# $Id: README 3571 2013-07-17 20:11:32Z jerome $ PyKota - Print Quotas for CUPS (c) 2003-2013 Jerome Alet This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details. You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program. If not, see . ==================================================================== READ SPECIAL LICENSING AND REDISTRIBUTION TERMS IN THE FILE 'LICENSE' ==================================================================== PyKota features : ----------------- http://www.pykota.com/software/pykota/features/ ==================================================================== Planned features are described in the TODO file. Actually three (or an infinity of) page accounting methods are implemented : - The 'hardware' method consists in querying the printer (via SNMP or Netatalk or any other method of your choice) for its internal pages counter. This is done both at the beginning and at the end of a print job. The counters difference is then used to decrease the user's account balance or increase his quota usage. - The 'software' method consists in delegating the computation of the job's size in number of pages to any external command of your choice. The command can read the job's data from its standard input and MUST output the job's size on its standard output. Changes to the user account are reported immediately. PyKota by default internally uses the code from pkpgcounter which can handle a large number of Page Description Languages, and can parse documents produced either by GhostScript or by a number of native printer drivers. Of course this means you have to install pkpgcounter if you want to use the default PDL parser. An up-to-date list of supported Page Description Languages and their level of support is available from : http://www.pykota.com/software/pkpgcounter/ - The 'ink' method consists in using pkpgcounter's code to compute how much of each page is covered by ink in each color of a particular colorspace chosen between CMYK, CMY, RGB, and BW (grayscale). These values are then summed up together and multiplied by a set of coefficients defined in PyKota's configuration files. PyKota is known to work with most printers, excepted GDI ones (Windows only). At least one of the accounting methods above should work for you. If it's not the case, please report the problem : tell us the exact brand and model of the printer, if possible the driver used, and send some test files. ============================================================ SUPPORT CONTRACTS: ================== You can now purchase 8x5x365@NextBusinessDay Technical Support Contracts from us. The yearly fee is computed with the following formula : (100.0 * NbPrintServers) + (2.5 * NbPrinters) + (0.04 * NbUsers) EUROS. This fee includes the VAT, and a free subscription to Official PyKota packages. Please send an email to alet@librelogiciel.com if you're interested in purchasing such a contract. Remember that purchasing a support contract for Free Software like PyKota is a great way to show your appreciation for the work already being done on this project, and will help to improve this software in the future. ============================================================ INSTALLATION: ============= NB : ==== PyKota's documentation is available as DocBook SGML sources files in the pykota/docs directory. If you obtained an Official package, in the same directory you'll also find the documentation in HTML and PDF formats. Otherwise you have to compile it into HTML or PDF yourself by using the appropriate tools as installed on your system. PyKota's collaborative documentation is available from : http://www.pykota.com/wiki/ You may learn more about PyKota, if it fits your own organization, its internal working, and some potential performance drawbacks and how to avoid them, in a document created by Ryan Suarez at : http://archive.macosxlabs.org/forum/webcrossing_archive/documentation/Pykota_and_CUPS/Pykota_and_CUPS.html You may also find the following document interesting : http://es.tldp.org/Tutoriales/doc-openldap-samba-cups-python/ This document, written in Spanish by Sergio Gonzalez Gonzalez, describes the integration of PyKota into an OpenLDAP + Samba + CUPS installation. Even for people who can't read spanish this document is really interesting, and contains lots of screenshots. Prerequisite : -------------- See : http://www.pykota.com/wiki/Dependencies for an up-to-date list, or see below (maybe not up-to-date) : You need to have the following tools installed on the CUPS Server : - CUPS (http://www.cups.org). PyKota v1.27 requires CUPS v1.3.4 or higher. - Python v2.4 or higher (http://www.python.org) - eGenix' mxDateTime Python extension (http://www.egenix.com) - The pkpgcounter command line tool, version 1.56 or higher. This tool is now mandatory for PyKota to work. (http://www.pykota.com/software/pkpgcounter) - The pkipplib Python library (http://www.pykota.com/software/pkipplib) - The JAXML Python module to be able to dump datas in the XML format. (http://www.librelogiciel.com/software/) - The Python-PAM module if you need the pknotify command to be able to check usernames and passwords. (http://www.pangalactic.org/PyPAM) - The Python-SNMP module to query printers for their page counter. (http://pysnmp.sourceforge.net) IMPORTANT : version v4.x is now REQUIRED. Versions 3.x or earlier are not supported anymore. - The Python-OSD module to use the graphical print quota reminder. (http://repose.cx/pyosd/) - SNMP tools (specifically the snmpget command) if you prefer to use your own script to request query printers instead of PyKota's internal SNMP handling facilities, which is not