table if the data contains mostly graphics.
Files that contain many graphics or consist of IBM AFP data or Xerox Metacode have a greater page density than character-only files. (The mainframe processes the data and adds printing instructions before transmitting the data to the PC. Also, the data requires printer-loaded resources, such as fonts.) As a result, you need to consider page density when estimating the line speed required to drive the printer. In Table 1-2, the bytes per page column represents the total amount of data transmitted, including printer instructions. Line speeds in bits per second (bps) are provided for SDLC and 802.2 connections.
Table 1-2. Communication Speeds Based on Page Density
|
Bytes Per Page |
Pages Per Minute |
SDLC bps at 90% Line Efficiency |
802.2 bps (Actual Throughput) |
|
5,000 |
50 |
30,000 |
33,333 |
|
10,000 |
50 |
60,000 |
66,666 |
|
20,000 |
50 |
120,000 |
133,333 |
|
5,000 |
100 |
60,000 |
66,666 |
|
10,000 |
100 |
120,000 |
133,333 |
|
20,000 |
100 |
240,000 |
266,666 |
|
5,000 |
200 |
120,000 |
133,333 |
|
10,000 |
200 |
240,000 |
266,666 |
|
20,000 |
200 |
480,000 |
533,333 |
|
5,000 |
400 |
240,000 |
266,666 |
|
10,000 |
400 |
480,000 |
533,333 |
|
20,000 |
400 |
960,000 |
1,066,666 |
Graphics-based data is more dense than character-based data. Print rates for graphics-based data are based on the number of bytes per page and the pages-per-minute speed of the printer. If Table 1-2 does not contain the values you need to estimate the line speed required to drive the printer, use one of the following formulas.
SDLC Equation
(Maximum bytes per page) x (Pages per minute) x
(8 bits per byte/60 seconds per minute) x (Line efficiency) =
N bits per second (bps)
Obtain the SDLC line efficiency value from your network manager. For SDLC communication links, a line efficiency of 90 percent is common.
802.2 Equation
(Maximum bytes per page) x (Pages per minute) x
(8 bits per byte/60 seconds per minute) =
N bits per second (bps)
802.2 networks are rated at 4 or 16 Mbps per second. Because of factors such as network traffic and bridge and router load balancing, the maximum throughput available to the Barr software ranges from 300 to 400 Kbps. (Very fast PCs with PCI network adapters might be able to achieve speeds of 600 Kbps to 1.5 Mbps.) If the calculated line speed is too slow to drive your printer, consult your network manager to see whether network tuning is possible.
This section describes standard PRINT370 features and features provided by other software options.
When you use PRINT370 with BARR/RJE software, you can take advantage of all the RJE features, including true full-duplex communication (DATMODE=FULL), data compression and compaction, and remote console commands. For a complete list of BARR/RJE features, see the BARR/RJE Features chapter of your BARR/RJE manual.
Multiple S/390 Channel-Attached Printers – PRINT370 supports simultaneous use of up to six S/390 channel-attached printers from a single PC.
Transfer Modes – The PRINT370 PCI option supports the 3.0 and 4.5 megabyte Data Streaming transfer modes and the interlock transfer modes (DCI Single Tag and DCI High Speed Transfer).
The PRINT370 option supports the interlock transfer modes.
Print Spooling – Barr RJE uses functionally complete, mainframe-like features to receive files to disk while simultaneously printing other files. For example, you can view files before printing them and you can print multiple copies of a file.
LAN Print Server – If the PC with PRINT370 is on a LAN, any PC on the LAN can submit DOS files to print on an S/390 printer.
Printing from XPAF – You can send documents generated by the Xerox Printer Access Facility (XPAF) to channel printers.
Xerox Metacode – SNA transparency ensures that all non-character data is received correctly. This feature is important for Xerox Metacode and other binary data.
AFP Printing from PSF – PRINT370 supports Advanced Function Printing (AFP) to channel-attached page printers at remote locations. You can print full-page graphics files and formatted documents created by your favorite applications at high speeds. See Chapter 7 for more information about AFP support.
AFP support or IBM 3820 AFP support is available at no additional charge.
Loopback Diagnostic Program – The loopback test is an important diagnostic tool used to verify the correct operation of the PRINT370 or CHANNEL-OUT (BT) adapter and CHANNEL-OUT cable. (A separate loopback test is provided for the Barr synchronous communications adapter and cable.)
You can purchase additional option software for your Barr products. Contact a Barr sales representative for more information about these options.
PRINT/CHANNEL – Emulate up to eight 3211-type channel printers. PRINT/CHANNEL lets you route mainframe print jobs to network printers and share your mainframe printer with the network. This option is available only for BARR/SPOOL.
PRINT/TWINAX – Print from an AS/400 to a PC. This option emulates 5250 series printer on an S/390 printer. One adapter provides six print sessions and two adapters provide 12 print sessions. PRINT/TWINAX supports DJDE and Metacode pass-through for Xerox channel-attached laser printers.
BARR/PRINT for LAT – Print from a DEC VAX/VMS computer to a PC. This option uses the Local Area Transport (LAT) protocol. It supports up to eight concurrent printer sessions and allows up to four TCP/IP connections to hosts on the network.
