Fpmulti is a daemon that watches a device file, and when pipes data 
comeing into the device file to an executeable, which would then send 
the data across the ethernet to our print server device. The daemon uses 
one configuration file that tells the daemon two things, which device
file to watch, and what executeable/command line to pipe the data to.
To use fpmulti, there are 5 basic steps. The device file mentioned should 
be the name of the printer you are creating. For this example, we will use 
a printername of fp1.


1)Run the fastport's install.sh script, or install the fastport, as you
normally would. Create and modify a .fpconfig file if necessary (see man-
ual page 25). Send a test print with your lpr or lp command to verify 
the printer has been created succesfully. 


2)For BSD machines, modify the printcap file, and change the device entry
from pointing to a serial device to use a specific device file, e.g.:
	:lp=/dev/ttya:
becomes
	:lp=/dev/fp1:
If you are using a system 5 machine, make sure you specified a real 
device file when running the lpadmin command, and not a /dev/null 
device file (see manual pg. 38 for lpadmin). 


3)Create the fifo device specified in your printcap entry with mknod.
	mknod /dev/fp1 p
This creates a pipe fifo called /dev/fp1 that you'll send data to.  


4)Create the one line configuration file specifying the device filename 
and the executeable separated by a space, e.g.:

/dev/fp1 /usr/milan/fpfilter -P <hostname> <options> -D /usr/spool/fp1

(The -D option gives a directory name a .fpconfig file can be found. If 
you aren't using one, do not use this -D option, if you are, you must
use this option.)


5)Start the daemon (If you wish, you can put this command in one of your
boot files, so the fpmulti starts every time your system is rebooted)

fpmulti -c <config_filename>


The fpmulti and config files should reside in the same directory for 
consistency. Verify fpmulti and the directory are executeable, the 
config file is readable, and daemon is owner/group (for system5, lp 
should be owner/group). After these 5 steps, the command line :

	cat tiger.ps > /dev/fp1

will result in fpfilter getting executed, and the file tiger.ps getting
sent to the printer attached to the fastport. If you have any problems,
please contact MiLAN Tech Support at (409) 752 2751, fax (408) 752 2790
or email at support@milan.com




