e-Twinax Controller
Printing Knowledge Base

1. What are the *WSCST objects that I see under library BOSCSTLIB in my AS/400?

2. Why do some printers go to FAILED status on e-Twinax Controller Configurator?

3. Some jobs that were printed before in CPI 15 are now being printed in CPI 10. How can I fix it?

4. Some jobs that were printed before in CPI 10 are now being printed in CPI 15. How can I fix it?

5. PC printer attached to the Twinax Terminal/Emulation doesn't print correctly. How can I fix it?

6. The Printer Writer in AS/400 goes into END status while printing. What is the reason?

7. How can I see the printer status like out-of-paper, or off-line on AS/400 the same way I used to see status from the directly attached printer?

8. I set Printer status support to Host but Printer Writer in AS/400 goes into END status after when printer is out of paper, or button Cancel or off-line was pressed. What is the reason?

9. Why do I see in e-Twinax Controller configurator that my printer is in Offline status while I know it is Online?

10. I have a print job that includes Magnum code. First page is printed OK, but from the second page I get garbage. What can I do?

11. There are messages in the e-Twinax Controller log starting with "SCS Parameter error on printer..." Or "SCS Code error on printer...". What is the reason?

12. Why does my printer skip some lines at the beginning of each job?

13. Sometimes the printer session will not print, even though the printer device is on-line. Why does this happen and how can I fix it?

14. How can I accelerate printing speed?

15. Why do all IPDS printers stay in END status on AS/400 even though they are Online?

16. What are the *PSFCFG objects that I see under library BOSCSTLIB in my AS/400?

17. My printer starts printing but after few pages stops printing and goes to Failed status in e-Twinax configurator. How can I fix it?

18. My printer starts printing but skips labels and lines. How can I fix it?

19. Why did e-Twinax Controller create the IPDS printer with Advanced Function Printing parameter at the host set to *Yes, while it is set to *No when printer is connected directly to AS/400?

20. After I've installed on my AS/400 OS/400 V4R4, I get a message that I must license PSF/400 order to use IPDS printer. What is the reason?

21. How can I see the printer status like out-of-paper, or off-line on AS/400 the same way I used to see status from the directly attached printer?

22. I received the "Error occurred on (TCP/IP, 4(UNKNOWN))" error message in the Diagnostic Log. What does it mean?

23. I received the "Port number allowed only for local devices or LAN printers" error message in the Diagnostic Log. What does it mean?

24. I have an IPDS printer and I send it duplex print jobs, i.e. on both sides of the page. Most of the jobs are printed OK, but a few jobs are not. How can I fix this?

3. Some jobs that were printed before in CPI 15 are now being printed in CPI 10. How can I fix it?

It is probably because in the print file associated with this job the Font Id parameter (FONT) is set to *DEVD. You need to change it to *CPI. . For example:

4. Some jobs that were printed before in CPI 10 are now being printed in CPI 15. How can I fix it?

It is probably because in the print file associated with this job the Degree of page rotation parameter (PAGRTT) is set to *COR. You need to change it to 0. For example:

5. PC printer attached to the Twinax Terminal/Emulation doesn't print correctly. How can I fix it?

6. The Printer Writer in AS/400 goes into END status while printing. What is the reason?

It is because you do not have the latest PTFs that fix these TN5250e printer session problems installed and applied on AS/400. Verify your system from e-Twinax configurator to get the PTFs that are missing. Also check that each PTF that is installed is also applied.

7. How can I see the printer status like out-of-paper, or off-line on AS/400 the same way I used to see status from the directly attached printer?

Change SCS Printer status support under Advanced parameters in e-Twinax Controller configurator to 1 (Host) instead of 0 (Local). Also, check that all appropriate PTFs required for the TN5250e printer support are installed and applied on the AS/400.

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9. Why do I see in e-Twinax Controller configurator that my printer is in Offline status while I know it is Online?

Some printers send erroneous status messages to the e-Twinax Controller. This causes the Controller to stop the print job. Set the status support setting in e-Twinax Controller configurator to Ignore offline. If other erroneous messages are received, set the status support setting to Ignore all.

10. I have a print job that includes Magnum code. First page is printed OK, but from the second page I get garbage. What can I do?

This happens because the SCS commands that are sent at the beginning of each page "breaks" the Magnum code. There is a way to avoid sending SCS commands at the beginning of each page, but for this you need to do the following:

1. Install a special PTF from IBM:

V4R1: SF56212

V4R2: SF56217

V4R3: SF56298

11. There are messages in the e-Twinax Controller log starting with "SCS Parameter error on printer..." Or "SCS Code error on printer...". What is the reason?

This happens because you defined explicitly in e-Twinax configurator a printer model, which does not match to the really connected Twinax printer. This message appears because the printer does not support one or more SCS commands being sent to it by the AS/400. Change the printer model to the correct one.

12. Why does my printer skip some lines at the beginning of each job?

Check the e-Twinax Controller log for the messages starting with: "SCS Parameter error on printer..." Or "SCS Code error on printer...". This message appears because the printer does not support one or more SCS commands being sent to it by the AS/400. In this case, a faulty SCS command may cause the lost of some data to print. Change the printer model to the correct one

13. Sometimes the printer session will not print, even though the printer device is on-line. Why does this happen and how can I fix it?

