Spool Administration

Purpose

Unlike the Output Controller (transaction SP01), in which both users and
administrators can work, Spool Administration (transaction SPAD
orTools → CCMS → Spool → Spool Administration) is intended for administrators.

Features

All devices, servers, and so on that are involved in printing are defined and managed
in spool administration (transaction SPAD).

In the spool administration, you can perform the following tasks:

Output Devices in the SAP Spool System

Definition

A target device must be specified for the output for every document to be printed in
the SAP System. As the document can be output using not only printers, but also
archiving devices, these devices are calledOutput Devices in the SAP System.

In the SAP System, output devices are the logical representations of the real output
devices.

Use

You must create a device definition in the SAP System for every output device. This
definition contains all the important data for addressing the device; otherwise the
device cannot be correctly addressed. This data includes, for example:

• Device type, such as POSTSCPT or HPLJ4

• Name of the spool server (= application server with a spool work process)
• Host spool access method (such as local or remote)
• Destination host (for remote access methods)
For information about the device definition in general and the various types of output devices, see the
following sections:

Defining Output Devices for Microsoft Windows Printing

Use
You want to define an output device in the SAP System that is to be print using the
Microsoft Windows operating system.

Prerequisites

When printing using Microsoft Windows, you can connect an output device (PC
printer) to the SAP System using a local or remote connection. Before you can define
an output device for printing using the Microsoft Windows operating system, you
must determine what type of connection is used; that is, which access method you
need to select for this printer.

Procedure

Determine what the underlying print architecture (connection) is.

• If the SAP spool server (application server with the spool work process) and the Microsoft Windows
spool system are on the same host, you can create a local connection to the printer. The print
requests are processed by the Microsoft Windows spool system.
Local connection is usually best, as it is the fastest and most reliable access method.
• If the SAP spool server and the Microsoft Windows spool system are not on the same host, you
must create a remote PC connection to the printer. This is the standard PC connection, as other than
Microsoft Windows NT and Windows 2000, no other Microsoft Windows operating system supports
spool servers.

For more information about other output devices, such as for UNIX printing,
see Output Devices in the SAP Spool System.

Defining Output Devices for UNIX Printing

Use

You want to define an output device in the SAP System that is to be

print using the UNIX operating system.

Prerequisites

When printing using UNIX, you can connect an output device (PC
printer) to the SAP System using a local or remote connection. Before
you can define an output device for printing using the UNIX operating
system, you must determine what type of connection is used; that is,
which access method you need to select for this printer.
Procedure
...

1. Determine what the underlying print architecture (connection) is.

 If the SAP spool server (application server with the spool work process) and the UNIX spool
system are on the same host, you can create a local connection to the printer. The print
requests are processed by the UNIX spool system.
Local connection is usually best, as it is the fastest and most reliable access method.
 If the SAP spool server and the UNIX spool system are not on the same host, you
can create a remote PC connection to the printer.
2. Create the device definition.

Defining an Output Device for Frontend Printing (SAP GUI for

Windows)
Use

To use frontend printing using the Microsoft Windows SAP GUI on your
work station computer, you must have specified an output device in
the print window that was specifically created for this print method.

The output device is created using the device definition. You do not
need to create different device definitions in the SAP System for your
work station printers. You create a generic output device that
forwards the print data to the frontend, from which the print request
comes.

Prerequisites
• You require authorization to create output devices.
• The Microsoft Windows operating system is installed on the frontends (work station computers).
• The newest versions of SAP GUI and SAPlpd are installed on the frontends.
The newest versions have the same version number as your SAP Basis release.

Procedure

Follow the procedure below to create a device definition for frontend

printing:
...

1. Call transaction SPAD, and choose Output Devices.

2. If you are not in change mode, switch to this mode by choosing Change.
3. You can now do the following:
 You can create a new device definition by choosing Output Device → Create.
  You can use an existing device definition as a template.
To do this, click the entry for the output device that is to be used as a template, and
choose Output Device → Create Using Template.

4. Fill out the mandatory fields of the device definition as follows for
frontend printing:

Field Input
Device Enter a name for the output device that makes it clear to your
Attributes Tab Output device users that this is the frontend printer, such as Locl.
Page
We recommend that you use the device type SWIN, SAPWIN,
or a language-specific version for Microsoft Windows PCs.
Device Type However, you can use any device type.
Use the device type pdf1 or a language-specific version
for Frontend Printing Using SAP GUI for HTML.
Host Spool Specify the access method F for frontend printing.
Access
Access Method
Methodtab
page
Enter the name __DEFAULT to use the default printer at a
Microsoft Windows system.
If you specify __DEFAULT as the host printer, and the user
enters the name of the output device, such as LOCL, in the print
Host Printer window and chooses enter, the system displays other printers
defined on his or her work station PC. However, you can
deactivate this list for users by selecting No Device Selection at
Frontend on the Host Spool Access Method tab page.

4. Save your entries.

Result

When you save the device definition, it is available for your users’
use. To print documents using their frontend, users must enter the
name of the output device that you have just created in the Output
Devicefield of the print window.
Example

The following example shows the device definition for frontend

printing with the output device LOCL. If users enter LOCL as the
output device, their operating system default printer is used.
As the option No Device Selection at Frontend is not selected, the
user can enter the output device LOCL in the print window and
choose enter. A list then appears showing the other printers defined
on his or her work station PC, from which the user can then select the
printer that he or she wants to use

Defining an Output Device for Frontend Printing (SAP GUI for

HTML)
Use

You want to create a device definition for an output device with which
you can print a PDF file on your frontend using the SAP GUI for HTML
from the document to be printed, and that you can print as required.

Prerequisites

You require the appropriate authorization to create output devices.

Procedure

Follow the procedure below to create a device definition for printing

using the SAP GUI for HTML:
...

1. Call transaction SPAD, and choose Output Devices.

2. If you are not in change mode, switch to this mode by choosing Change.
3. You can now do the following:
 You can create a new device definition by choosing Output Device → Create.
 You can use an existing device definition as a template.
To do this, click the entry for the output device that is to be used as a template, and
choose Output Device → Create Using Template.
4. Specify the name of the output device and fill out the mandatory fields of the individual tab pages
as follows:

Tab Page Field Entry Additional Information

Device Device Type pdf1 or By specifying this device type, you can later
Attributes JPPDF (for display the file with the PDF Viewer and
Japanese) or print the file from this viewer.
KPPDF (for
Korean)
 Device Class standard printer
Host Spool Host Spool Access F
Access method (operating
Method system spooler)

Host Printer __Default Entering __DEFAULT means that the

default printer at the frontend is addressed
directly.
If you do not want to use the default printer,
you can select the desired printer from the
Microsoft Windows printer list in the SAP
print window, if you do not select the No
Device Selection at Frontend option.

