Choosing ports and device drivers

Printers

A Windows printer definition includes a port and device driver. For standard output devices, you can use port and device driver pairs supplied by Microsoft or a printer vendor. For output and input devices unique to the Barr software, you can use the port and device driver pairs supplied with BARR/SPOOL.

Ports and Device Drivers

Different port and device driver pairs are used to direct data into and out of the spool. Which port and device driver combination you use in a particular instance depends on both the data source and the intended data destination. Drivers format data as it exits a program. Ports control the flow of data to its destination.

The port and device driver combination you use for a Windows printer for BARR/SPOOL depends on whether the Windows printer is a source or destination for spool files.

When you input files to the spool or output files from the spool, you must use port and device driver pairs that correspond to the file format. The original file will be in one of two types of file formats: Barr formats or printer-specific formats.

When you use a printer-specific driver on inbound spool data, the file is converted only once (instead of twice), which speeds overall processing.

The following links provide descriptions of the available ports and examples of their use.

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Port and device driver descriptions

The following tables list the available ports and device drivers, along with a description. The port and device driver combination you choose depends on both the data source and the intended data destination.

Ports

Option

Description

Barr File port

Use only for spool output to computer disk destinations.

Barr FTP port

Use only for spool output to an FTP host.

Barr IP port

Use only for spool output to a TCP/IP socket or a Xerox DocuPrint EPS Acronym for Enterprise Printing System..

Barr LPR port

Use only for spool output, to route ASCII files to a TCP/IP LPD host.

Barr NJE port

Use only for spool input to an NJE host.

Barr PRINT390 port

Use only for spool output to S/390 channel output devices, such as S/390 channel printers.

Barr RJE port

Use only for spool output to an RJE host.

Barr Spool port

Use only for spool input from Windows programs.

Local port (LPT1, COM1)

Use for output to local or network printers.

Device drivers

Option

Description

Barr ASCII printer driver

Use for spool output to legacy ASCII line printers.

Barr EBCDIC printer driver

Use for spool input from Windows programs.

Barr Jobs to Mainframe printer driver

Use for spool input intended for hosts and for spool output to hosts.

Barr PRINT390 printer driver

Use for spool output to S/390 channel printers.

Printer-specific driver

Use for spool input or output.

Port and device driver examples

These examples list which port and device drivers you would use to define Windows printers for spool input and output for a specified file format, source, and destination.

Text file to PC-attached channel printer

Receive a text file from a Windows program and print to a channel printer.

  1. Barr EBCDIC printer driver & Barr Spool port Spool

  2. Barr PRINT390 printer driver & Barr PRINT390 port Channel device

Text file to local parallel printer

Receive a text file from a Windows program and print to a network printer.

  1. Barr EBCDIC printer driver & Barr Spool port Spool

  2. HP printer driver & network HP port LPT device

Text file to host (SYSIN)

Receive a JCL text file from a Windows program and send it to the host as a SYSIN job.

When SYSIN jobs are added to the Spool Window, they appear shaded in a light blue background.

For BARR/NJE

  1. Barr Jobs to Mainframe printer driver & Barr Spool port Spool

  2. Barr Jobs to Mainframe printer driver & Barr NJE port Host

For BARR/RJE

  1. Barr Jobs to Mainframe printer driver & Barr Spool port Spool

  2. Barr Jobs to Mainframe printer driver & Barr RJE port Host

Text file to host (SYSOUT)

Receive a text file from a Windows program and use BARR/NJE to send it to the host as a SYSOUT job.

BARR/RJE does not support sending SYSOUT data to the host.

  1. Barr EBCDIC printer driver & Barr Spool port Spool

  2. Barr Jobs to Mainframe printer driver & Barr NJE port Host

Native printer format (pass through) to network printer

Receive a raw file from a Windows program and send it to a network printer.

  1. HPII driver & Barr Spool port Spool

  2. Network HP LaserJet printer LPT device

Text file from Print Utility to local parallel printer

Use Print Utility to send a text file and print it to a parallel printer.

Network HP LaserJet printer LPT device

EBCDIC file from host to channel printer

Receive an EBCDIC file from an NJE host and print it to a channel printer.

Barr PRINT390 printer driver & Barr PRINT390 port Channel device

EBCDIC file from host to a client application

Receive an EBCDIC file with Print Channel from host and send it to a client application.

Barr ASCII driver & Barr IP port TCP/IP socket