LP architecture

An LP session involves at least two programs:

an LP client program
an LP server program.

Depending on the specific functional request, the user will normally use different client programs to communicate with the lpd program. In general, one single lpd program will handle all different user requests.

The actual names and detailed behaviour (program options) of the LPD client programs depend on the host Operating System environment. In general, there are Unix BSD style and Unix System V style systems. For these kinds of systems, the user programs are mostly named as follows:

Table 1. User program names in System V Unix and BSD Unix
Functionality requested by the user	System V Unix user program	BSD Unix user program
Submit print jobs	lp, rlp	lpr
Cancel print requests	cancel	lprm
Display status	lpstat	lpq

Also the LP server programs often have different names in System V and BSD Unix environments:

Table 2. LPD server program names in System V Unix and BSD Unix
	System V Unix server program	BSD Unix server program
LPD server programs	lpsched, lpNet, rlpdaemon	lpd

For LP system management and control purposes, the host system normally offers specific commands for the system administrator. These commands are local to the host system, and are of no direct need while printing to the varioPRINT 140 Series.

Table 3. LP management and control commands in System V Unix and BSD Unix
	System V Unix	BSD Unix
LP management and control	lpsystem, lpadmin, enable, disable, accept, reject	lpc

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LP architecture