Base operating system spooler troubleshooting

Troubleshooting the base operating system spooler can be done by tracking a spooler job through the spooler. A job submitted to the base operating system spooler moves from one spooler component to another in a predictable fashion. The movement is entirely dependent upon the spooler queue configuration, especially the spooler queue backend.

Note: To perform serious spooler troubleshooting, root authority is required. Users running without root authority are limited to:
  • Submitting jobs to the spooler
  • Sending data directly to the device driver entry point in the /dev directory
  • Querying the status of spooler queues
  • Changing the status (including cancelling) of spooler jobs owned by the user
    Note: This troubleshooting information assumes that you have access to a shell prompt. There are a number of front-ends to the base operating system spooler itself on the market; troubleshooting in this environment is still very possible, but if the problem lies in the command or method used to actually submit a job to the spooler, the application must provide a method for precisely determining the command or method used to submit the job to the spooler.