5. Save your entries.

Result

You can use the defined output device with device type PDF1 and
access method F to create a printable PDF file from your document
using the SAP GUI for HTML. If you choose a print function such as
in the SAP System, you can specify this output device in the following
print window.

You can display and print the document in a PDF viewer.

The output device defined for PDF conversion can only be used by users that are logged on
with the SAP GUI for HTML. The conversion does not work with the SAP GUI for Windows.

Example

The following example shows the device definition for output device
LOCLWEB.
Device Attributes Tab Page

Host Spool Access Method Tab Page

For information about frontend printing using the SAP GUI for HTML,
see Frontend Printing Using the SAP GUI for HTML.
Defining an Output Device for Printing to a File
Use

You can print to a file from the SAP System using an output device set
up for this purpose. To do this, you must specify this output device
that has been specially set up for printing to a file in the print window.
The output device is created using the device definition.

This definition creates an output device with which data is converted

to the appropriate format.

Prerequisites
• You require the appropriate authorization to create output devices.
• A printer with the port FILE must be set up at the Microsoft Windows frontend (workstation PC).
• SAPlpd is also required.

Procedure

Follow the procedure below to create a device definition for printing

to a file:
...

Call transaction SPAD, and choose Output Devices.

If you are not in change mode, switch to this mode by choosing Change.
You can now do the following:
You can create a new device definition by choosing Output Device → Create.
You can use an existing device definition as a template.
To do this, click the entry for the output device that is to be used as a template, and
choose Output Device → Create Using Template.
Specify the name of the output device and fill out the mandatory fields of the individual tab pages as follows:

Tab Page Field Entry Additional Information

Device Device Type appropriate You can select the appropriate device type
Attributes device type for the printer.
If you choose pdf1, JPPDF (for Japanese),
or KPPDF (for Korean) as the device
typehere, a PDF file is generated. You can
later display this using the PDF Viewer and
print the file from this viewer.
Device Class standard printer
Host Spool Host Spool Access U, S, or F
method (operating
Access system spooler)
Method
Host Printer Name of the host The host printer is the printer that was
printer created in the operating system with the
port file.
Destination host With access method U or S, the name of
the host to which the data is forwarded for
output.
This is the host on which the (SAP)lpd is
running.

Save your entries.

Example

The following example shows a special form of print file creation.

Using the output device LOCLPDF, a PDF file is generated at the
frontend.

Device Attributes Tab Page

Host Spool Access Method Tab Page

If you want to create a PDF file as a print file, as in the above

example, you must take a number of restrictions into account. For
more information, see SAP Note 323736 in the SAP Service
Marketplace.

For more information about how printing to a file works, see Printing to
a File.

Defining Output Devices for Printing Using E-Mail

Use

To print using e-mail, you must specify an output device in the print
window that has been specially set up for this print method. You can
create the output device through the device definition.

This definition creates an output device that sends the print data as
an attachment to an e-mail. You can then open and print the print
data with the appropriate program.

Prerequisites
• You require the appropriate authorization to create output devices.
 • The access method M must be available in the device definition (transaction SPAD → Output
Devices → Change → Output device → Create/Create Using
Template → HostSpoolAccMethod → Host Spool Access Method).
If the access method M is not available, you must first run report RSPO0075 in transaction SE38, to
activate the access method. It will then be available to you in transaction SPAD.
To do this, enter the name of the report in the Program field in transaction SE38, and choose
Execute. Select the option Add Access Method, and choose the access method M as the access
method to be added.
• In principle, you can use any device type that can be used in the device definition. However, you
must ensure that a suitable printer or display program is available on the target system.

For e-mail printing with device type pdf1, there must be a PDF display program available,
such as Adobe Acrobat Reader, so that you can open and print the attached PDF file as
required.

Procedure

If you want to create a device definition for printing using e-mail,

follow the procedure below:
...

1. Call transaction SPAD, and choose Output Devices.

2. If you are not in change mode, switch to this mode by choosing Change.
3. You can now do the following:
 You can create a new device definition by choosing Output Device → Create.
 You can use an existing device definition as a template.
To do this, click the entry for the output device that is to be used as a template, and
choose Output Device → Create Using Template.
4. Specify the name of the output device and fill out the mandatory fields of the individual tab pages
as follows:

Tab Page Field Entry Additional Information

Device Device Type (recommended) You can use any device type as long as an
Attributes pdf1 appropriate printer or viewer is available on
the target host.
Spool server depends on Select a spool server (application server with
system a spool work process) from the list.
Device Class standard printer
Host Spool Host Spool Access M (for mail)
Access Method (operating
Method system spooler)

E-Mail Address E-Mail Address The recipient of the e-mail is determined

(optional) inthree steps.
If no suitable e-mail address is found in the
first two steps; that is, in the print window or
 in the device definition of the printer, the mail
is sent to the address entered in the user
master data of the sender.

5. Save your entries.

Result

You can use the output device defined for access method M to print
using e-mail. If you choose a print function such as , you can specify
this output device in the following print window.

The document is sent as an appendix to a mail and the recipient can

display and print the document. For information about determining
the recipient, see the Printing Using E-Mail section.

Example

The following example shows the device definition of an output

device that is to be used for printing using e-mail:
Device Attributes Tab Page

Host Spool Access Method Tab Page

 Defining Logical Output Devices
Use

You can also define output devices as logical output devices. These
logical devices refer to physical devices or to other logical devices, so
that you can set up a printer hierarchy. This is useful in the following
case, for example.

You define the logical printer Shipment Document Printer. Your users can always select this
printer to print shipment documents. If the real printer to which this logical output device points
is not available, you simply assign the logical printer to another physical printer.
If your logical output device Shipment Document Printer is first mapped to the physical
printer P330 and you now want to map it to the physical printer P521, you only need to
change the mapping. You do not need to adjust the whole device definition. Nothing changes
at application level, since the logical printer Shipment Document Printer is configured as a
printer.

With the definition of logical output devices, you can also easily
transport a whole printer hierarchy into a different system. You then
assign the physical devices in the other system.

