The simplest print queue provides a link to a single printer. Multiple OpenVMS print queues can be connected to a single generic printer to define the root of a printer farm. A user then directs print requests to the generic queue instead of a specific printer. The generic queue directs the job to the first available printer—in effect load leveling across several printers. Generic queues are initialized as follows:
$ INITIALIZE/QUEUE/START/GENERIC=(HP1, HP2, HP3) HP
where HP1, HP2, and HP3 are previously defined queues and the new queue, HP, is the generic one. To take advantage of load leveling, the user should submit a print job such as the following example:
$ PRINT/QUEUE=HP MYFILE.TXT
The manager should create a symbol to make this task easier for the user. Something similar to the following should be in SYSLOGIN.COM (the file that runs with every login):
$ HPP*RINT :== PRINT/QUEUE=HP
Where the "*" signifies that HPP is the minimum abbreviation. Thus, the user could enter:
$ HPP MYFILE.TXT