CertiGuide to Network+  9  Chapter 0110: Network Operating Systems (NOS)       9  VI  Linux

Linux File Sharing, Client Connectivity 1 VII  Apple Macintosh

Some knowledge of the nitty-gritty details of how printing works in Linux is required for the Network+ exam.

As mentioned in the overview of NOS’s, Linux accomplishes printing by using an industry-standard set of TCP/IP protocols designed to manage tasks related to printing.

The main printer service on Linux (and UNIX) is lpd, the line printer daemon (daemon is the UNIX-geekspeak for service). When network users on Linux machines print to a Linux printer, they use the lpr command to communicate with the lpd on the print server, and send the user’s file to it for printing. For example, to print the file hello.txt to the system’s default printer, you would type at the Linux shell command line:

lpr hello.txt

To print hello.txt to the printer “techdept”, which is not the system’s default printer, you would type:

lpr –Ptechdept hello.txt

In Windows, you’d look at the print queue (that is, the list of print jobs lined up to print on a specific printer) by double-clicking on a printer. In Linux (hopefully, this won’t be too much of a surprise by now), you’d use another command line utility, lpq (line printer queue). For example, to view the queue for the system’s default printer, you’d use the command:

lpq

And when viewing the queue for the “techdept” printer, you’d type at the command line:

lpq -Ptechdept

The command line-oriented approach to printing in Linux is a bit different than users of Windows and Macintosh systems are used to, but in most cases, the only commands you’ll need to use to print in Linux and check on print job and printer status are lpr and lpq.

Linux File Sharing, Client Connectivity 1 VII  Apple Macintosh