Procedure
...

1. Call Spool Administration (transaction SPAD), and, on the Devices/Servers tab page, choose
the Output Devices pushbutton.
2. Choose Change and then Create to create a new device definition.
3. Enter a name for the logical output device.
4. Choose Logical output device as the device class.
5. In the Map to field, specify the physical device to which the local device is to map.
6. Save your entries.
You can now assign this logical output device to another physical output device as often as required.

Printer Pools
Definition

You can combine multiple output devices under one name in a printer
pool.
Use
• You want to print an output request on multiple output devices simultaneously.
You can have an output request printed on all of the printers in a pool.

A particular document is often needed at more than one location in your company. You can
set up a printer pool that includes the printers at each of the locations where the document is
needed.
When this type of document is to be printed, your users can specify the printer pool at the
destination printer. The document is printed out on each printer in the pool.
• You want to alternate printing output requests between different output devices in the pool.
You can distribute output requests to the different devices in a pool.

For a critical printing application, you have set up two printers, side-by-side. By setting up a
pool for the printers, you can have the spool system issue print requests to the pooled
printers.

Assigning a printer to a pool does not prevent you from addressing

the printer individually as well. To print on a pool printer without
addressing the other printers, just specify the printer’s name instead
of the pool name when you print.

For information on assigning output devices to a pool, see here.

Managing Output Devices: General Functions

Timeouts and Retries when Printing
If an output request is sent to a remote output device, the SAP
System verifies that it can reach this output device. If the connection
times out, the device reacts as follows:
...

1. If the spool work process waits more than 15 seconds for a reply, then it records the problem in the
SAP system log. You can therefore check in the system log for devices that have chronic
communication problems.
2. If the spool work process must wait more than 30 seconds, then it locks the output device for five
minutes and goes on to other output requests.
The output request remains in status Waiting. At the end of this lock period, the spool work process
attempts to establish communication again. The output requests are only reactivated once the host
spool system is available.
The connection test is repeated three times every five minutes. If the remote host spool service
cannot be reached, the output requests still have the status Waiting.
The connection test is restarted (three times every five minutes) if
  A new output request is generated for the host spool system concerned
 An output device of this host spool system is reactivated
 The SAP R/3 application server is restarted.
The output requests are reactivated once the host spool system can be reached. This operation can
be repeated up to three times. If the output requests could still not be output, they are given the
status Error.

Instead, you can set individual timeouts for printers that need them in their device definitions.

How a Network Connection is Made

This topic describes how the SAP spool system uses connection
timeouts, read-write timeouts, and automatic retries to do the
following:

• Terminate an attempt to establish communication with a host spooler or print manager when a
network connection is not working
• Automatically try to establish a network connection after a connection or read/write failure

Connection Timeouts

The SAP spool system uses its own internal timeouts to determine
how long to wait for a network connection to a remote output device.
If the spool system has not been able to establish a network link
within the time limit specified in the time-out, then it breaks off the
attempt to set up the connection.

The network software in your host system also imposes a time-out on

the connection to a remote printer. The length of the time-out varies
with the host operating system and network software. However, the
time-out is usually set to 60 seconds.

The spool system’s attempt to reach an output device is terminated

by whichever time-out occurs first: the network software time-out or
the spool system time-out.

The other partner in setting up a connection to a remote output

device can be either of the following:

• The host system that is responsible for the target device

• The SAPLPD process that is responsible for the output device
An elapsed time-out can therefore mean that the network connection
to the remote system is down or that the host system or SAPLPD
program is not running.

Automatic Retry

If a time-out elapses, then the spool system retries the connection. By

default, it repeats the connection attempt 3 times, with a two-minute
pause between each attempt.

If the system is not able to establish a connection after retries, then

all jobs that are waiting for the output device are placed in a special
waiting status, Hold: Communication problem.

If the output device is local (attached to the host system on which the
SAP spool work process is running or accessible from the host system
by way of host remote printing facilities), then these mechanisms do
not need to be used. Passing an output request to the local host spool
system requires only the execution of a print command.

The spool system keeps retrying the network connection as long as

there are jobs with the status Hold: Communication problem waiting
for the output device.

Read and Write Timeouts

In addition to connection timeouts, the system uses read and write

timeouts to prevent unrestricted waiting for read or writes to remote
output devices. If a read or write time-out elapses, then the SAP
System retries the operation. The number of retries and pause
between retries is determined by the same system profile parameters
used for the connection time-out.

The system profile parameter defines write and read timeouts for all
output devices; however, you can also define device-specific values.
Wide-Area Network (WAN) Connections

If you are using a wide-area network connection to an SAP transfer

process, then timeouts can pose special problems. If data
transmission across the WAN link is too slow, then the read-write
time-out of the SAP spool system or of your host network software
may be triggered while transmitting data across the connection. The
minimum throughput for successful data transfer to an SAPLPD
process is 1 kilobyte/minute.

Should this problem occur, a faster WAN link is the best solution to
the problem. Should this not be possible, then one of the following
measures should help:

• If the host spooler supports remote printers, then use the host’s remote printing facilities to access
the printer. You will then no longer need the WAN link to the SAPLPD transfer process. Data
transmission may be more successful under the host’s remote printing facility than by way of
SAPLPD.
• If the remote SAPLPD is running under Microsoft Windows, you can reset the SAPLPD packet size
to a smaller value, as of SAPLPD version 2.19. The standard packet size is 1000 bytes. The size is
set in the WIN.INI file, section SAPLPD, parameter s_packet_size.
For more information, see Defining Values for the Read and Write Process Timeouts.

Defining Connection Timeout Length

The default length of the connection time-out is set in the system
profile in the parameter rspo/tcp/timeout/connect.

Do not set the timeout to a value that is shorter than the default
value.

Defining a Timeout for each Output Device

You can define individual values for timeouts for each device that
uses the network access methods S and U:
...

1. Call Spool Administration (Tools → CCMS → Spool → Spool Administration). Enter the name of the
output device on the Devices / servers tab and confirm your entry.
2. Choose Connection Options on the Host Spool Access Method tab page.
3. Enter a value for the timeout in the Connection Time field.
4. Save your entries.
Setting Read-Write Timeouts

You can set the read-write timeout for SAP R/3 spool network
communications with the system profile
parameter rspo/tcp/timeout/read.

