Introduction

The Teledyne LeCroy DSO Network Print Gateway is a software package that facilitates printing to networked printers from an Ethernet-equipped DSO.

The Network Print Gateway runs on a Windows workstation anywhere on a corporate network and acts as an intermediary between any number of Ethernet-equipped DSOs and any number of networked printers. Since the print drivers are provided by the printer manufacturer and run on the gateway workstation, the gateway can support the majority of existing, and future, printers using standard Windows printer drivers and without requiring drivers updates to the DSO software.

Two modes of operation are supported by the gateway:

The first mode allows a DSO user to press the hardcopy button on the DSO's front-panel and cause a print to be emitted from a selected network printer. 

The second mode allows the DSO user to choose output to a  standard 'bitmap file' at a predefined location on a network drive. This file may then be accessed by another workstation on the network in order to incorporate screen-dumps into reports for example. Files are stored in a directory named using the DSO's serial number in order to separate prints performed by multiple dsos (and to provide some degree of security if required).

System Requirements

DSO

• Teledyne LeCroy Waverunner or WavePro DSO equipped with an Ethernet option.

• Firmware revision 8.7.0 or later.

Print Gateway PC

• A Windows 98/NT/2000 PC to act as the gateway (only one required per network).
  * (see FAQ for subtle differences between running the gateway on Win98 and NT/2000)

• 20Mb of free HDD space

• 32Mb of RAM

• Ethernet Connection

FAQ 

Q. What printers are supported by the Gateway?
A. Any printer that is supported by the Windows Operating system, a long list!.

Q. Do I need to load a printer driver into my DSO?
A. No, everything is handled by the Gateway; the DSO does not need any software installed.

Q. What Teledyne LeCroy DSOs support this feature?
A. Any WaveRunner™/WavePro™ DSO equipped with an Ethernet port.

Q. How long does the print take?
A. Depends mainly upon the speed of the printer. The DSO is busy only for a fraction of a second before it is free to do other things.

Q. Is the gateway available for Operating Systems other than Windows?
A. Not presently, but this is being actively researched, the DSO doesn't care what network it is talking to, as long as a TCP/IP connection is available.

Q. Can I print to a printer on the Internet?
A. Theoretically, yes!, as long as the DSO can 'see' the Gateway using the TCP/IP protocol then the printer could be in a different country!.

Q. Do all of my DSOs need to be registered on my network/domain?
A. No, this is an advantage of the Print Gateway solution; only the machine running the print gateway needs to be registered on the domain.

Q. Does my DSO need a username/password to print?
A. No, only the Print Gateway needs a username/password, simplifying the life of the network administrator.

Q. Does the machine running the Print Server Gateway need any special network setup?
A. It is important that the machine running the gateway be assigned a 'static IP address', this ensures that it's address doesn't change with time which would require all of the client DSOs to be reconfigured.

Q. Why can't the DSO print directly to a printer on the network?
A. For several reasons. Firstly this would require that the DSO be equipped with a built-in driver for the target printer, considering the number of different models of printers in use it would be almost impossible to maintain. Secondly, to print to a printer on a Windows network would require that the DSO support the Microsoft Networking protocol, a feat that is virtually impossible for a non Windows-based embedded instrument.

Q. What is the difference between running the gateway under Windows 98 and Windows NT/2000?
A. There are subtle differences between the print support offered by Windows 98 and NT/2000. When running under Windows NT/2000 the Gateway can function in one of two modes. In the first mode 'Local Printers' it can provide DSO clients with the ability to print to 'local' printers, which are physically attached to the gateway machine. In the second mode 'Print Server' it can provide DSO clients with the ability to print to any printer connected to a specified print server without the machine running the gateway requiring an explicit connection to each printer. 

Under Windows 98 the gateway provides client DSOs with access to all printers that have been explicitly installed in the 'Printers' setup menu, found under the Start->Settings menu. Note that these printers may either be remote, or local printers.

Configure all printers as local!

Q. How do I change the name of the printer as it appears on the DSO?
A. Under Windows 98 right-click on the printer in the 'Printers' section of the Start->Settings->Printers' and select 'Rename'. Under Windows NT/2000 in 'Local Printers' mode the same can be performed, in 'Print Server' mode the name is defined by the print server and must be changed there.

Q. Can I print directly to a file on the network using the Gateway?
A. Yes! when the print gateway is configured a path is specified, this may be a local path on the Gateway PC, or a network path.
When the <BitmapFile> option is selected on the DSO's menu and Hardcopy is pressed a bitmap file is created in the specified location. The name uniquely identifies the DSO (using it's serial number).

Q. Can I run more than one Print Gateway on my network?
A. Yes, there is no limitation to the number of print gateways that can run on a network.

Q. Why does the server need a static IP address?
A. At present the DSO does not support the network protocols required to lookup an IP address when given a host name. This means that the host (the print gateway server) must be identifiable using only it's IP address. In a modern network IP addresses are fairly dynamic, they change periodically as explained below. In order to ensure that the DSO can always 'find' the print gateway it currently needs to be assigned a static IP address.

Q. Can I at least try the system without applying for a static IP address?
A. Yes, you can, but beware that the address assigned to your host system may change without notice in the future. Addresses are usually assigned using a protocol such as DHCP, which 'leases' IP addresses to hosts. This lease usually has a fixed time period, after which the lease expires and a new address is assigned. On some networks this lease expiry time can be as short as a day, on others it may be as long as a year. So, just be aware that if the system stops working at some point in the future it is probably caused by this.