About a month ago, I integrated CUPS 1.3.7 into Solaris. It shows
up in snv_87 and later. For some, this is bound to cause some pain
and suffering. For others, it is a welcome addition. For me, it's
an exchange of one set of issues for another. Solaris LP has some
strengths and CUPS has some strengths, but in the end CUPS has the
momentum and adoption going for it that make it a better choice
moving forward.
So, now we have CUPS and you are probably asking yourself, “How
do I use it?”. Some of the specifics of how it's integrated
are outlined in the ARC case PSARC/2008/130
CUPS 1.3.6. The highlights are that CUPS integrated as 2 smf(5)
services and a command to allow you to switch from the default LP
based print service to using CUPS.
The new smf(5) services are as follows:
svc:/application/cups/scheduler
The scheduler service is roughly analogous to the
application/print/server and application/print/ipp-listener
services. Because the CUPS scheduler conflicts with these
services, it is marked as incompatible in the smf repository and
won't start if the LP scheduler is running.
svc:/application/cups/in-lpd
The in-lpd service is the CUPS replacement for in.lpd
(application/print/rfc-1179). Like the scheduler, it is marked as
incompatible with the LP based rfc-1179 service.
These smf services require root privilege or
“solaris.smf.manage.cups” authorization to manipulate.
The new command that switches the “active” print
service is called print-service(1m). Ex:
# svcs '*print*' '*cups*'
STATE STIME FMRI
disabled May_16 svc:/network/device-discovery/printers:snmp
disabled May_16 svc:/application/print/cswcups:default
disabled 16:36:59 svc:/application/cups/in-lpd:default
disabled 16:36:59 svc:/application/cups/scheduler:default
online May_16 svc:/application/cde-printinfo:default
online May_16 svc:/application/print/ppd-cache-update:default
online 16:36:59 svc:/application/print/server:default
online 16:36:59 svc:/application/print/rfc1179:default
online 16:36:59 svc:/application/print/ipp-listener:default
# print-service -q
active print service: lp
# print-service -s cups
disabling LP services...
enabling CUPS services...
# svcs '*print*' '*cups*'
STATE STIME FMRI
disabled May_16 svc:/network/device-discovery/printers:snmp
disabled May_16 svc:/application/print/cswcups:default
disabled 16:37:43 svc:/application/print/rfc1179:default
disabled 16:37:43 svc:/application/print/ipp-listener:default
disabled 16:37:43 svc:/application/print/server:default
online May_16 svc:/application/cde-printinfo:default
online May_16 svc:/application/print/ppd-cache-update:default
online 16:37:44 svc:/application/cups/scheduler:default
online 16:37:44 svc:/application/cups/in-lpd:default
# print-service -q
active print service: cups
#
Before you go switching to CUPS, I would upgrade to snv_88 or later
to start with. There is a GhostScript bug in snv_87 that makes it
pretty much unusable and the GTK+ print dialog support didn't go in
until snv_88.
If you have switched to CUPS, you will find that the commands are
similar and have many options in common, but do not have the exact
same set of arguments and do not necessarily generate identical
output. The same is true for LP/CUPS features. At any rate, CUPS
does come with it's own lpadmin(1m) and you can use it to create
print queues, but it also has a web based management interface that
is roughly analogous to the printmgr(1m). You can access the web
management interface through the Gnome desktop menus under “All
Applications -> System Tools -> Manage Printing” or point
your browser at http://localhost:631/.
At the backend of all of this, CUPS is using the same Foomatic,
gimp-print, hpijs, ... that LP uses, so the printer support should be
very similar right now.
Depending on your needs, CUPS may not be the right answer for you.
If you use Trusted Printing, attach printers to a SunRay, or share
configuration in NIS, you may need to stay on LP for the short term.
There are other integration issues with things like Presto yet to be
addressed. We will work to address some of these things, improve the
management experience, and improve the integration moving forward.
At any rate, right now, it's an option and it should be familiar
for experienced with the current Linux, *BSD, or MacOS/X environments.
