Local Printing (Access Methods C and L)
Use
Use local printing if the host spool system (operating system spooler) and the spool work process of the SAP System are on the same host.
The print architecture has characteristics typical of local printing, explained below.
Local printing is the fastest and most reliable form of printing from the point of view of SAP Systems. You can use local printing for the following operating systems:
● Microsoft Windows XP
● iServer eSeries
● UNIX
All other operating systems use remote printing.
Prerequisites
Architecture Prerequisites
● The system prints locally if the host spool system (operating system spooler) and the spool work process of the SAP System are on the same host.
● It is irrelevant whether the printer is directly connected to the PC or whether it is a shared network printer.
● The printer must be defined at operating system level of the spool server.
SAP System Prerequisites
To be able to address an output device from the SAP System in which you are working, you must define the output device in this SAP System. You do this using a device definition.
When you are configuring the output device in a device definition, you specify how the printer is connected to the SAP System using the access method. The access method specifies whether you are using local or remote printing. The access method is identified by a letter and informs the system which architecture is in use and which operating system you are using. In this way, the system knows the way in which data is to be transferred.
The system uses the following access methods for local printing, depending on the operating system that you are using:
Access method C: Microsoft Windows XP; iServer eSeries
Access method L: UNIX
The figure below illustrates how your print architecture must look so that it can be used for local printing:
Activities
● With local printing, the spool work process of the SAP Systems transfers the output stream, formatted for the printer, to the host spool system (operating system spooler) on the same host. The system uses the access method (C or L) that you have specified in the device definition.
The data does not need to be transferred over a network connection to reach the host spool system, which makes the connection fast and reliable.
● The data stream is printed using a local or remotely connected printer.
Setting Up Local Printers
Local printing is the most reliable and often the fastest method to transfer data from the SAP system to the host spool system, as the SAP spool server (application server with a spool work process) is in the same host system as the host spool system (operating system spooler). It is irrelevant whether the printer is directly connected to the PC or whether it is a shared network printer.
Procedure
To set up the print architecture for local printing, follow the procedure below:
1. Set up an SAP spool server on a host system from which you can conveniently drive your printers.
The spool server is an application server that provides spool processing. It therefore requires at least one spool work process. The number of spool work processes is defined by the parameter rdisp/wp_no_spo, and this must always be set to at least 1.
2. Define all output devices that the SAP spool server is to use in the host spool system (operating system spooler).
You can use both locally connected and shared network devices.
3. Define the output devices in the SAP spool system.
To do this, create device definitions for the output devices in transaction SPAD (choose the Output Devices pushbutton ® Output Device menu ® Create/Create Using Template).
- Specify the host system on which the spool server (application server with a spool work process) is running, as the spool server of the output device.
- In the Access method field, choose method L for a UNIX host.
- For a Microsoft Windows XP host, choose access method C. other Microsoft Windows operating systems are not suitable for local printing, as you cannot set up a spool server on them.
- For information about the required settings for iSeries, see the sections about Printer Installation Under iSeries.[img]
Example: Local Printing (Microsoft Windows/UNIX)
Assume that you are working with the server (host system) SAP002 and want to use this server for printing SAP data.
The printer SAP002P is available as an output device. This output device could be either a printer connected directly to the host or a shared network printer.
The figure below shows printer configuration for this example, depending on the operating system (Microsoft Windows NT/UNIX):
To implement this printing configuration you would need to do the following:
1. The SAP spool server (application server with a spool work process) with the ID SAP002_C11_11 must provide the spool processing and therefore requires at least one spool work process.
The number of spool work processes is defined by the parameter rdisp/wp_no_spo, and this must always be set to at least 1.
2. Define printer SAP002P in the host spool system (operating system spooler) of SAP002 as an output device.
3. Define the output device in the SAP System.
To do this, create a device definition in transaction SPAD (choose the Output Devices pushbutton ® Output Device menu ® Create/Create Using Template).
Specify the following in the device definition:
Specify SAP002_C11_11 as the spool server for the output devices.
If you are working with a Microsoft Windows NT/2000 host system, choose the access method C (direct operating system call).
If you are working with a UNIX host system, choose access method L (Print locally using LP/LPR with signal).
It is irrelevant whether the printer is directly connected to the PC or whether it is a shared network printer. Only whether the spool server is on the same host as the host spool system (operating system spooler) is relevant for setting up output devices in the SAP System.
Remote Printing (Access Methods S and U)
Use
Use remote printing if you are printing over a network; that is, when the host spool system (operating system spooler) and the spool work process of the SAP System are on different hosts.
