ITS - Information Systems

Instructions for Hooking Up a New Remote Printer to the UNI Mainframe

February 3, 2006

Instructions for an IT-tech person (Divisional Technology Coordinator) on hooking up a new network printer to the mainframe for printing information such as Parking information, degree audits, financial reports, billing history, residence information or cashier ­ accounts receivable information.

1. This procedure assumes that the user requesting the new printer has already discussed the reports or mainframe transactions they would like to print with the appropriate authorizing department.
2. The IT-tech person requests a new printer destination name from Judy Schultz. After receiving a printer destination name, the IT-tech person may submit a PAR to the appropriate authorizing department for the data to be printed so application programs may be changed for the new network printer. The IT-tech person may also call the appropriate authorizing department and they will help fill out the PAR. The ITS-Information Systems Applications Development area requests that the submitted PAR has the make and model of the new printer, the printer destination name such as REG04 or FIN02, the paper source drawer number, and any specifics about the printing such as landscape or portrait, duplex or simplex, etc. When the applications program changes are complete, the applications development area will contact the person’s name on the PAR.
3. When you order a new network printer, which will be hooked up to the mainframe, please make sure that the printer truly has personality settings and specifically a personality setting for PCL 5. If the printer has not been designed for PCL, the printer will not be able to be used for mainframe printing.
4. The new network printer must have a JetDirect box or a network card to hook up to the mainframe. The IT-tech person would be responsible for ordering and installing. The Idle Timeout parameter for the printer must be set to zero. The IT-tech person would be responsible for implementation and maintenance of the Idle Timeout value.
5. The IT-tech person will contact Ken Connelly to get a network IP address for the printer.
6. The IT-tech person will then contact Judy Schultz with the network IP address, the make and model of the printer, identification of the printer as a Direct Sockets or LPD, choice of whether or not the user would like separator pages, and if the printer is an LPD, then the LPD print queue name.
7. Judy Schultz will notify the IT-tech person after systems software changes are completed.

When a network printer connection to the mainframe is broken, the user or the IT-tech person may notify the computer room operators at 3-2046, and they will try to restart the printer. If the problem can not be resolved by a restart, then the IT-tech person will coordinate the efforts of problem resolution.