Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!rice!sun-spots-request
From: auspex!guy@uunet.uu.net (Guy Harris)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.sun
Subject: Re: Exclusive lock on /dev/null
Keywords: SunOS
Message-ID: <9800@brazos.Rice.edu>
Date: 8 Jul 90 00:12:24 GMT
Sender: root@rice.edu
Organization: Sun-Spots
Lines: 26
Approved: Sun-Spots@rice.edu
X-Refs:  Original: v9n245, Replies: v9n256
X-Sun-Spots-Digest: Volume 9, Issue 256, message 8

>I had the same problem when we upgraded to Sun OS 4.0.3 - I worked around
>it by creating a device for each printer which has the same major and
>minor device number as /dev/null,

The same issue came up on the "sun-managers" list; one of the
correspondents (not a relative, as far as I know :-)) claims there is an
even easier solution:

X-From: Michael Harris - NYC SE <uunet!east.sun.com!michael.harris>
X-Subject: Re:  Lock on /dev/null
...

Make the lp entries in printcap null instead of /dev/null or dummy files
like this:

ps|lp|lw|postscript|PostScript:\
        :lp=:\
        :rm=lprhost:\
        :rp=lp:\
        :sd=/var/spool/ps:\
        :lf=/var/spool/ps/ps-log:

It works fine.

HTH
mh