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From: stevec@sfu_cmpt.cs.sfu
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: distributed /etc/printcap
Message-ID: <81900001@sfu_cmpt>
Date: Fri, 18-Sep-87 14:01:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: sfu_cmpt.81900001
Posted: Fri Sep 18 14:01:00 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 20-Sep-87 21:33:58 EDT
Lines: 33
Nf-ID: #N:sfu_cmpt:81900001:000:1059
Nf-From: sfu_cmpt.cs.sfu!stevec    Sep 18 11:01:00 1987


I don't know if this is the correct forum, but here goes 
nothink.
 
We run a net of about 50 odd suns. Most have their own 
/etc/printcap files, other symlink it to a some commonly
NFS-mounted directory.
 
Now the only reason this is necessary at all is that
printjob(), the workhorse in the lpd is to dumb to
check for itself if the "rm" entry refers to "me" or
some truly remote machine. If the "lp" entry is defined,
it just tries to write to the device named there.
 
So, I have made some trivial changes to the lpd, so that it
does the obvious check. (actually, by introducing a level of
indirection in the /etc/printcap files, the same thing can
be accomplished without modifying the source, at the cost of
a doubling in network traffic)
 
I am interested in seeing some discussion of the issues that
seem to arise from this.
 
1) How far should we go towards a more distributed environment.

2) What other places in the system are such needless host
   dependencies built in?
 
3) your ideas here.
 
Steve Cumming
 
{backbone}ubc-vision!fornax!stevec