recommended... (http://www.net-snmp.org). You probably don't need this. - Netatalk (specifically the pap command) if you plan to request your printer's lifetime page counter via AppleTalk. (http://netatalk.sourceforge.net). You probably don't need this. - The ReportLab Python module (http://www.reportlab.org) if you want to have PyKota generate nice banners, invoices or receipts in PDF for you. - The Python Imaging Library (aka PIL) module (http://www.pythonware.com/downloads) if you want to have PyKota generate nice banners, invoices or receipts in PDF for you. - PostgreSQL's PygreSQL Python extension and the PostgreSQL client libraries if you plan to use PostgreSQL as the database backend. (http://www.postgresql.org and http://www.pygreql.org) or - python-ldap Python module and the OpenLDAP client libraries if you plan to use an LDAP server as the database backend. (http://www.openldap.org and http://python-ldap.sourceforge.net) or - SQLite v3.2.7 and the SQLite libraries if you plan to use SQLite as the database backend (http://www.sqlite.org). You also need the PySQLite module v2.0.5 or higher (http://www.pysqlite.org) or - The MySQL-python bindings. IMPORTANT: If you are using MySQL 4.1, then MySQL-python must be version 1.2 or greater. Version 1.0 does not work correctly with 4.1. You need to have the following tools installed on the database server : - PostgreSQL (http://www.postgresql.org) or - OpenLDAP, or any other LDAP server (http://www.openldap.org) or - SQLite, v3.2.7 or higher (http://www.sqlite.org). Beware : with SQLite the database server and the print servers MUST be the very same machine. or - MySQL 4.1 or higher. 5.x is recommended. This list of prerequisite software may change in the future, when PyKota will support more functionnalities you will be given alternatives. Of course the Print Server and the database server can be the very same machine if you've got a tiny network, or you can have multiple Print Servers all storing their quotas on the same database server if you've got a bigger network. (NB : with SQLite, the database can't be shared between several print servers) Hint : ------ - The Debian GNU/Linux distribution is to our knowledge the easiest distribution to install PyKota on, because almost all of PyKota dependencies are already included. We recommend you to use Debian's Etch distribution or more recent. PyKota works fine on Sarge, but some additional dependencies are missing in Sarge and have to be installed manually. Then : ------ Download the latest PyKota version from the Subversion tree : $ svn co http://svn.pykota.com/pykota/trunk pykota You can now check if the dependencies are correct by typing : $ python checkdeps.py An availability report for all the software needed by PyKota will be displayed : you'll have to install the missing software if you want PyKota to work correctly. To install the software, just type : $ python setup.py install You may need to be logged in with sufficient privileges (e.g. root) If you use Debian or Ubuntu, and want to use PostgreSQL as the database backend, just type : $ pksetup debian or : $ pksetup ubuntu and follow the instructions to install PyKota in interactive mode, then skip the remaining of the section below. Otherwise, you have to setup manually : Create a system user for PyKota : $ adduser --system --group --home /etc/pykota --gecos PyKota pykota Put the user your printing system is run as in the pykota system group : $ adduser lp pykota NB : on our system, the CUPS printing system runs as system user 'lp'. Please adapt this to your own system. Go to the initscripts/ subdirectory of PyKota's sources, and choose the appropriate storage backend for your configuration. Read carefully the associated README file, modify the initialization script to change the passwords, or, in the case of the LDAP backend, adapt it to your own LDAP DIT, and execute the initialization script to create an empty PyKota database. Upgrade scripts may be provided as well. NB : if you use PostgreSQL, a good way to make PyKota work first time is to modify PostgreSQL's pg_hba.conf to allow the 'trust' database connection mode. However once PyKota works it is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO CHANGE THIS TO A MORE SECURE VALUE. Look at the SECURITY document, PyKota's Official documentation and PostgreSQL's documentation for details on this subject. Copy the conf/pykota.conf.sample and conf/pykotadmin.conf.sample sample configuration files to ~pykota/pykota.conf and ~pykota/pykotadmin.conf The installation script usually copies these files into /usr/share/pykota NB : You can move PyKota's configuration files elsewhere, they will be searched first in user pykota's home directory, then in /etc/pykota. You need to adapt these files to your own needs. Especially you may have to create sections named after your own printers, and change the administrator's email address which by default is root@localhost. Read and try to understand these two very well commented files, so that you'll encounter less problems later. The rest of the installation depends on your printing system : - CUPS Printing System : Once and for all : Modify CUPS' cupsd.conf to make CUPS listen to 127.0.0.1:631 INSTEAD OF to an unix domain socket, in addition to any external network interface CUPS might already be listening to. Create a symbolic link to the cupspykota backend in CUPS's backend directory : $ cd /usr/lib/cups/backend $ ln -s /usr/share/pykota/cupspykota cupspykota If you use CUPS v1.2 or higher, please do this as well : $ chmod 700 /usr/share/pykota/cupspykota This allows the cupspykota backend to support other backends which must be run as user root, like the lpd