Printer Configuration and Management Changes

In Oracle Solaris 11, the legacy LP print service has been replaced by the Common UNIX Printing System (CUPS). CUPS is a modular, open-source printing system that uses the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) as the basis for managing printers, print requests, and print queues. CUPS supports network printer browsing and PostScript Printer Description-based printing options. CUPS also provides a common printing interface across a local network.

Removal of the LP Print Service

The following important changes are a result of the removal of the LP print service in Oracle Solaris 11:

• Solaris Print Manager removed – Solaris Print Manager is no longer available. CUPS Print Manager replaces this tool.

• LP print commands removed – Several LP print commands, files, and services are no longer available. Some LP print commands, for example lp, lpadmin, lpc, lpr are still available. However, these commands are now managed by CUPS. For a complete list of the commands, services, and files that have been removed, refer to Removal of Legacy System Management Commands, Tools, Services, and Files.

• Printer configuration is no longer stored in the NIS naming service – Printer configuration that is stored in the NIS naming service in Oracle Solaris 10 is not used by CUPS. CUPS auto-discovers printers on a network, enabling you to print to these printers without any manual configuration. Administrators can share network printers that are configured by using CUPS by turning on the sharing feature. See How to Unshare or Share a Printer in Oracle Solaris Administration: Common Tasks.

• Removal of the /etc/printers.conf file - In Oracle Solaris 10 and previous releases, the /etc/printers.conf file is where details about all of the printers that are set up by using the LP print service is stored. In Oracle Solaris 11, this file is no longer generated after a fresh installation. Any information about printers that were configured by using lp print commands is removed. The resulting behavior is as though these printers were never configured on the system. Any previously configured printers must be reconfigured by using CUPS. Note that you do not need to delete existing printers prior to reconfiguring them. For information about setting up your printing environment to work with CUPS, see How to Set Up Your Printing Environment After Installing Oracle Solaris 11.

• Changes to behavior and use of the ~/.printers file - Printers that are configured on a per-user basis in the ~/.printers file no longer work. Printer configuration is now solely managed by using CUPS. The default printer can be set on a per-user basis, by setting either the LPDEST or PRINTER environment variables, or by using the new lpoptions command. The lpoptions command creates an ~/.lpoptions file that has the default printer entry listed within that file. By default, all print jobs are directed to this printer.

  You can list specific options for a printer as follows:

  # lpoptions -l printer-name

  You can set the default destination or instance for the default printer by using the d option:

  # lpoptions -d printer-name

  See Setting a Default Printer in Oracle Solaris Administration: Common Tasks.

• The lp entry in the /etc/passwd file is now as follows:

  lp:x:71:8:Line Printer Admin:/:

  The lp entry in the /etc/group file remains as it is in previous releases.

See Chapter 15, Setting Up and Administering Printers by Using CUPS (Tasks), in Oracle Solaris Administration: Common Tasks.

How to Set Up Your Printing Environment After Installing Oracle Solaris 11

Use the following procedure to set up your printing environment to work with CUPS after a fresh installation. If you are upgrading from Oracle Solaris 11 Express, see How to Set Up Your Printing Environment After Upgrading From Oracle Solaris 11 Express.

1. Verify that the cups/scheduler and the cups/in-lpd SMF services are enabled.

   # svcs -a | grep cups/scheduler
   # svcs -a | grep cups/in-lpd

2. If these services are not enabled, enable them.

   # svcadm enable cups/scheduler
   # svcadm enable cups/in-lpd

3. Check that the printer/cups/system-config-printer package is installed.

   # pkg info print/cups/system-config-printer

   • If the package is already installed, you are ready to configure printers by using CUPS.
   • If the package is not installed, install the package:

     # pkg install print/cups/system-config-printer

Next Steps

For instructions, see Setting Up and Administering Printers by Using CUPS Command-Line Utilities in Oracle Solaris Administration: Common Tasks.