Overview

InfoPrint Manager is a scalable, distributed, object oriented, client/server output management system. The basic parts of an InfoPrint Manager system include:

• Operator graphic user interface
• Administrator graphic user interface
• Job submission clients
• Command line clients
• InfoPrint Manager server

InfoPrint Manager provides a full set of printing objects including documents, jobs, logical destinations, queues, and actual destinations (printers, email).

InfoPrint Manager provides two types of commands that you can use to access and manipulate objects: end user commands and management commands. End user commands allow users to print, query, cancel, and modify jobs. Management commands allow authorized users to create, delete, pause, resume, and change objects.

InfoPrint Manager objects have attributes and attributes have values. Object attributes and values allow for a precise definition of each object that includes defining the relationship of the objects to each other. How you define the relationship between InfoPrint Manager objects is part of your configuration. There are many ways to configure InfoPrint Manager objects.

InfoPrint Manager objects are contained in an InfoPrint Manager server. The InfoPrint Manager server is a multi-threaded process (pdserver) capable of performing many tasks concurrently.

InfoPrint Manager is scalable, which means that you can add more pdservers as they are needed to grow your system (on the same machine if necessary). InfoPrint Manager is also distributable, which means that you can add these pdservers on different machines located on your network. Since multiple pdservers on different machines can work together, you can distribute your InfoPrint Manager system, which gives you the ability to reduce single-points of failure, add remote servers, and centralize print management in a large enterprise. You can also view a "single system image" of the overall print system through the Administrator and Operator interfaces, the command line, or other job submission clients. Part of your configuration is designated by the number of pdservers that you define and how you distribute them among your machines.

The key element that allows multiple servers to work together is the InfoPrint Manager namespace. If you install InfoPrint Manager on two machines, each with its own namespace, there can be no communication or interoperation between the two InfoPrint Manager pdservers. You have two different InfoPrint Manager systems. In Two InfoPrint Manager Systems: independent pdservers using different namespaces with no communication between the pdservers., the objects in the different systems can even have the same names. There is no single system view; clients must make a separate connection to each system to access the objects in each system.

Two InfoPrint Manager Systems: independent pdservers using different namespaces with no communication between the pdservers.

If you have multiple InfoPrint Manager servers that each use the same namespace, you have complete communication and interoperability between servers because you have one InfoPrint Manager System. All of the objects in the system are visible to all of the other servers and all of the clients connected to the system. In One InfoPrint Manager System: multiple pdservers using the same namespace, notice that each object has a unique name, and the queue in pdserver A is feeding an actual destination in pdserver B (interoperating). Clients can access the objects in both pdservers (single image view) at the same time.

One InfoPrint Manager System: multiple pdservers using the same namespace

There is communication and interoperability between the pdservers.

Daemons that forward jobs to InfoPrint Manager and run on the InfoPrint Manager server include:

• MVS Download Receiver daemon (mvsprsd)
• The lpd daemon that is shipped with the AIX operating system
• The ipmlpd daemon that is shipped with InfoPrint Manager for Linux
• IPP Gateway daemon

InfoPrint Manager job submission clients and management clients lists the InfoPrint Manager job submission clients and management clients. The command line client provides both job submission and management functions. Unlike InfoPrint Manager servers that can only work with the other InfoPrint Manager servers in the same InfoPrint Manager system, clients can be configured to work with any InfoPrint Manager System, and clients can switch back and forth between InfoPrint Manager systems.

The pdservers are the center of the InfoPrint Manager system. There are two types of InfoPrint Manager servers: the notification daemon, and the SAP Callback daemon (an optional feature). The other types of servers inter-operate with the pdserver to provide specific functions.

The notification daemon is used when InfoPrint Manager notifications are requested to be delivered by a "message". One notification daemon in an InfoPrint Manager system collects all of the end user "message" notifications from all of the InfoPrint Manager servers in the system and distributes them to the appropriate InfoPrint Manager end user notification client.

The SAP Callback daemon serves a similar function. It is used when notifications need to be delivered to an SAP System. One SAP Callback daemon for each SAP system sending jobs to an InfoPrint Manager system collects all the notifications for that SAP system from all the InfoPrint Manager servers in the system and delivers them to the SAP system.

InfoPrint Manager has a large set of data stream transforms and methods for driving printers and other output destinations, such as email. The methods include simple and basic passthrough methods (BSD DSS), standard AIX printing methods (AIX DSS), standard Linux printing methods (CUPS DSS), and the very powerful PSF printing methods (PSF DSS).