BARR/PRINT for TCP/IP (LPD) – Print from UNIX hosts to a PC, over a TCP/IP (Ethernet) network. This option uses the BSD Line Printer Daemon (LPD) protocol to service Line Printer Remote (LPR) requests.
You must configure your printer to work with PRINT370. This section describes the required printer settings. Some S/390 printers are configured with switches while others are configured with software. To determine which method is used to set up your printer, consult your printer manual or contact your printer vendor.
The requirements described below apply to all S/390 printers used with Barr PRINT370. They define the type of communication between the channel and the printer.
If you have a laser printer, also see Laser Printers later in this section. If your printer comes from Océ, also see Océ Printers later in this section.
Interface Connection Mode – The printer interface connection determines how input/output operations are handled. Your printer supports two interface connection choices, Burst Mode and Byte Mode. Because PRINT370 provides a block multiplex channel, it supports only Burst Mode. Block multiplex means that the software allows multiplexing between data blocks. In Burst Mode, the printer maintains the channel connection until an entire data block is transferred. Be sure to configure your printer for Burst Mode.
Data Transfer Mode – The printer settings Two Tag and Four Tag specify the technique for transferring data on the channel. PRINT370 automatically detects and adapts to either method, so you must configure the data transfer option only on the printer.
The Two Tag option, also known as DCI Single Tag, uses one signal pair (Service In and Service Out) to control data transfer on the channel.
The Four Tag printer option, also known as Double Tag or DCI High Speed Transfer (HST), uses two signal pairs (Service In, Service Out, and Data In, and Data Out) to control data transfer on the channel.
Unlike the Two Tag and Four Tag options, the Data Streaming printer setting is not adversely affected by signal delays introduced by long cable lengths. Because the software cannot detect the data streaming data rate, you must specify the data rate (3.0 or 4.5 megabyte) in the software. You can use data streaming only if you purchased the CHANNEL-OUT (BT) adapter.
The PRINT370 adapter does not support data streaming data transfer. If you purchased the PRINT370 adapter, verify that data streaming is not enabled on your printers, otherwise the results might be unpredictable.
When they print mainframe data, many laser printers work better if data translation is disabled at the mainframe. In fact, for Xerox laser printers to work correctly, you must disable translation.
Historically, data translation was used with line printers to change lowercase letters to uppercase and to change special characters that did not appear on the print train to blanks. Because laser printers can print uppercase, lowercase, and special characters, data translation is unnecessary.
Xerox laser printers require special data types to print graphics images or bar codes and to download fonts. If data translation is enabled, data will not print correctly.
The JES2 TRANS parameter controls translation. Ask the mainframe systems programmer to set this parameter to TRANS=NO. This parameter must be explicit, because mainframe systems automatically use TRANS=YES if the TRANS parameter is not specified. For older versions of JES, the TRANS parameter is set only on the PRINTDEF statement. For newer versions of JES, this parameter can be set on the Remote Printer Statement.
VSE/POWER: The VSE/POWER operating system does not allow you to disable data translation. Be careful if you try to use Xerox laser printers in the VSE/POWER environment.
Mode Setting – Océ printers can operate in AFP Mode, Compatibility Mode, Line Mode, or Page Mode. PRINT370 supports only the first three modes. It does not support Page Mode.
The operating mode defines the printer capabilities and is controlled by software you use to boot the printer. You must use different boot software for each operating mode, so be sure to use the correct version.
Bypass Switch Setting – When you use PRINT370 with Océ 2200 model printers, you must disable the printer’s Select Bypass Switch.
SNPFORM and SNPIMAGE Utilities – If your printer is operating in IBM 3800 Compatibility Mode, you must obtain the SNPIMAGE and SNPFORM software utilities from Océ. If you are using an Océ 2050 or 2075 printer, you must obtain the 2050FORM utility. See Chapter 5 for more information about these utilities.
You can install PRINT370 on a PC that meets the following requirements:
A PCI bus for the CHANNEL-OUT (BT) adapter, or an ISA or EISA bus for the PRINT370 adapter.
At least 640 kilobytes of memory. (Your PC might need additional memory depending on your application, the printer model, and which Barr base product you use.)
A 486-type processor.
DOS 3.0 or later version. (For best results, use version 6.2 or later.)
If you use Océ printers in IBM 3800 Compatibility Mode, your PC needs additional PC processing power, memory, and disk space to support the printer’s backspace feature.
You need a true 80386 DX PC or faster processor for storing data to and retrieving data from extended memory. An SX-type machine is not satisfactory.
For each Océ printer, you need from 1.5 to 2 Megabytes of PC extended memory. As it sends pages of a job to the printer, PRINT370 stores the pages in PC memory to allow the data to be re-sent if an error occurs.
For more information about the backspace feature, see Chapter 5.
The PRINT370 package contains the items listed in your PRINT370 Adapter manual or CHANNEL-OUT (BT) manual. It also includes a software disk:
PRINT370 software
If you are connecting more than one printer, you need bus and tag cables to daisy chain the printers. For more information about daisy chaining printers, see Chapter 3. To obtain bus and tag cables, contact your printer vendor.