The system profile value applies to network communications with all

printers. By default, this value is 60 seconds. You can define the
value for each output device.

Defining a Timeout for each Output Device

You can define individual values for timeouts for each device that
uses the network access methods S and U:
...

1. Call Spool Administration (Tools → CCMS → Spool → Spool Administration). Enter the name of the
output device on the Devices / servers tab and confirm your entry.
2. Choose Connection Options on the Host Spool Access Method tab page.
3. Enter a value for the timeout for read and write operations in the Connection Time field.
4. Save your entries.

Setting the Retry Count and Delay

You can set the number of retries of a failed connect or read/write operation with the
system profile parameter rspo/tcp/retries. You can specify how long the system
should wait between retries with the parameter rspo/tcp/retrytime.

Spool Server
Definition

The spool server is an SAP application server that provides spool processing. It
therefore requires at least one spool work process.

SAP Note 108799 in the SAP Service Marketplace explains how many spool work processes
you should configure for each server.
A spool server processes the data for transfer to the spool system of the operating
system. You can set up a spool server by adding the profile
parameter rdisp/wp_no_spo to the instance profile of the corresponding server
(Administration → CCMS → Configuration → Profile Maintenance) and entering the
desired number of spool work processes.

Setting or Changing Properties of a Spool Server

You can enter additional attributes and administration information for spool servers.

To do this, call transaction SPAD (Tools → CCMS →Spool → Spool Administration),

and, on the Devices/Servers tab page, choose the Spool Servers pushbutton. The list
of defined spool servers appears. If you double click the relevant spool server, a
window showing the attributes of the spool server appears.

The following example shows the attributes for a mass printing server:

You can enter or change the following attributes in this window:

• Server Name: You can enter a description of the spool server in the long field of the Server
Name area.
• Server Class: Choose a suitable entry, depending on the intended use of the server, from the input
options for the server class field, such as production printing, mass printing, and so on.
The classification of the spool server helps you to realize your planned printing architecture, that is, to
assign newly defined output devices to the corresponding spool server. If you specify the spool
server in a device definition, the spool system compares the classification of the output device to the
classification of the server. If they do not match, then the spool system warns you.
 If you are preparing to assign a mass printer to a time-critical production server, then the spool
system warns you of this disparity.
• Alternative server: You can specify a “replacement printer”, the alternative server, for a spool
server. The alternate server takes over the processing of output requests if the original server is
down or unavailable. For more information, see Alternative Server.
• Allow Load Balancing: You can define whether the output processing workload of a server may be
distributed among its alternate servers. By default, load balancing is deactivated. Instead, the spool
system ensures that output requests are printed in the order that they are generated.
• Logical server: You can define spool servers as logical servers. A logical server is a name that can,
in turn, stand for one or more logical or real servers (a real spool server is a server that actually has
spool work processes and can run in the SAP System).
Using logical servers, you can transport a complete printing architecture to another system with only
minimal changes. To activate printing in the target system, you only need to edit the assignment of
the logical server. You can do this using the Mapping field. For more information, see Logical Spool
Servers.

Displaying the Spool Server Hierarchy

Use

The spool servers are displayed in their hierarchical structure in the display of the
spool server hierarchy. This display shows the relationships between real, logical, and
alternative servers.

To call the display, start transaction SPAD, and, on the Devices/servers tab page,
choose the Spool Servers pushbutton. A list of available spool servers appears. Click
the name of the server for which you want to see the hierarchy, and choose one of the
following display functions:

• Complete Hierarchy:
Use the Complete Hierarchy function to display all server hierarchies that share any nodes. It
shows the hierarchies of logical servers and alternate servers that proceed from the server you mark.
It also shows all other spool server hierarchies that share one or more nodes (server references) with
the server you mark.

You display the complete hierarchy for the logical server LogServ1. It maps to real server
host1_c11_01. If any other logical server or real server also references either of these servers
- host1_c11_01 or LogServ1 - in its Mapping or Alternate server fields, then the Complete
hierarchy display will also show you these hierarchies.
• Mapping Relationship:
 By choosing Goto → Mapping Relationship, you display only the logical servers and alternate servers
that proceed from the server that you select. In effect, you look "down" the server hierarchies from
the point of view of the server you mark.
• Usage Relationship
By choosing Goto → Usage Relationship, you display all logical server and alternate server
hierarchies that lead to the server that you mark. In effect, you look "up" the server hierarchies from
the point of view of the server you select.

Structure

The relationships between the servers are shown in the display by vertical and
horizontal lines. These lines have the following meanings:

• Horizontal Lines:
"Mapping relationships”, those from a logical server to another logical or real server, are shown with
horizontal lines. The spool system follows these lines when it resolves a logical server into a real
server that it can use for processing output requests.
• Vertical Lines:
“Alternative server relationships”, those from a real or logical server to a substitute or replacement
server, are shown with vertical lines. The spool system follows these lines when it searches for an
alternate server. This search can take place either when a server has become unavailable for
processing output requests, or when load balancing is active.

Color Coding

The servers are highlighted in different colors. The legend for these colors is
displayed directly below the hierarchy. The color coding in the spool server list has
the following meaning:

• Active Server with Spool Work Process: This is a real spool server. It is active, has at least one spool
work process, and can process output requests.
• Active Server with Assigned Spool Service: This is an active SAP spool server. However, it does not
currently have any free spool work processes. It does have an alternate spool server that is able to
substitute for it. Output requests assigned to this server are therefore processed by an alternate
server.
• Logical Server with Assigned Spool Service: This is a logical server (a name representing a
hierarchy of one or more servers). In its logical server and/or alternate server hierarchies
(the Mapping and Alt. serverfields, respectively), there is a real spool server that can process its
output requests. Output requests assigned to this server are therefore processed by another server.
• Inactive Server with Assigned Spool Service: This is a real SAP spool server that is not currently
active. However, a replacement spool server is specified in its hierarchy of Alternative Servers.
Output requests assigned to this server are therefore processed by an alternate server.
• Server Without Assigned Spool Service: This is a logical or real SAP spool server whose output
requests cannot currently be processed. If it is a logical server, then there is no active server in its
server hierarchies. If it is a real server, then neither the server nor any alternate server is available for
processing output requests.

• Passive Server with Assigned Spool Service: Passive servers are servers that are to
be stopped in a controlled manner; that is, passive servers do not accept any new
 requests, but process the existing requests. However a replacement spool server is
specified in the alternative server hierarchy of the passive server with assigned
spool service. This alternative server can process new output requests that are
assigned to this server.

