IBM AIX 7.2 – Common Problem 150 – Diagnosis and Fix

📖 ~1 min read

Table of contents

1. Symptom & Impact
2. Environment & Reproduction
3. Root Cause Analysis
4. Quick Triage
5. Step-by-Step Diagnosis
6. Solution – Primary Fix
7. Solution – Alternative Approaches
8. Verification & Acceptance Criteria
9. Rollback Plan
10. Prevention & Hardening
11. Related Errors & Cross-Refs
12. References & Further Reading

Symptom & Impact

`enq -A` shows queues `DOWN` and jobs accumulating with no movement; `qdaemon` is idle.

Environment & Reproduction

AIX 7.2 print server with remote queues to a network printer over `lpd`.

Root Cause Analysis

`qdaemon` lost its connection to the SMIT-defined virtual printer or `/var/spool/lpd` is full.

Quick Triage

Run `enq -A`, `lpstat`, and `lssrc -s qdaemon` to see queue states.

Step-by-Step Diagnosis

Inspect `/var/spool/lpd/qdir`, `/var/adm/ras/qdaemon`, and `errpt | grep QDAEMON`.

Solution – Primary Fix

Restart cleanly: `stopsrc -s qdaemon`, `startsrc -s qdaemon`, then `enable `.

Solution – Alternative Approaches

Recreate the queue with `smitty mkque` and `smitty mkquedev` if config is corrupt.

Verification & Acceptance Criteria

`enq -A` shows `READY` queues and a test job via `qprt -P /etc/motd` completes.

Rollback Plan

Disable the queue with `enq -D ` and route jobs to a backup printer.

Prevention & Hardening

Monitor `/var/spool/lpd` usage and rotate `qdaemon.log` via `errnotify`.

Related Errors & Cross-Refs

Related to `QDAEMON` errpt entries and remote `lpd` timeouts.

Related tutorial: View the step-by-step tutorial for aix-7.2.

View all aix-7.2 tutorials on the Tutorials Hub →

Browse all common problems & solutions on the Tutorials Hub.

References & Further Reading

IBM Docs: AIX print spooler, `enq`, `qdaemon`.