Use the following procedure:

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IPDS Printer Questions

15. Why do all IPDS printers stay in END status on AS/400 even though they are Online?

IPDS printers are configured and started automatically once e-Twinax Controller identifies an online IPDS printer. This is done with the use of RMTCMD (Remote Command) server & SVRMAP (Server mapper) server. Check if those servers are in Listen mode by performing the following steps:

1. Enter the command NETSTAT <Enter>, then 3 <Enter>. Look for lines containing as-rmtcmd and as-svrmap strings.

2. If there are no such lines, enter the following commands:

STRHOSTSVR *SVRMAP

and

STRHOSTSVR *RMTCMD

3. If the lines are present, but diagnostic log shows that it is unable to run Remote Command, close these servers first using command ENDHOSTSVR <server-name>, then start them again.

4. Verify that the User ID and Password you entered for this system are still valid and has *IOSYSCFG profile.

16. What are the *PSFCFG objects that I see under library BOSCSTLIB in my AS/400?

These objects are created by the e-Twinax Controller for each IPDS printer. The object includes parameters, which PSF/400 uses when it builds the IPDS data streams.

17. My printer starts printing but after few pages stops printing and goes to Failed status in e-Twinax configurator. How can I fix it?

1. Set IPDS Printer status support in Advanced parameters to 1 (Host).

2. Set Host printer messages mode in IPDS printer additional parameters to 2 (*INQ).

3. Reset the printer.

22. I received the "Error occurred on (TCP/IP, 4(UNKNOWN))" error message in the Diagnostic Log. What does it mean?

This message and corrected "Error occurred on (TCP/IP, 4(time-out))" means that there was no connection request to the IPDS printer session from the AS/400 or SECURIT-e Server in connection time-out. There is most likely a communication problem - the AS/400 or the SECURIT-e Server is unable to connect to the IPDS printer port (default is range 5000-5056). You should enable these ports in Proxy or use other enabled ports - change the IPDS base port in advanced options.

23. I received the "Port number allowed only for local devices or LAN printers" error message in the Diagnostic Log. What does it mean?

This message is generated if the same printer session name is used for both an SCS printer and an IPDS printer. The e-Twinax Controller checks that the device exists and then changes the device description - IP address and port number. But these parameters are incorrect for an SCS printer device description. You must delete the old device description. We suggest using the Reset Printer option in the Configurator.

24. I have an IPDS printer and I send it duplex print jobs, i.e. on both sides of the page. Most of the jobs are printed OK, but a few jobs are not. How can I fix this?

Rear view of e-TwinST@r Controller with RJ45 unit attached

The e-Twinax Controller now has an optional model that includes a built-in unit featuring 8 (or 16) RJ45 sockets. Twinax devices working over CAT5 lines are connected directly to the Controller, saving the cost of an active star hub and eliminating the need for power sources and additional space in the communications closet, as well as the extra set-up and maintenance time.  The RJ45 Ports of this option operate just as a Twinax port with an RJ45 Balun attached to it.

If you need to connect more Twinax Devices than the number of physical ports on an e-Twinax Controller, please read the explanation in the next section.  The e-Twinax Controller model must be able to support the number of devices you need to connect.

Explanation of Device Support 
for the eTwinax and RJ45 Ports of e-Twinax Controller

As with the standard AS/400 8-port "Twinax Brick" from the Twinax Workstation Controller, each Host Port (Twinax or RJ45) of the e-Twinax will support up to a maximum number  of 7 device addresses (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), up to the maximum number of devices the particular model controller will support.  This convention holds true to all Twinax or RJ45 Host Ports of S/36, S/38, AS/400, iSeries and all IBM, Decision Data, I-O, Idea, and Perle Remote Controllers except for the very old 5251-12 and 5294 controllers that only supported a maximum of 4 addresses per Host Port.

For example, an IBM 5394-01B Controller has three Twinax Host Ports.  Three ports with 7 devices each would total 21.  The 5394-01B only supports 16.  You can distribute those 16 device addresses across those three ports however you see fit.  That could be 7 on the first port, 7 on the second port and 2 on the third port.  You could also have 6, 6 and 4 or any other combination that totals 16 device addresses with a maximum of 7 on any one port.

Another example is the 4616 (Twinax Host Ports) and 4816 (RJ45 Host Ports) of the e-Twinax Controllers.  Both of these models will support 16 Twinax addresses/devices but only have 8 physical ports.  Using the same logic as with the 5394-01B example, you can connect devices to ANY of these 8 ports as long as the total number of addresses used is 16 or less.  For example you could use the same 7, 7, and 2 on the first three Host Ports as with the 5394.  Being these models have 8 Host Ports, you could also put 2 devices on each port for a total of 16.  You could also have 4, 4, 4 and 4 on four of the 8 Host Ports or any other combination that totals 16 device addresses with a maximum of 7 on any one of the 8 ports.

If you need to connect more physical devices than the number of ports you have two options.

First, you can "cable-through" your Twinax devices from one to the next using actual Twinax cables.  Using this method you can connect up to 7 devices to a single Host Port.  If you are using multiple session terminals, the number of physical devices would be less as each Host Port will only support 7 addresses. 

Second, you can add a Twinax-to-RJ45 Active Star Hub such as the Gemini Express Active Star Hub to your setup.  These Active Star Hubs connect to one of the controllers Host Ports either by Twinax Cable or Category 5 (CAT5) cable, and expand the single port to 7 RJ45 ports corresponding with the device addresses available on that port of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.  This is the same whether the e-Twinax Controller has Twinax Host Ports or RJ45 Host Ports.  In this implementation each Twinax Device would be required to have a Twinax-to-RJ45 Balun on it to allow connection with a CAT5 cable.