• Passive Server with Spool Service Without Assigned Spool -Service: This is a
passive server with a spool service. However, it does not have a replacement
server in its hierarchy. As passive servers do not accept any more spool requests
and this passive server does not have an alternative server, new requests assigned
to this server are no longer processed.

Assigning Output Devices to Other Spool Servers

Use

You want to change the server assignment for multiple output

devices, because, for example, the previous spool server has failed
and you have not specified an alternative server or activated load
balancing.

Procedure

There are different methods to assign output devices to other spool

servers, depending on whether you have defined logical servers or
not:

• You have defined a logical server between the output devices and the real spool server, that
is, a logical server is specified as the spool server in the device definitions of the output devices.

Somewhere in the hierarchy, this logical spool server points to a real spool server that performs the
output formatting. If this real server fails, you only need to edit the definition of the logical spool
server. You must enter a different real spool server in the Mapping field of the server definition. You
 do not need to change the device definitions of the individual output devices of the individual output
devices, as they do not point to the real server that you are changing, but only to the logical server.

You have assigned the production printers Prod1 and Prod2 to the logical spool
server Log_Prod, which is classified as a production server. The logical production
server Log_Prod points in turn to the real server twdf5001_DEV_00.

If the real server twdf5001_DEV_00 fails and you want to assign the production
printers Prod1 and Prod2 to the real spool server twdf5000_DEV_00, you only need to change
the mapping information in the definition of the logical server. It must point to the current real
spool server twdf5000_DEV_00. As the logical production server is specified in the device
definitions of the individual output devices, you do not need to change anything in these
definitions.
• You have not defined logical servers in your system. In this case, you can change the server
assignment for all output devices whose names match a certain pattern (such as PRI*).
...

a. In Transaction SPAD, choose Utilities → For Output Devices → Assign Server.

b. On the next screen, enter the desired pattern for the output devices, as well as the name
of the old spool server assigned and the name of the new spool server to which you want to
assign the devices.
c. Choose Display List, then Convert to switch spool servers.

Result

You have changed the server assignment for some or all of your
output devices. If output requests still exist for the affected devices,
for which processing is not yet complete, processing of the requests
is transferred to the new spool server.
 Static and Dynamic Server Selection
Definition
Static Spool Server Selection

With static server selection, the device definition in the spool system
specifies the SAP spool server that is to process output requests for
the device.

This static server selection is used in the following cases:

• You have not defined any special server definitions for the spool servers in transaction SPAD
( → Spool Server → Spool server → Create/Create Using Template).
• You have defined and/or classified the server in SPAD, but have not filled out the
fields Mapping and Alternative Server.
In this way, you can use the classification and identification attributes of spool servers without
compromising the printing of requests in the sequence in which they are generated.
Dynamic Spool Server Selection

By default, the selection of a spool server is static, that is, defined by

the spool server specification in the device definition.

You can select a Spool Server dynamically using the server definition
in transaction SPAD ( → Spool Servers → Spool
server → Create/Create Using Template) using load balancing, the
alternative server, or both. In this case, if the spool server fails or is
overloaded, the system searches the hierarchy of servers that are
specified in the Mapping and Alternative Server. The server with the
lowest output workload is then used for printing.

Dynamic server selection can include load balancing or simply the

use of logical or alternate servers. If you are allowing dynamic server
selection, then the selection of the spool server to process an output
request is not solely determined by the device definition. For the
server selection to be performed dynamically, the server must be
defined in transaciton SPAD ( → Spool Servers → Spool
server →Create/Create Using Template) and fulfill one of the following
conditions:
 • Load balancing is activated for the server specified in the device definition
• An alternative server is specified for the server in the device definition.
• A logical server is specified for the spool server in the device definition.

Process of Dynamic Server Selection

While with static server selection, the spool server specified in the
device definition is simply used, with dynamic server selection, the
system must find the spool server with the lowest output workload.
The following figure shows how the system does this:

As in static server selection, the spool system starts by looking in the

definition of the target output device to find the primary spool server.
If you have created a definition for this in transaction SPAD ( →Spool
Server → Spool server → Create/Create Using Template), the spool
system uses the algorithm described below to determine the spool
server to be used.

It is important to note that this server-selection algorithm is recursive.

As the spool system traverses the server hierarchies defined in the
logical server definition (transaction SPAD → Spool Server → Spool
server → Create/Create Using Template → Mapping field) and in the
alternate server definition (in the Alt. server field), it applies these
rules at each new level of the hierarchy.
...

1. First check: Is there any relevant information in the spool server definition? If the spool server is not
a logical server and does not have an alternative server, the server specified in the device definition
is used. In this case, the server selection is static.
If this result occurs while searching a spool server hierarchy, then this server is returned (if it is
running) by the search as a potential server to use for the output request. This is a terminal node in
such a hierarchy.
2. Is load balancing activated for this server?
If yes, then the spool system searches both the logical server and alternate server definitions, as
available, to find the spool server that has the shortest queue of spool requests waiting.
If both a logical server definition and an alternate server have been specified, then the spool system
compares the best server found in each hierarchy. The server that has the least output load is
returned by the search, regardless of which hierarchy it was found in.
3. If load balancing is not in effect, then the spool system checks whether the server is actually a
logical server.
If yes, then the spool system searches the logical server hierarchy (in the Mapping field) for a spool
server to use. If the spool system finds an active spool server, then this server is used. If none is
found, then the spool system searches the alternate server hierarchy, if available. If an active spool
server is found there, then it is used.
The spool system uses the first active spool server that it finds. There is no attempt to distribute the
workload among available servers.
4. If the server is not a logical server, then the spool system checks that the server is running and has
a spool work process. If these conditions are met, then the server is used for processing the output
request.
If these conditions are not met, then the spool system checks to see if an alternate server has been
defined for the server.
If there is an alternate server definition, then the spool system searches the alternate server
hierarchy for a spool server to use.
5. If all of these possibilities for finding a spool server fail, then the spool system reports an error with
the output request. No spool server could be found to process the request.
For a detailed example of server selection, see the Example: Spool Server Selection section.
Restrictions of Dynamic Server Selection with Local Printers

You can use dynamic server selection without restrictions only for
output devices that are defined with remote access methods S and U or
with the local OMS access method E. The reason for this is that the
SAP System accesses remote printers using a network link. This
network link is likely to be usable without adjustment by any spool
server. Output requests for a remote printer can therefore be moved
from one spool server to another without causing any problems.

