I am creating a Printer Agent (PA) from...
Articles and Tips: qna
01 Oct 2000
Q.
I am creating a Printer Agent (PA) from the Configuration snap-in via NWAdmin by selecting a specific gateway type. When I try to invoke the newly-created PA in the NDS tree (using the Control snap-in) immediately after its creation, the default Novell control snap-in is invoked the first time. Also, all of the NDPS buttons are disabled in the Novell control snap-in. If the newly-created PA is invoked after a few seconds, I get the specific control snap-in that is related to the selection of gateway type in the Configuration snap-in. What is going on here?
A.
When you create a Printer Agent via NWAdmin, the configuration snap-in sends a load string to the NDPSM module on the server to load the gateway (NLM). If you then try to start up the control snap-in for the newly-created PA while the gateway (on the server) is still starting up, the MOD and object information stored inside haven't been updated completely. As a result, NWAdmin can't determine which control snap-in module to load, and therefore it invokes the default Novell control snap-in. Once the gateway startup is complete, the correct control snap-in will be launched.
By the way, when developing your control snap-in, you might need to consider this issue while you are writing a routine to retrieve information from MOD. At gateway startup time, the library may return a Null attribute-value pointer, but the API call returns successfully. You should handle this pointer correctly; otherwise, the control snap-in will crash. (Charlie Chung, DevNet SysOp and member of the Novell SysOp Team)
* Originally published in Novell AppNotes
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