pdserver client ports details
A pdserver's client ports are defined by the -p flag on the start_server or startsrv command or by the PD_SOCKET setting when the server is started. The default is 6874 and is defined in /etc/services. Since each pdserver uses two consecutive ports if multiple pdservers are started
on the same machine, the client port specified for the pdserver to use must be incremented
by at least two to avoid conflicts. When a pdserver starts, it adds its client port
in /var/lib/pd/pdserver.conf along with its locale (its language).
In the normal case where PD_SOCKET is not set, clients on the InfoPrint Manager server machine discover what port to use by looking in /var/lib/pd/pdserver.conf for the first entry in their locale (the user's language). If PD_SOCKET is set, it
overrides any values in /var/lib/pd/pdserver.conf. Since clients on non-InfoPrint Manager server machines don't have access to the /var/lib/pd/pdserver.conf file, they use the PDHOST and PD_SOCKET environment variables or other configuration
mechanisms to obtain this information. See the information for each client to determine
how to configure.
Some examples might help illustrate the effect of the server selection in the client. All objects in the InfoPrint Manager system are accessible to the client; not just the objects in the pdserver the client connects to the system through. Also, the client can be running anywhere on the network; not just where the InfoPrint Manager server is installed. You can also switch a client to use a different InfoPrint Manager system by changing he IP address or the port settings in the client.