Output Management System (OMS) printers are accessed by a print

command that can be executed locally from any spool server.
Requests for OMS printers can therefore also be moved from spool
server to spool server without problems.

For local printers (access methods C and L), on the other hand,
dynamic server selection requires some preparation at the operating
system level. In a local connection, the SAP spool server passes an
output request directly to the spooler or print manager in the host on
which it is running.

Such an output request can be processed at another server only if the

local spooler or print manager at the second spool server can identify
the target output device. This means that the target output device
must be defined under the same name in both local spoolers (in the
host of the first spool server, and also in the second host). For all
practical purposes, an output device with a local access
method must be defined under the same name in all hosts on
which an SAP spool server runs. Otherwise, switching an output
request for such a device to another spool could generate the
error Device unknown from the local spooler or print manager.

The graphic below gives an example.

In the example, the SAP System is to access printer P330, through a
local connection, at a Microsoft Windows NT system called NT1. The
Print Manager of NT1 knows P330 under the name NT330. NT330 is
entered as the host printer in the P330 device definition.

The local connection - using access method C - means that the

primary SAP R/3 spool server for printer P330 runs on NT1. The spool
server is called NT1_C11_01.

However, server NT1_C11_01 is overloaded. NT1_C11_02 on NT2 is

specified as the alternative server. Output requests for P330 can
however be processed by the spool server on NT2 only if NT2’s print
manager has a printer definition with the identical name NT330. This
NT330 printer definition must also connect to the same printer as
NT330 in NT1.

You can use dynamic server selection with local printers only if:

• You can define each affected local printer under an identical name in each host system on which an
SAP spool server runs. The spool server can find the printer name NT330 on every host
• You ensure that local printers have names that are unique across all of your SAP host systems LPT1
on one host identifies the same printer as LPT1 on another host
 • You can use problem-free dynamic server selection for OMS devices (SAP R/3 devices defined with
access method E) as long as the commands used by the ROMS and LOMSs can be executed from
each of your spool servers.

Transporting the Print Architecture Using Logical

Servers
Purpose

You can easily transport a complete print architecture using logical

servers.

Prerequisites

You are using logical spool servers as an “intermediate layer” in the print
architecture.

Process Flow

The figure below shows the transport of a development system into a

quality assurance system. All output devices and logical spool servers
are transported. To activate printing in the target system, you only
need to change the mapping in the definitions of the logical spool
servers.
 Printing in Order of Generation
Printing in Order of Generation

In an SAP System, if several spool work processes are running on a spool server or
load balancing is activated, output requests can, in principle, be processed at the same
time.

If load balancing is activated, then output requests for a particular device may be
processed by different spool servers. Potentially, a short output request that was
generated later could overtake an earlier but longer request.

The spool system does allow you to enforce print in order of generation for particular output
devices. To do this, on the Output attributes tab for the device definition, select Process
requests sequentially. This option forces "print in order of generation" for requests for the
device, even if the Spool server definition allows dynamic server selection. This option makes
it possible to use load balancing for most of your printers, but keep print-in-order-of-generation
for critical printers.

If printing in the order of generation is absolutely necessary, you must not define any
alternative servers. A violation of this order can occur in the following scenario:
 A spool server becomes unavailable meaning that output requests are re-directed to the alternate
server. Upon the reactivation of the first spool server, the server finishes an output request before the
alternate server has finished with its current request.

Within a single spool server, "print-in-order-of-generation" is always observed, even

if there are multiple spool work processes. The spool system allows only a single
work process to work on output requests for a particular printer at any one time. Other
output requests for the same printer must wait, even if other spool work processes in
the server are free. This rule applies regardless of whether static server selection or
dynamic selection through load-balancing or alternate servers is in effect.

Device Types for SAP Output Devices (Detail

Information)
Definition

The device type indicates the type of printer to be addressed. When you define an
output device, choose the name of the device type that was defined in the SAP System
for your printer model, such as Post2 for a PostScript printer. In the case of frontend
printing under Microsoft Windows, you can also use the generic (device-independent)
device type SWIN.

The system uses the information in the device type to convert a document from the
internal SAP character representation (spool request in OTF or in text format) to a
device-specific, print-ready data stream (output request). Since a device type specifies
attributes that apply to all devices of a certain model, it can be shared among device
definitions. For example, all devices in the SAP spool system that are compatible with
Hewlett-Packard LaserJet IIID printers would use the HPLJIIID device type.

You should not confuse the device type with the printer driver. The device type is the
total of all attributes of an output device that the SAP System must know to control
the output device correctly, such as control commands for font selection, page size,
character set selection, and so on. These attributes also include the printer driver that
SAPscript/Smart Forms (the SAP form processor) should use for this printer. The
SAPscript printer driver that is to be used for devices of this type for output
formatting is therefore only an attribute that the device type specifies.
How do I choose the correct device type?
• In most cases, the SAP System already provides the appropriate device type for the printer type for
the printer model that you want to use.
These standard device types are completely defined and need no modification or extension before
you use them in device definitions.
• You can also download missing device types from the sapserv server. For a current list of the
supported device types, see SAP Note 8928 in the SAP Service Marketplace.
• Most printers can be controlled using a generic format, such as PostScript. They can be switched to
a mode that is compatible with one of the standard printers for which an SAP device type is available.
In this case, a supported model is emulated.
• Almost all printers are delivered with Microsoft Windows printer drivers. The system can control
these printers with the generic (device-independent) device type SWIN. The Microsoft Windows spool
system then performs the processing of the print data.
• If the specified device types are not available, and generic device types cannot be used, you must
create your own device type or edit a copy of an existing device type. We recommend that only those
with specialist knowledge of the SAP Spool System and printer driver code do this. For more
information, see Defining a New Device Type .

Attributes of a Device Type

A device type is distinguished by the attributes listed below. If you change an existing
device type or create a new device type, you must change at least some of these
attributes.