The print architecture has characteristics typical of remote printing, explained below.
Prerequisites
Architecture Prerequisites
● The system prints remotely if the host spool system (operating system spooler) and the spool server of the SAP System (application server with a spool work process) are on different hosts.
● There must be a network to transfer the data to the print server.
For performance reasons, we recommend that you use remote printing (production and mass printing) only for LAN connections.
● Fixed IP addresses are required (unlike frontend printing).
● It is irrelevant whether the printer is connected locally or remotely to the application server.
● Remote printing requires reliable communication partners so that timeouts do not occur.
SAP System Prerequisites
To be able to address an output device from the SAP System in which you are working, you must define the output device in this SAP System. You do this using a device definition.
When you are configuring the output device in a device definition, you specify how the printer is connected to the SAP System using the access method. The access method specifies, for example, whether you are using local or remote printing. The access method is identified by a letter and informs the system which architecture is in use and which operating system you are using. In this way, the system knows the way in which data is to be transferred.
The system uses the following access methods for remote printing, depending on the operating system that you are using:
Access Method U: UNIX systems; Microsoft Windows system (using a TCP/IP Print Server and SAPSprint)
Access Method S: Microsoft Windows systems (using SAPSprint)
The figure below illustrates how the print architecture must look for remote printing:
Activities
With remote printing, the SAP spool work process sends the formatted data stream to the output device over a network connection.
The options for the data transfer to the output device are listed below:
● Transfer to a network printer
Network printers simulate their own host spool system. They can be directly connected to the network with a network card and receive SAP output data.
Consider the storage capacity of the network printer and the size of the print requests.
Access method U
● Transfer using a UNIX destination host
The host spool system is on a host that uses UNIX as its operating system. The data is forwarded to the Line Printer Daemon (lpd).
Access method U
● Transfer using a Microsoft Windows PC as the destination host
The host spool system is on a host that uses Microsoft Windows as its operating system. Depending on the access method, you can use SAPSprint from SAP or, for Microsoft Windows XP, the TCP/IP Print Server of Microsoft Windows XP. SAPSprint and TCP/IP Print Server accept the data stream and forward it to the host spool system.
Access Methods: S (proprietary SAP protocol) for use with SAPSprint.
U (UNIX Berkeley protocol) for use with the TCP/IP Print Server of Microsoft Windows XP and with SAPSprint.
While data is simply forwarded with the access method U, the access method S has the following attributes:
• ○ Encrypted transfer, for example for HR data
• ○ Compressed transfer.
Setting Up Remote Printing for Microsoft Windows PCs
Use
SAP provides its own remote printing solution for printing from Microsoft Windows PCs. This solution uses the SAPSprint service to transfer output requests from the SAP spool server to the Microsoft Windows spooler. You can use SAPSprint in all Microsoft Windows systems. With Microsoft Windows XP, remote printing can also be implemented using the TCP/IP Print Server.
However, we recommend that you use the SAPSprint transfer program, as the TCP/IP Print Server can only forward data that has already been formatted for the printer, that is, device-specific data, directly to Microsoft Windows without using Microsoft Windows printer drivers. SAPSprint, on the other hand, can also interpret data streams that were generated with the generic, that is device-independent, device type SWIN/SAPWIN, and call the appropriate Microsoft Windows drivers that generate device-specific data streams. You can therefore use printers with SAPSprint that are not specifically defined in the SAP System, but which are addressed device-independently.
Procedure
The figure below shows the architecture for remote printing with a Microsoft Windows PC:
To set up the print architecture for remote Microsoft Windows PC printing, follow the procedure below:
1. To use SAPWIN/SWIN, install the SAPSprint service on a Microsoft Windows PC.
The service starts running automatically right after the installation.
If you are using Microsoft Windows XP, remote printing can also be implemented using the TCP/IP Print Server.
SAPSprint and TCP/IP Print Server accept the data stream and forward it to the host spool system (operating system spooler).
2. Define the printers you want to use in the Microsoft Windows spooler.
You can use both locally connected and shared network devices.
3. Define the output devices in the SAP System.
To do this, create a device definition for the PC output device in transaction SPAD (choose the Output Devices pushbutton ® Output Device menu ® Create/Create Using Template).
· Specify the host system on which the spool work process is running, as the spool server of the output device.
· For printing using SAPSprint, choose Access method U (Print on LPDHOST using Berkeley protocol) or S (Print on LPDHOST using SAP protocol). For printing using the TCP/IP Print Server, you can only use access method U.
