The Wollongong TCP/IP stack included with TinyTERM Plus NFS for DOS includes an NFS client that allows a DOS PC to use UNIX printers. To print using NFS, Wollongong TCP/IP must be running. It then requires the following steps:

1. At the DOS prompt type NFS, then press Enter. If NFS has been installed correctly, the following screen will be displayed:
   

   Century Client NFS for DOS (Version 2.0)
   Copyright (C) 1990,1993 The Wollongong Group.

   If the above lines are not displayed or an error message is received, check the NFS installation guide and try again.

2. The host system must be running version 2 of the pcnfsd daemon. To confirm this, log into the host and run the following command:
   

   rpcinfo -p

   This program can usually be found in the /usr/etc directory. If you can not run this program, you may not have permissions. Talk to your system administrator to use this program. Assuming you can run the above command, you will see a screen similar to the following:

   program vers proto port
100000 2 tcp 111 portmapper
100000 2 udp 111 portmapper
150001 1 udp 1028 pcnfsd
150001 2 udp 1028 pcnfsd
150001 1 tcp 1024 pcnfsd
150001 2 tcp 1024 pcnfsd
100003 2 udp 2049 nfs
100005 1 udp 1027 mountd
100024 1 udp 1042 status
100024 1 tcp 1025 status
100020 1 udp 1050 llockmgr
100020 1 tcp 1026 llockmgr
100021 2 tcp 1028 nlockmgr
100017 1 tcp 1027 rexd
100021 1 tcp 1029 nlockmgr
100021 1 udp 1062 nlockmgr


   Under the program column you will be looking for the number 150001. Under the vers column you will need the number 2. You must have pcnfsd version 2 in order for the NFS services to work. Versions 1 and 2 can run in conjunction. If you only have version 1 running, you will have to upgrade to version 2 on your host.

3. Determine which hosts on your network are running NFS services. To do this, type the following:
   

   mount /n

   This command may take a few seconds to process, depending on the number of servers available and the current network traffic. It will return a screen similar to the following:

   NFS SERVERS
(192.168.0.25) century
(192.168.0.13) sconfs
(192.168.0.12) scoodt
(192.168.0.10) rs6000
4 servers available on your subnet.

   If no servers are available, talk with your network administrator.

4. Next you will need to see which servers, if any, have print services available. To do this, use the /l option along with the hostname in question. For example:
   

   mount /l century

   A screen similar to the following will be displayed:

   NAME DEVICE LOCATION
---------- ------------ ---------------
sunprint Local
epson1 /dev/lp0 Local

   Note that the sunprint line above doesn’t show a device. On some systems this is normal.

5. You are now ready to mount an NFS printer. In the example above, you might enter the following at the DOS prompt:
   

   mount lpt1 century:/sunprint user passwd

   In the above example the host is century, the printer is sunprint device, the username is user, and the password is passwd. If auth had been run, it would not be necessary to add the username or password, although doing so would not cause any problems.

   If all went well, you will see a line similar to the following:

   Device lpt1 redirected to \century\/sunprint successfully

Troubleshooting Tips
If you get “permission denied” or “invalid path” when mounting the printer:

1. Using the rpcinfo command outlined above, verify that pcnfsd version 2 is up and running on the NFS server.
2. Verify that the spool directory has been exported by looking for /usr/spool/pcnfs (or higher) in the /etc/exports file.
3. From the DOS prompt, type mount /e servername. You should see /usr/spool or higher directory exported.
4. Verify that you can mount /usr/spool and that you have permissions of 777 by copying a file to /usr/spool. On some systems the directory will be /var/spool instead.
5. From the DOS prompt execute PWSETUP and select View Current Settings. Make a note of the PC’s IP address, the user id and hostname of the PC. On the server, verify that the PC’s hostname is in the /etc/hosts file.
6. Finally, if you have any logical links to /usr/spool, verify that the linked file as well as /usr/spool is also exported.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 10th, 2007 at 9:05 am and is filed under DOS, NFS, Printing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.