Maximizing Your Investments in Document Production Software and High-Speed Production Printers
Most large corporations have an extensive data processing configuration that consists of a variety of hosts, such as mainframes, AS/400s, UNIX machines, and Windows NT servers and workstations. It is common to find mission-critical software components residing in various combinations on these hosts. IS managers have the difficult task of allocating resources and expenses in managing these enterprise tools.
Let's take a look at a financial services company, for example. This company's billing and invoicing software resides on an IBM mainframe, while its direct marketing software is installed on a Windows NT Server.
In this example, each host typically would have a dedicated printer type associated with it. For the mainframe environment, it is a channel-connected Xerox high-performance production printing system. In the Windows NT environment, it is a series of TCP/IP-connected network printers. The channel printer supports datastreams such as Xerox Line Conditioned Data Stream (LCDS) and Xerox Metacode. The network printers support datastreams such as HP PCL and PostScript. This company, in effect, has two separate environments of document production to manage.
With the Barr Enterprise Print Server, the financial services firm can share these resources and maximize investments in document production software and high-speed channel-connected Xerox production printers. In short, the Barr Enterprise Print Server routes mainframe print jobs to network printers and network application output to channel-connected Xerox production printers.
There are three important requirements to consider when integrating different environments, as in the example of the IBM mainframe and the Windows NT servers and workstations. The Barr Enterprise Print Server meets all of these requirements and allows maximization of printing services.
Barr has teamed with select software solutions providers to supply the most powerful and flexible options for implementing e-Business and host access strategies. BECS implements SNA gateway and Web server functionality provided by industry market leaders such as Microsoft with its SNA Server and Internet Information Server, and IBM with its eNetwork Communications Server for Windows NT and eNetwork Host On-Demand. With up to four ESCON channel connections using the reliable BARR/CHANNEL with ESCON adapter, BECS is the fastest link to the mainframe, supplying unmatched throughput and lightning-quick response times. With many network connectivity options, including Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Token Ring, ATM, and FDDI, BECS is sure to fit into any network topology.
First, there is the issue of host connectivity. The print server must be able to reliably connect to each of the hosts in the corporate environment. For this financial services company, the Barr Enterprise Print Server provides several options for connecting to the mainframe. It can physically connect to the mainframe via ESCON, Busand Tag, SDLC, Ethernet, and Token Ring. It can communicate with the mainframe via an NJE peer-to-peer emulation, 3211 print emulation, and TCP/IP LPR or native socket connection. For the Windows NT network, the Barr Enterprise Print Server receives files from Windows applications via TCP/IP.
The second issue is management of files and resources. Here, the print server must be able to recognize and support all of the file types the organization uses. The Barr Enterprise Print Server supports multiple file formats such as EBCDIC, AFP, Adobe PDF, Xerox LCDS and Metacode, PCL, PostScript, and ASCII. This allows specific files to be routed to targeted printers.
Finally, there is the issue of connecting to multiple printers and sending the correct output to each system. The BARR/PRINT to Metacode drivers provide the company with a tool to generate Xerox Metacode files from network applications. These files are then sent to the Barr Enterprise Print Server, which is capable of driving up to eight daisy-chained Xerox channel-attached production printers.
Summary
The Barr Enterprise Print Server is a Windows NT-based I/O management solution designed to receive data from multiple sources and print to multiple destinations. With it, the financial services company can receive print jobs from virtually any platform – mainframes, AS/400s, TCP/IP hosts, network workstations and drive all of its printers from one GUI interface. Its printers can now print data received from both mainframe and network applications. The company's investment in these high-speed channel printers is maximized and its print output options are substantially increased.
For more information call 1-800-BARR-SYS or e-mail sales@barrsystems.com
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