Configuring connections

Use the following links to configure BARR/PRINT CHANNEL connections. BARR/PRINT CHANNEL allows you to physically connect your Windows-based computer to your mainframe channel. It emulates multiple mainframe-attached printers and allows you to print from the mainframe to your local network printers.

If you are adding a new printer definition to the mainframe, you must configure the host before you use BARR/PRINT CHANNEL. If you are replacing an existing channel-attached printer, you do not need to configure the host.

See also:

Adding a connection

When adding a BARR/PRINT CHANNEL connection, you must configure the communication properties, the output format, and job separation. Complete the following steps to add a connection.

You must be a member of the local Administrators group to add connections.

ESCON connections: Before you begin, set your host control unit type to NOCHECK in your host configuration.

  1. Open BARR/PRINT CHANNEL.

  2. On the menu bar, select Connection | Add. Use the following procedures to configure the communication properties, the output format, and job separation.

To define communication properties

Use the following procedure to define the connection and configure the channel and network properties.

  1. Select the Communications tab.

    Communications Tab

  2. In the Name box, type the connection name you want to display in the BARR/PRINT CHANNEL window.

  3. Next to Startup, select how you want to start the connection. You can either start the connection manually from the window or configure the connection to start automatically with Windows startup.

You must be a member of the local Administrators group to start connections. If the operator is not a member of the local Administrators group, select Automatic so the connection will start automatically with Windows startup.

  1. If you want to set advanced properties such as UCS size and tracing, click Advanced. The Advanced Properties dialog box displays.

    Advanced Properties Dialog Box

  2. From the Adapter drop-down list, select the adapter to use for this printer.

  3. If you are using an ESCON connection, type a hexadecimal value (0-F) in the Image number box. You must select an adapter before you can specify the image number. If you are using a CHANNEL INTELLIGENCE or CHANNEL-IN (BT) adapter, this option will not be available.

  4. In the Channel address box, type the channel address of the printer you are adding. Each printer must have a unique address, which must match the subchannel address at the host. You can get this hexadecimal number from your host systems programmer. You can enter an address in the range from 00 to FF. The default address is 0E.

  5. Select the Device type, either 3211 or 4245.

  6. In the IP address box, specify where the device is located on the network or if you want to print to a file. You can enter LocalHost, a specific IP address, or LocalFile (see the following for a description of each). The default value is LocalHost.

  7. LocalHost – Enter the value LocalHost if you are sending to a Barr Enterprise Print Server located on the same computer.

  8. IP address – Enter the IP address of the remote device. If this is being forwarded to a local application, use the IP address 127.0.0.1. This can also be a string that a DNS server Acronym for Domain Name System. The hierarchical system by which hosts on the Internet have both domain name addresses and IP addresses. can resolve into an IP address Short for Internet Protocol address. A 32-bit (4-byte) binary number that uniquely identifies a host (computer) connected to the Internet to other Internet hosts, for the purposes of communication through the transfer of packets. An IP address is expressed in "dotted quad" format, consisting of the decimal values of its 4 bytes, separated with periods; for example, 127.0.0.1..

  9. LocalFile – Enter the value LocalFile to print to a local file. The file will be located in the \\Program Files\Barr\Print Channel\Data folder. The file name is created using the service name and a sequence number, for example BarrPCS0_0E_00000001.

  1. In the IP port number box, type the IP port number of the remote device. The default value is 2277.

To configure the output

Use the following procedure to select the default format and document attributes for all jobs received on this connection. The document attributes may be overwritten if the same field is used during banner extraction.

  1. Select the Output tab.

    Output Tab

  2. From the Format list, select the format that will be sent to the print spooler. S/370 is a standard format supported by all versions of the Barr Enterprise Print Server and many 3rd party print servers, such as M.I.S. Print. Barr channel is a custom format supported by Barr Enterprise Print Server version 4.1 and later. This will provide support for additional header fields not available in the S/370 format.

  3. Under Document attributes, click Add or Modify to display the Field Properties dialog box where you define values to be automatically assigned to the job when it is added to the print spooler. S/370 fields are listed by default. If you are using the S/370 data format and add additional fields that do not apply for S/370, those fields will not be sent.

