Ubuntu
system-config-printer package

Printing to a Netware queue is not supported

Bug #27069 reported by Sameer Morar
4
Affects Status Importance Assigned to Milestone
system-config-printer (Ubuntu)
Incomplete
Wishlist
Tim Waugh

Bug Description

Printing to a Novell Netware queue is not supported by gnome-cups-manager (am
currently running breezy).

I have managed to get it working by following the steps below:
(Some of the information was obtained from
http://prope.insa-lyon.fr/~ppollet/netware/ncpfs/docs/trucsastuces.ssi)

I installed the ncpfs package.

The following backend for an ncp queue was installed in /usr/lib/cups/backend/ :
http://prope.insa-lyon.fr/~ppollet/netware/ncpfs/contrib/ncp.org

The file was edited to ensure that nprint was found in the correct location.

A printer was defined using the following URI in /etc/cups/printers.conf
DeviceURI ncp://username:password@SERVER/printer_queue

What would need to be done to get this supported by default in Ubuntu, would be
the creation of a package which will install the ncp backend. This package would
need to depend on ncpfs, as the backend calls nprint. (alternatively, this
package could provide nprint itself?)

Then support is needed in gnome-cups-manager such that if the ncp backend is
installed, an option for a Netware printer in the network printer options is
available when adding a printer. Then a printer can be defined in
/etc/cups/printers.conf with a uri of type ncp.

Currently, (with the manually specified printer) if I edit any printer attribute
gnome-cups-manager changes the ncp:// to ipp://ncp://, which causes my manually
added printer backend to fail.

Revision history for this message
Sameer Morar (smorar) wrote :

Created an attachment (id=5321)
cups backend for ncp

This a cups backend for ncp. It needs to be installed in /usr/lib/cups/backend/

Revision history for this message
Daniel Holbach (dholbach) wrote :

Assigning to GrandMaster Print.

Matthias Klose (doko)
Changed in gnome-cups-manager:
status: Unconfirmed → Confirmed
Revision history for this message
Sameer Morar (smorar) wrote :

Depends on [bug 9373] https://launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/+source/gnome-cups-manager/+bug/9373

Martin Pitt (pitti)
Changed in gnome-cups-manager:
assignee: pitti → nobody
Revision history for this message
Henrik Nilsen Omma (henrik) wrote :

Till, are netware printers now supported in system-config-printer?

Changed in gnome-cups-manager:
assignee: nobody → till-kamppeter
status: Confirmed → Incomplete
Revision history for this message
Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter) wrote :

No, but it will be no big problem to add this support. If needed we have to lift the ncp/nprint stuff into main.

Is Netware still widely used?

Revision history for this message
Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter) wrote :

Tim, this is a feature request for system-config-printer, but I do not know how much demand there really is on it.

Changed in system-config-printer:
assignee: till-kamppeter → twaugh
importance: Medium → Wishlist
Revision history for this message
Tim Waugh (twaugh) wrote :

Fedora ships an ncp backend for CUPS already, and no-one has ever asked for more support than currently exists: allowing the user to enter an arbitrary URI such as ncp://... -- I think this is sufficient.

It is not system-config-printer's job to provide CUPS backends, only to configure print queues using the existing ones.

Revision history for this message
Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter) wrote :

The feature request was not adding the backend to the s-c-p package but only adding the support to s-c-p, like there is also support for IPP and LPD. But if there is no real demand for it, this is not urgent.

Revision history for this message
Sameer Morar (smorar) wrote :

Wouldn't the simplest resolution here be:

ncpfs package (which provides nprint), provides and installs a CUPS backend which can be referred to by ncp://...

s-c-p provides the ability to be able to specify the ncp backend in it's device uri configuration, either as an 'other' device, or as a 'novell queue', which would be present in the select connection box in the New Printer configuration, if the backend is available

As an answer to https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/system-config-printer/+bug/27069/comments/6, as the original reporter, I don't personally need this support anymore, however, I did, up until the end of 2006. Anyone within an old Novell environment will probably need it still, but I have no idea how prolific these setups are nowadays. It is a low priority request, but this support would enable smoother Ubuntu usage in those type of environments. Currently SLED and Fedora support it.

Revision history for this message
Rajesh Kothari (rjkothari) wrote :

Hi,

We have a Netware environment with spx/ipx protocol support only, where printers are attached to Netware servers. I am looking for printing on these printers through Ubuntu Desktop 9.10.

I tried using LPR/LPR host by specifying server name as host and printer queue name against printer queue and then selected printer driver (HP LaserJet 6l). Also enabled 'show printers shared by other systems'. But when printing through OpenOffice 3.1 getting following error:

"Print error. There was a problem sending document 'xxx' (Job 2) to the printer.' Diagnose/OK.

Printing troubleshooter says 'Queue Not Enabled'. The queue <queue name> is not enabled. The reason given is: 'Unable to locate printer '<Netware Server Name>'.

To enable it, select the 'enabled' checkbox in Policies tab. I checked. It is already enabled. What to do?

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