Example: Remote Printing on Microsoft Windows PCs
Assume you have the following configuration:
● An application server named HPUX_C11_11 on a UNIX workstation with the host name HPUX.
● A Microsoft Windows NT PC called PC0033.
Printer Configuration
There is not an SAP application server with a spool work process on the Microsoft Windows PC PC0033. You therefore want to use HPUX_C11_11 as a spool server for printing SAP data.
The shared network printer \\PC0035\LPT1 is available as an output device.
To implement this printing configuration do the following:
1. The SAP spool server (application server with a spool work process) with the ID HPUX_C11_11 must provide the spool processing and therefore requires at least one spool work process.
The number of spool work processes is defined by the parameter rdisp/wp_no_spo, and this must always be set to at least 1.
2. On the Microsoft Windows PC PC0033, start SAPSprint.
SAPSprint is the Line Printer Daemon (LPD) developed by SAP for Microsoft Windows. In this way, you can also use the functions that an LPD provides in UNIX in Microsoft Windows.
For more information about SAPSPrint, see SAPSprint Service.
3. Define printer \\PC0035\LPT1 in the Microsoft Windows spool system for the PC PC0033 as an output device.
4. Define the output device in the SAP System.
To do this, create a device definition in transaction SPAD (choose the Output Devices pushbutton ® Output Device menu ® Create/Create Using Template).
Specify the following in the device definition:
○ Specify HPUX_C11_11 as the spool server for the printers.
○ For Access method, specify S (Print on LPDHOST using SAP protocol) if the output device is defined with the generic SWIN device type.
If you are using a different device type, you can specify either Access method U (Print on LPDHOST via Berkeley protocol) or S.
It is irrelevant whether the printer is directly connected to the PC or whether it is a shared network printer. Only whether the spool server is on the same host as the host spool system (operating system spooler) is relevant for setting up output devices in the SAP System.
Front-End Printing on Local Printers
Use
Normally, all printers on which you want to print from the SAP system must be created in the SAP system as output devices. Front-end printing is available to reduce the significant administration effort associated with this. This means that a user logged on to the SAP system through the SAP GUI can use the printers that are set up at his or her front end PC.
A generic output device needs to be created in the SAP system to allow this. If a user specifies this output device for his or her print requests, he or she can select a printer defined at his or her front end. Front-end printing is therefore especially useful in the following cases:
● Users want to print directly at their workstation, without having to create a specific device definition in the SAP system. This is especially the case for users that often work at different work stations or log on to the SAP system on a mobile basis, and want to print at their current location.
● Dynamic IP addresses are used for the front end. Unlike remote printing, you do not require any fixed IP addresses for front-end printing.
Prerequisites
In addition to the general print authorizations, every user requires the following authorizations for front-end printing:
● Authorization object S_SPO_DEV, authorization field SPODEVICE, authorization %LOC
● Authorization object S_RFC:
Field Value
RFC_TYPE FUGR
RFC_NAME LPRF
ACTVT 16
There are two types of front-end printing, which are differentiated by the access method:
● The traditional type of front-end printing with access method F
● The new type of front-end printing with control technology using access method G (as of SAP Web AS 6.20)
This new method has advantages, such as simplified printing in Terminal Server environments, front-end printing with the Java GUI for non-Windows platforms and the direct calling of the Microsoft Windows printer selection window, meaning that the length restriction for printer names no longer applies.
The following table shows when you can use front-end printing, together with the appropriate types of front-end printing:
Heading : 1.Type of Front-End Printing
2.Access Method
3.Description
Frontend Printing (SAP GUI for Windows)
Access methods F and G
A user that is logged on to the SAP system using the SAP GUI for Windows wants to print on a printer defined in his or her Microsoft Windows host.
Front-End Printing (SAP GUI for HTML)
Access methods F and G
A user that is logged on to the SAP system using the SAP GUI for HTML wants to print on a printer at his or her front end PC. To do this, the document is converted to a PDF file and can be printed from the browser
Front-End Printing (SAP GUI for HTML) Access method G
Front-end printing with the SAP GUI for Java for non-Windows platforms
Front-End Printing Using WTS
(Windows Terminal Server)
Access method G
A user that is logged on to the SAP system using the SAP GUI over a Windows Terminal Server wants to print on a printer at his or her front end PC.
Front-End Printing (SAP GUI for Windows)
Use
With front-end printing under Microsoft Windows, the system addresses a printer that is defined in the Microsoft Windows operating system of the front end PC.