    Field Properties Dialog Box

To separate jobs

During line printer emulation there is not a clear point where one job ends and another job begins, therefore you must use the following procedure to separate jobs. We recommend leaving all of the job separation options enabled. For more information on the job separation methods see the Separating jobs topic.

  1. Select the Job Separation tab.

    Job Separation Tab

  2. Configure the EOJ timeout in seconds. This option assumes the current print job is complete if the software does not receive print data from the host for the specified length of time. The range is 0 to 999 seconds with a default value of 30 seconds. This option is enabled by default.

  3. Select Separate by FCB to enable the separation of files at FCB occurrences. If this option is not selected, when you receive an FCB the current job does not close. Instead, BARR/PRINT CHANNEL embeds the FCB in the current job and passes it through to the destination. This option is enabled by default.

  4. Under Separate by banner select your Primary (the banner that will be used first) and Secondary (the banner that will be used if the primary banner is not found) banners. The drop-down lists are populated with the banners that have been created under Banners. By default, a JES2Banner has been automatically created and is selected as the primary banner. You can disable banner separation by selecting (None) as the primary banner.

You can select Remove after processing to remove the header and/or trailer pages after BARR/PRINT CHANNEL has extracted the routing information, but before the file is routed. If you do not select one of these options, the pages will remain in the file.

  1. Under Banners, click Add and Modify to display the Banner Configuration dialog box. Use this dialog box to configure the banners that can be selected as your primary and secondary banners. A default banner, JES2Banner, is automatically created for you using the default banner configuration settings.

    Banner Configuration Dialog Box

  1. Enter the banner Name. This name will appear in the Banners list on the Job Separation tab.

  2. Specify if you want to locate the banner by Records or Lines. Next to Search limit enter the number of lines or records to search on any given page. Records is selected by default with a search limit of 66.

  3. Select a Code page if necessary. The code page determines the character set of the banner, either EBCDIC or ASCII. The default code page, EBCDIC 37 – English (US/Canada), will be the appropriate selection in most cases and will not need to be changed.

  4. The Recognition Properties table lists banner recognition text strings and their locations. Use the check boxes to enable or disable the header and trailer search strings. BARR/PRINT CHANNEL searches the selected header and/or trailer sections for unique text strings that identify the banner page. BARR/PRINT CHANNEL searches the range of line numbers indicated at the specified column. Click Properties to display the Recognition Properties dialog box where you can view and modify the recognition strings.

    Recognition Dialog Box

Make sure your search string appears only within the valid range of lines on the banner. For example, suppose your search string is **START**, and this line appears on lines 29 and 50 of the banner. If your FCB specifies only 48 lines per page, the second instance of the search string is considered to be on a new page. BARR/PRINT CHANNEL will think it is getting a new job, and the previous job will be closed.

  1. The Field extraction table lists the fields you want BARR/PRINT CHANNEL to extract from the header banner page. You can extract useful parameters such as job name, form name, FCB name, copies, priority, and class. Specify the location of these parameters on the header banner page relative to the line on which the program finds banner-matching text. Click Add and Modify to display the Extraction Properties dialog box where you can specify the position in the header to extract from.

    Extraction Properties Dialog Box

  1. Click OK. The BARR/PRINT CHANNEL window now displays the connection you added. The connection will remain disconnected until you start it.

Modifying a connection

Complete the following steps to modify a connection.

You must be a member of the local Administrators group to modify connections.

  1. Open BARR/PRINT CHANNEL.

  2. Select the connection you want to modify and on the menu bar, select Connection | Modify. You can also right-click the connection and select Modify.

  3. From the Connection Properties tab pages, modify the connection as appropriate. See the Communications tab, Output tab, and Job Separation tab for more information.

  4. Click OK.

Removing a connection

Complete the following steps to remove a connection.

You must be a member of the local Administrators group remove connections.

  1. Open BARR/PRINT CHANNEL.

  2. Select the connection you want to remove and on the menu bar, select Connection | Stop. You can also right-click the connection and select Stop.

  3. On the menu bar, select Connection | Remove, or right-click the connection and select Remove.