Printer problems over VPN..

[Christopher Wagner]

We are attempting to print to a network printer across a VPN connection.

The machine we are printing from is an SCO Unix box running Unixware
7.1.1.

It uses hpnpf to print to network printers..  It filled up my /var/tmp
partition with errors like this:

This was in 23409.err (one of the many ####.err files):
The output ``port'', a FIFO, was closed before all output was written.

This was in 23409.log (one of the many ####.log files):
##
##  Printing banner page.
##  Banner filter: '/usr/lib/lp/postscript/download -pCI |
/usr/lib/lp/bin/lp.ca
t 0 2>>/var/tmp/23409.err'
##
##
##  Printing file: '/var/spool/lp/temp/F671-1'
##

Now, of course, this isn't very descriptive, so with the help of our
Computing Integrity consultant (Thomas Mercer), we traced it down to
hpnpf giving the error message:

pacserv3:/> ./hpnpf -x 208.201.233.125
Error code set in packet - No such variable name. Index: 1.
hpnpf: Printer not ready...
pacserv3:/>

All of our internal network printers work just fine..  I can ping the
destination printer, and the printer works from an HPUX box.  The HPUX
box is connecting to that printer through an Ascend router..  Now we
used to have an Ascend router for this connection and were having the
same problem, so I don't think it's an issue with the VPN (which is over
a Netopia R7200).

Any ideas folks?

- Chris
--
<chrisw at pacaids.com>
IS Administrator - Packaging Aids Corporation
San Rafael, CA
415-454-4868 x116
http://www.pacaids.com/