Troubleshooting the queue daemon

Use these troubleshooting steps if there is a problem with the qdaemon command.

Under normal circumstances, the qdaemon command starts when the system starts, runs until the system shuts down, and requires no attention from you (see the qdaemon command for more information). Sometimes, however, the qdaemon command may stop running or be unable to perform its function. The following information explains what you need to do under these conditions.

Any of the following conditions indicates that the qdaemon command needs maintenance:

  • The enq command requests return the following message:
    cannot awaken qdaemon (request accepted anyway)
  • The qdaemon command detects serious inconsistencies within itself and displays an error message.
  • The ps -ef command (the process status command that gives a full listing of all processes) does not show a process named /usr/sbin/qdaemon or qdaemon.

To start the qdaemon command, issue the following command:

startsrc -s qdaemon

Generally, only users with root privilege can use this command. The new qdaemon command goes through an initialization process.

If the qdaemon command does not continue running, make sure that both the qdaemon command and the enq command have the appropriate permissions. The person with root authority owns both the qdaemon command and the enq command. The qdaemon command and the enq command must run as if they are run by the user who owns them. The permission bit s sets the effective owner (user ID) of a process to that of the nominal owner. The appropriate permissions for these two commands are:
Item Descriptor
qdaemon -r-sr-s—- To check these permissions, enter aclget /usr/sbin/qdaemon.

To reset permissions, enter: tcbck -y /usr/sbin/qdaemon. You must have root user authority to reset these permissions.

enq -r-sr-sr-x To check these permissions, enter aclget /usr/bin/enq.

To reset permissions, enter: tcbck -y /usr/bin/enq. You must have root user authority to reset these permissions.

If you continue to have problems with the qdaemon command, you can use the following procedure to reinitialize the entire queuing system:

  1. If the qdaemon command is running (use the ps -ef command to find out), end it by entering stopsrc -s qdaemon.
  2. If any backends are running, use the kill command to stop them. See the kill command for more information.
  3. Delete the contents of the following directories:
    • /var/spool/lpd/stat
    • /var/spool/lpd/qdir
      Note: All jobs currently queued for printing are canceled and must be resubmitted.
  4. Restart the qdaemon command by entering startsrc -s qdaemon. See the startsrc command for more information.