backend for example. Restart CUPS so that the new backend can be detected. $ /etc/init.d/cupsys restart for example under Debian, or any similar command depending on your operating system of choice. For new printers : Go to CUPS management interface (http://localhost:631) and choose the appropriate PyKota managed device depending on the type of printer you use. For example, if your printer is waiting on : socket://myprinter.example.com:9100 Then choose : cupspykota:socket://myprinter.example.com:9100 Configure your printer as usual. Now double check /etc/pykota/pykota.conf You should manually create a section named after the printer you've just added, unless you have set all options globally. The new pkturnkey command can help you with correct settings for your printers. To have pkturnkey give you some hints about what to put into pykota.conf for a particular print queue, just use its --doconf command line switch : $ pkturnkey --doconf TheNameOfThePrintQueue pkturnkey will try to tell you what is the best accounting method for each printer and will print some lines you'll just have to copy&paste in the appropriate sections in /etc/pykota/pykota.conf For more informations about what pkturnkey can do for you, see pkturnkey's manual page or use the --help command line switch : $ pkturnkey --help | less That's all. For existing print queues : You want to route the print queue through PyKota, and you can do this in several manners. $ pkprinters --add --cups TheNameOfThePrintQueue or if your printer's DeviceURI is something like : socket://myprinter.example.com:9100 then you can do this : $ pkprinters --add TheNameOfThePrintQueue $ lpadmin -p TheNameOfThePrintQueue \ -v cupspykota://socket://myprinter.example.com:9100 Finally, you could do it manually by modifying the the DeviceURI lines in /etc/cups/printers.conf : You would have to preprend 'cupspykota://' in front of what is already on these lines. For example, replace : DeviceURI socket://myprinter.example.com:9100 with : DeviceURI cupspykota://socket://myprinter.example.com:9100 or : DeviceURI cupspykota://socket://myprinter.example.com:9100 Save the file and restart CUPS for the changes to take effect. Here too, you may find it interesting to use the pkturnkey command as described above to help with manual configuration of the file /etc/pykota/pykota.conf Now you can begin to populate the PyKota's database with printers, users and groups : Add printers and users to the quota system and set their quota values : You can either use pkturnkey, or do the same things manually by using the pkprinters, pkusers and edpykota command line tools : Create printers : $ pkprinters --help will tell you how to create, manage or delete printers and printers groups. $ pkprinters --add --charge 0.05 hp2100 would add the printer named hp2100 with a price per page of 0.05 unit. Create users : $ pkusers --add --limitby balance --balance 10.0 jerome would create user jerome and give him ten credits to spend on any printer. Finally create print quota entries : $ edpykota --add --printer hp2100 john paul george ringo This will create print quota entries for The Beatles on printer hp2100. The print quota entry holds the number of pages printed on a particular printer for a particular user, as well as optional page limits to be used instead of balance limits. See pkusers and edpykota's manual pages for details. Your users now should be able to print but not exceed their printing quota. To see printer quota usage on printer hp2100, you can use : $ repykota --printer hp2100 or : $ repykota which will print quota usage for all users on all printers, along with totals, if you are a PyKota Administator. If you are a regular user, only your own quota report will be produced. You can also use these commands : $ pkusers --list $ edpykota --list $ pkusers --list john paul george ringo $ edpykota --list --printer hp2100 john paul george ringo Quota reports are also available remotely by using the CGI script printquota.cgi provided in the cgi-bin/ subdirectory. You can also use the CSS stylesheet present in the stylesheets/ subdirectory and put it at your web server's DocumentRoot, to benefit from a nicer look, especially quota violations will appear in different colors. For additionnal security concerns, please give a look at the SECURITY file which is part of this software. To diagnose a problem when something doesn't work as expected, please read this FAQ entry : http://otrs.librelogiciel.com/otrs/public.pl?ID=2 ============================================================ Mailing lists : --------------- A mailing list is dedicated to PyKota, you can subscribe to it or consult its archives at : http://lists.pykota.com/mailman/listinfo/pykota This mailing list is the preferred way to obtain support, because all members can help and can also benefit from the solutions proposed by other members. Another mailing list, dedicated to developers, is available from : http://lists.pykota.com/mailman/listinfo/pykota-devel In this mailing list you can discuss implementation details, bugs, ideas, and so on. All commit messages are also sent to this list. Posts by non-members are rejected. The mailing lists language is english and only english. IRC : ----- You can also chat with us : /server irc.freenode.net /join #pykota Preferred language on this channel is english, but french is also accepted. Try to avoid exposing complex problems in french because english speaking people on the channel wouldn't benefit from the solutions. PyKota's main author is known as 'tamere' on IRC. Bug Tracker : ------------- You can report bugs to our bug tracker on the development website at : http://trac.pykota.com