• Character set: A character set specifies the codes with which characters must be represented in the
print-ready output stream (output request). This code replaces the generic SAP characters set that is
used internally by the SAP spool system (spool request).
• Printer driver: You can specify different printer drivers for printing SAPscript documents and ABAP
lists.
• Print controls: Print controls represent printer operations, such as boldface or changing the font size.
These print control are replaced by printer-specific commands during the creation of the output
request from a spool request.
• Formats: Formats specify the format supported by the SAP system. The system differentiates
between SAPScript formats (DINA4 and LETTER) and ABAP list formats (X_65_132 = 65 rows/132
columns).
• Page format: A page format is the interface between a format and SAPscript. It specifies the paper
dimensions with which SAPScript can calculate the row and column lengths.
• Actions: Actions are output device-specific commands that are required for the implementation of a
format. The action printer initialization, for example, can contain a printer command with which the
number of rows on a page is defined. There is a set of actions for every format supported by a device
type.

Maintaining Character Sets

The SAP System manages its own character sets. These characters sets specify:

• Which characters a particular printer or screen display routine can output

 • The hexadecimal code to use to send a character to a printer or display routine.

The following topics describe how to maintain character sets in spool administration.

In general, you only need to maintain character sets when you add a new device type to the SAP System.
To maintain character sets, do the following:

• Identify the manufacturer of the character set using Character Set Manufacturers.

You only need to perform this step if the manufacturer of the character set is not already identified
in the spool system.

• Define the character set required by the printer using Character Sets.

To do this, you must:

o Identify which characters are in the character set using their R/3 ID numbers
o Enter the binary code for each character, as required by the printer or display routine.

The easiest method for defining a character set is to copy the existing character set that most
closely matches the new character set. Then add or delete characters as necessary to customize
the character set.

Integrating the Spool System into an External Output

Management System
Purpose

External output management systems control printing operating in

large, complex IT environments. You can integrate the SAP spool
system into an external output management system (OMS) of this
type so that you can use the functions of the OMS from your SAP
System.

An example of a function of an external OMS: The OMS distributes a print request to 20

different printers. You only need to define one output device in the SAP System that points to
this OMS. If you print using this output device, the request goes to the OMS, which then
redirects it to the 20 printers. Without the OMS, you would have to print 20 times in the SAP
System.

Prerequisites
• XOM Interface
 You require the XOM application programming interface to be able to use your OMS for printing from
an SAP System.
• Compatible OMS:
Your OMS must be compatible with the SAP System or you must implement the OMS interface
yourself.
If you already have an OMS installed, then you must upgrade it so that it supports the XOM interface.
If you are buying an OMS, it should be one certified for the XOM interface.
• Local Access
An OMS and all of the devices it serves must be "local" to all SAP spool servers. This means that the
OMS commands issued by SAP spool servers must be executable on the host system on which the
corresponding SAP spool server is running.
Explanation: An SAP R/3 spool server stores output data for an OMS device in a file on the host
where the server is running. This file is referenced in the OMS Submit command issued by the
server, and the file must be accessible to the OMS.

For more information about certified OMS products and

implementing and certifying the OMS interface, see
http://www.sap.com/partners/software/.

Process Flow

Follow this procedure for each OMS you want to integrate into SAP
output (if you have more than one OMS):
...

1. Define the OMS as a real OMS (ROMS).

The ROMS is the definition of the external OMS in your SAP System and specifies the properties of
the external OMS, such as whether the OMS is started using a command line or an RFC, or whether
the status of the print request is determined using polling (the SAP System queries the status) or
callback (OMS informs the SAP System about the status).
See: Defining a Real OMS (ROMS) in the SAP System
2. Optional: You can take an “inventory” of the output devices and if necessary assign your output
devices to different logical OMSs (LOMSs). In this way, you can categorize output devices that use
the external OMS in the same way and assign each category to a different group (LOMS).

Production printers should be traced using RFC callback, non-critical printers only using
polling. You should allow a LOM for each group. After you have defined this LOM (see step 3),
you must assign the devices to this LOM using the device definition.
Although classification into different LOMSs is optional, you must however create at least one LOMS.
This is because when you want to create an output device that forwards its print requests to an OMS
(access method E), you must assign it to an LOMS. It is not possible to assign devices directly to the
real OMS.
See: Assigning Output Devices to Logical OMS (LOMS)
3. Define one or more logical OMSs (LOMS) in the SAP System. Only one is required.
 See: Creating a Logical OMS
4. Define one or more sets of operating system specific commands.
You need at least one command set for each operating system on which your SAP R/3 servers are
running.
See: Defining OMS Command Sets for LOMS
5. Make one or more of the OMS output devices available for use in SAP printing and faxing.
To do this, you must create the corresponding device definitions in the SAP System.
See: Defining an Output Device for Printing with Output Management Systems.
6. If you are working in a test system, replicate your OMS definitions in other SAP R/3 Systems.
See: Transporting OMS Definitions Between Systems.
7. During the production use of your OMS: If you are using RFC callback for reporting OMS job and
device status, you can force reconfiguration of the callback client.
This is an optional step. Usually the OMS callback client reconfigures itself.
See: Triggering OMS Reconfiguration

Deleting Multiple Spool Requests Simultaneously

Use

You want to delete multiple spool requests simultaneously. You can

perform the deletion in the output controller or, with appropriate
authorization, in Spool Administration.

Prerequisites

Every user can delete his or her own spool requests in the Output
Controller (SP01).

For Spool Administration (SPAD), you require administrator authorization.

Procedure
Deleting in the Output Controller (SP01):
...

1. Choose Tools → CCMS → Spool → Output Controller (transaction SP01).

2. Display the overview of the spool requests.
3. Select the requests to be deleted.
4. Choose Delete.

Deleting in Spool Administration (SPAD):

...

1. Choose Tools → CCMS → Spool → Spool Administration (transaction SPAD).

2. On the tab page Admin. choose Settings.
You can delete spool requests by the following criteria:
  Spool requests whose expiration date has been reached
 Spool requests that have been successfully output
 All requests
 Requests with a certain minimum age
When deleting a spool request, you delete the following files or entries in addition to the request itself:
− The spool request itself; the record of the spool request in the spool database
− The print file; the data is stored separately from the spool request, in the temporary
sequential object database (TemSe).
− Administration data for all output requests generated for the spool request.
− Any error logs that exist; these are stored separately from the spool request, in the
temporary sequential object database (TemSe).

We recommend that you regularly delete old print requests in the background with report
RSPO1041.
You can also delete inconsistent spool requests in the background during the spool
consistency check with report RSPO1043.

