sco unix to centos printing

[Steve Bergman]

> >  > Or is it still using the old SysV spooler?
>
> I suppose. How can I find this out?
>

If it's 5.0.4, it's the old sysv spooler. (OMG, this brings back memories!)

>Centos 5.4 is a brand new installation.

Do you have an /etc/xinet.d/cups-lpd file on the Centos server?

What does:

# chkconfig --list | grep xinetd

(also, on the centos server) give you?

If it says "off" for level "3:" or "5:" then you need to:

# chkconfig xinetd on
# service xinetd start

The centos server should be listening on tcp port 515. The sure way to tell is by running:

$ telnet ip_addr_of_the_centos_server 515

on the SCO machine. If it says "connection refused", or just hangs after saying "Trying ip_addr_of_the_centos_server" then the Centos server is not listening on the lpr/lpd port.

> I am hopping to install a fully free OS with no non-free bits
> http://www.gnu.org/distros/free-distros.html . If I can make Unix's lp
> print with on new version of CUPS on GNU I am sure I can help them with
> their printing problem and also remove their non free bits by using a free
> distro.

Mainly what you want is a config that works. SCO 5.0.4 is unbelievably primitive, and can be a bear to do new things with. But it's rock-solid stable. Even more so than Linux and BSD, since it doesn't try to do as much "automatically".

Personally, I wouldn't sweat the 100% Free part. Often, I find that 99% Free works better as long as the 1% non-free is judiciously selected. ;-)

-Steve