Front-end printing using Microsoft Windows is therefore especially useful in the following cases:
· Users want to print directly at their workstation, without having to create a specific device definition in the SAP system. This is especially the case for users that often work at different work stations or log on to the SAP system on a mobile basis, and want to print at their current location.
· Unlike the access methods of other methods of printing, the access methods F and G for front-end printing do not require any fixed IP addresses. This means that the default printer of any Microsoft Window PC can be generically addressed.
· Administrators want to avoid costly administration work, in that they do not want to have to set up front-end printers individually as remote printers. However, defining a generic output device is sufficient.
There are two types of front-end printing. Front-end printing with access method F, which works with the transfer program SAPlpd, is the traditional type of front-end printing. Since SAP Web AS 6.20, there is also a new procedure for front-end printing available to you, which you can use in parallel: front-end printing using control technology with access method G. This no longer requires SAPlpd. The printer selection is also no longer displayed in the SAP system. Instead, a Microsoft Windows printer selection window is called directly from the control. The restriction on the length of printer names therefore no longer applies.
You can use both types of printing in parallel for front-end printing in the SAP GUI for Windows.
Prerequisites
Authorizations
In addition to the general print authorizations, every user requires the following authorizations for front-end printing:
· Authorization object S_SPO_DEV, authorization field SPODEVICE, authorization %LOC
Authorization object S_RFC:
Field Value
RFC_TYPE FUGR
RFC_NAME LPRF
ACTVT 16
Architecture Prerequisites
· At least one printer must be defined.
· The host spool system (operating system spooler) must be on a front end PC.
· There must be an active connection to the front end PC, that is, the user must be logged on to the SAP system at the time of printing from the SAP system.
Front-end printing in the background is not possible, as there is no active connection to the front end.
· An additional SAP GUI session is required for transferring the data to the front end; therefore, the user must only be using a maximum of five sessions.
· For printing with SAPlpd (access method F), you should use the newest SAP GUI and the newest version of the transfer program SAPlpd.
You can find the newest versions in the Software Center of the SAP Service Marketplace (http://service.sap.com/patches). For the exact paths, see SAP Note 328252.
· For more information about additional prerequisites for front-end printing without SAPlpd (access method G), see Front-End Printing with Control Technology.
· It is irrelevant whether the printer is connected locally or remotely to the front end.
SAP System Prerequisites
To be able to address users’ front-end printers from the SAP system, the corresponding device definition must contain the following details:
· If you define an output device in an SAP system, specify the type of connection with which the output device is to be addressed. This connection type is known as the access method and is identified by a letter.
In the case of an output device for front-end printing, this is access method F or G, depending on whether you want to use front-end printing with SAPlpd or front-end printing with control technology.
· So that the default printer at every host can be primarily addressed, you must specify the host printer __DEFAULT (two underscores) in the device definition. __DEFAULT calls the relevant default printer name.
Of course, you still have the option of selecting another printer:
¡ In the case of front-end printing with control technology (access method G), the printer selection window of the Microsoft Windows operating system is displayed. You can choose a printer other than the default printer in this window.
¡ In the case of front-end printing with SAPlpd (access method F), you can select another operating system printer in the printer selection window of the SAP system. However, to be able to do this, the option No Device Selection at Frontend must be inactive in the device definition.
· We recommend that you specify the device type SWIN or SAPWIN, or the relevant language-dependent version of SAPWIN to ensure that the system sends a printer format that any Microsoft Windows driver can interpret (see SAP Note 423003 in the SAP Service Marketplace).
However, you can also use any other SAP device type for front-end printing.
Activities
Front-End Printing Using Printers with Access Method G
If you select a printer with access method G when printing from the SAP GUI for Windows, the Microsoft Windows selection box appears, from which you can select a printer defined at your front-end.
Front-End Printing Using Printers with Access Method F
...
1. When the user prints from the SAP system, he or she can select the name of the front-end printer with the print parameters. This will either mean that the default printer is directly addressed, or you can select another front-end printer in the SAP printer selection window. For you to be able to select another operating system printer in the printer selection window of the SAP system, the option No Device Selection at Frontend must be inactive in the device definition.
2. The output is first sent to the saplpd transfer program on the front end PC using SAP GUI.
SAPlpd is started automatically.
3. SAPlpd forwards the data stream to the Microsoft Windows print manager.
4. The document is then output on the default printer or, if appropriate, on another selected printer.
Regards
sanjay khatri
[/b]