Output Control of Spool Requests and Output

Requests
Purpose

Every user can manage his or her own spool and output requests in
the Output Controller. Call the output controller using
transaction SP01 (Tools → CCMS → Spool → Output Controller) or in
the system by choosing System → Services → Output Controller.

You require administrator authorization to access other users’ requests.

See Authorizations for the output controller

Features

In the output controller, you can:

• Check the status of your own current spool requests. To do this, choose System → Own Spool
Requests.
• Specify selection criteria for displaying spool and output requests. A list of spool or output requests
then appears that match these criteria.
• Output spool requests; that is, the system generates output requests that are sent to the host
spooler, for printing or output on other devices.
• Display detailed data about a spool or output request and change certain attributes such as
destination printer and the number of copies
 • Display the data to be printed and download it as an ASCII file.
• Add spool requests to another spool request.
• Delete requests.

Constraints

Requests that have already been passed by the SAP spool system to the host spool system
(operating system spooler) cannot normally be deleted.
The only exception is the use of output management systems that offer this feature.

Spool Consistency Check

Use

You can use the spool consistency check to check whether tables that
contain spool requests, output requests, and output data are
inconsistent. If necessary, you can delete inconsistencies.

Along with deleting old spool requests, the spool consistency check is one
of the most important functions for maintaining the SAP spool
database. You should perform the spool consistency check regularly
in the background.

As the spool consistency check affects performance, you should schedule it either during the
night or at the weekend.

Prerequisites

You require an administrator authorization.

Features

The spool consistency check checks the following table entries for
spool requests:

• Header entry in table TST01 (TemSe objects)

• Object associated with the header entry; it can be stored in the file system or in the database table
TST03 (TemSe data of the object)
• Entry in table TSP01 (spool requests)
• Entry in table TSP02, if output requests exist
Activities

You can identify and delete inconsistencies both in the background

and in dialog:

• You can use report RSPO1043 to identify and delete inconsistencies in the background. This has the
following advantages:
 Inconsistencies are only deleted if they appear during repeated runs. There is therefore no
danger of accidentally deleting temporary inconsistencies.
Temporary inconsistencies are not actual inconsistencies and must not be deleted. Temporary
inconsistencies may occur, for example, if a user is writing data to the TemSe during the
consistency check.
 No timeouts
• You can use transaction SPAD or report RSPO0043 to display and delete inconsistencies in dialog.
However, we do not recommend these methods for your production systems due to the following
disadvantages:
 Accidental deletion of temporary inconsistencies
Only after a minimum of a second check can you determine whether an inconsistency was
only temporary, because, for example, another user was writing to the TemSe during the
check, or whether the check has found an actual inconsistency.
 Timeouts

For more information about spool consistency checks, see SAP Notes
48400 and 98065 in the SAP Service Marketplace.

Only delete inconsistent spool requests with the spool consistency check and not with
the TemSe consistency check due to the following disadvantages of the TemSe consistency
check:
− The TemSe consistency check does check the header entries in table TST01 and
associated objects only for spool requests, but rather for all TemSe objects.
− Deleting TemSe inconsistencies includes only the header entry in TST 01 and the actual
TemSe object. However, to delete a spool request, you must also remove the entry in
TSP01 (spool requests) and, if an output request exists, in table TSP02 (output requests).

Spool Consistency Check in the Background

Use

You can use report RSPO1043 to check in the background whether

tables that contain spool requests, output requests, and output data
are inconsistent. You can list and delete inconsistencies that the
report finds.
Checking the consistency in the background is preferable to
performing the check in dialog, as you can avoid the following
significant disadvantages of the online check:

 Deleting temporary inconsistencies if the check was only performed once.

Temporary inconsistencies are not actual inconsistencies and must not be deleted. Temporary
inconsistencies may occur, for example, if a user is writing data to the TemSe during the
consistency check. A check must be performed more than once to ensure that the
inconsistency is not merely temporary.
 Timeouts

For optimal maintenance of the spool database, schedule report RSP01043 regularly.
As the spool consistency check in the background affects performance, you should schedule it
either during the night or at the weekend.

Report Parameters
You can make the following specifications with report RSPO1043:
Required Entries Default Setting
Number of minutes that an exclusive lock should 10080
last
Whether an exclusive lock should be checked activated
Whether inconsistencies should be corrected or activated
only listed

Number of days for which an inconsistent object 7

is to be observed before it is deleted as
inconsistent.

You can change the default settings in transaction SE38.

Activities
...

1. All exclusive locks in table TSP01 that are older than the specified parameter value are reset.
2. The report then checks all objects for consistency. The objects found to be inconsistent are
collected in an internal table.
3. The report then compares its results with the objects found during its last run:
− An object remains in the inconsistency table, if the inconsistent status has not changed.
− If a consistent status is found, the object is removed from the table of inconsistencies.
4. The report then deletes all inconsistent objects that have reached the Delete After n Days time
limit.
 An object is only deleted, if it is observed for n days AND is found three times: It is identified
as inconsistent during the first run, recognized as an actual inconsistency during the second
run, and, if it still exists during the third run, and is still inconsistent, it is deleted.

Maintaining the Spool Database

Purpose

Maintain the spool database regularly to ensure optimal performance

and size. You should perform the following tasks to maintain the spool
database regularly:

• Check the consistency of the spool database

• Delete old spool requests

Process Flow

The figure below shows the most important methods of maintaining

the spool database:
Scheduling both deletion and the consistency check in the
background is preferable to performing these tasks in dialog.
Scheduling these tasks in the background ensures the regularity of
deletion and of consistency checks. It also eases the workload both of
the administrator and of the systems.

Deleting Spool Requests in the Background

Use

You want to delete old spool requests from the database at regular
intervals. You can use the background deletion options to do this.

As deleting in the background affects performance, you should schedule it either during the
night or at the weekend.

Prerequisites

You require appropriate administrator authorization.

Procedure

Use one of these two options to delete in the background:

Deleting in the Background Using the Spool Administration (SPAD):

With this method, you cannot change the deletion criteria.

...

1. Choose Tools → CCMS → Spool → Spool Administration.

2. On the tab page Administr. (administration), choose Settings.
3. On the tab page Administr., choose Delete old spool requests and specify an interval at which the
old requests are to be deleted.

Deleting in the Background with Report RSPO1041:

To change deletion criteria, you can also run report RSPO1041 in the background (transaction
SE38).

When deleting in the background, spool data that has errors or is

obsolete is also be deleted from the TemSe data store.