Printing CICS or IMS output data on network printers

An international manufacturing company has a large investment in IBM® System z® hardware. Recently, the company has configured a LAN and purchased IPDS network printers to replace its coaxially attached SNA printers.

This company wants to print inventory control reports from its CICS® and IMS™ applications to the network printers, instead of to its set of SNA printers. The company wants to route the reports to one or more remote locations, such as warehouses, docks, and the plant floor.

Here is how this company can use the NetSpool component of Infoprint Server and PSF for z/OS® to meet its requirements:

1. The CICS or IMS applications submit print requests by using VTAM® in the same way they submit print requests to SNA printers. No changes to the CICS or IMS applications are required.
2. The NetSpool component of Infoprint Server intercepts the print requests and creates output data sets on the JES spool, by using JES output parameters that are defined by the administrator. The JES output parameters specify routing information that PSF uses to transmit the output to a particular network printer.
3. PSF transmits the output data sets from the JES spool to one or more IPDS network printers on the TCP/IP LAN, with the full system management and error recovery capabilities of PSF.

Figure 8 shows how PSF directs the data to network printers.

Figure 8. Printing CICS or IMS output data on network printers