Network Utilities (Systems) Ltd
Liberty House
158 Ewell Road
Surbiton Surrey. KT6 6HE
UK

Tel:    +44 181 390 9911
Fax:    +44 181 390 6201
BBS:    +44 181 399 5323
Email:  Sales@Netutil.Demon.Co.UK

Thank you for downloading the Qmeter evaluation software.

Qmeter is supplied as a working 30 day evaluation with full
documentation in Microsoft Word 6 format.

A complete evaluation with a manual can be supplied on
request.

Three files will have been created when this file was
unzipped.

README.TXT (this file)
QDOC.ZIP
QDISK.ZIP

QDOC.ZIP contains a cut down Qmeter manual in Microsoft Word
6 for Windows format which can be printed and will produce a
document of around 57 pages.

The layout of this printed document may vary according to
your printer and page size settings and this may cause some
graphics to be mis-alligned.

All information in this document is available in the HELP
system supplied with the administration program.

Quick install instructions are contained at the end of this
document.

In order to install the Qmeter evaluation the following
commands should be completed.

Unzip QDISK.ZIP to a floppy disk or subdirectory of your
choice, the '-d' option must be specified to enable the
correct directory structures to be created.

Examples;

PKUNZIP -d QDISK.ZIP a:\
or

if the sub-directory was named C:\QINSTALL

PKUNZIP -d QDISK.ZIP C:\QINSTALL\

The Qmeter evaluation is now ready for installation.


Quick install instructions
--------------------------

To install the Windows administration program.
----------------------------------------------
From Windows Program Manager choose FILE/RUN and enter
in the command line box;

A:\ADMIN\INSTALL

(replace 'A:' with the Drive:\Directory chosen when the
QDISK.ZIP file was unzipped)


To install the Windows users utility.
----------------------------------------------
From Windows Program Manager choose FILE/RUN and enter
in the command line box;

A:\USER\INSTALL

(replace 'A:' with the Drive:\Directory chosen when the
QDISK.ZIP file was unzipped)


Installing Qmeter on the server
-------------------------------

Installing Qmeter on a NetWare server involves a two step
process.

Step 1. - Copying the relevant files

Copy all files in the NLM directory to the SYS:\SYSTEM
directory on the chosen NetWare server.

Example

NCOPY A:\NLM\*.* SYS:\SYSTEM\*.*

Only one file is required to operate Qmeter, QMETER.NLM.


Step 2. - Loading the Qmeter NLM

From the console of the NetWare server type

LOAD QMETER

(Qmeter will auto-load CLIB.NLM if it is not already
loaded).
Qmeter will not load correctly if CLIB.NLM is an earlier
version than 3.12f. However, CLIB version 3.12h is
recommended.

The server installation is complete and no further action is
required at the server console.

No metering will take place until the administrator
configures the appropriate queues.

Unloading Qmeter.

To unload Qmeter type the following line at the server
console.

UNLOAD QMETER

Qmeter will complete any unfinished work and will then
unload.

-------------------------------------------------------
Quick overview of Qmeter - for complete details see the
manual or the Qmeter help system.
-------------------------------------------------------

Concepts of print metering
--------------------------

Metering users’ print usage on networks is a requirement
brought about by the rapid expansion of networks in business
and education. With this expansion comes the commendable
provision of sharing expensive resources, in particular
laser printers.

Most other shared resources are amply controlled by existing
commercially available software. Application metering is
increasingly common on large networks and general network
security is handled by applying rights limitations to users
or groups of users.

Prior to Qmeter, if a printer was made available to a user,
there was no control over the volume that a user could move
through that printer. This has inevitably led to wastage and
in some cases abuse of the privilege.

Qmeter provides, at the minimum, a simple method of
monitoring each user’s output (in pages) to any print queue
on a NetWare network. Qmeter can also enforce administrator
defined page limits and if required provide a complete
accounting system with users required to pay or account for
all print usage.

The latest laser printers now produce near commercial print
quality, can handle the most complex graphics and
increasingly, colour output. It is likely that some users
will take advantage of these expensive and readily available
facilities for non-company related projects. The level of
abuse or waste is currently unknown to the administrator -
with Qmeter, details of each user’s print output becomes
available at the click of a button.

The cost of  toner, paper, drum wear and capital printer
costs can become a notable figure on an organisations’
balance sheet. With the information generated by Qmeter,
it is now possible to calculate departmental usage and
allocate budgets accordingly.


Defining print metering
-----------------------

Qmeter examines print output from users to NetWare queues,
calculates the page content and either makes the job
available to the print server or locks it in the queue if
the number of pages exceeds any limits set by the
administrator.

Qmeter can also do much more. Administrators can configure a
queue to override any local print capture settings that
inhibit or force tab, banner, form feed and notify
configurations. Qmeter can redirect large jobs to other
queues thus providing an express queue for small jobs,
rather like the express checkout used in supermarkets.

In order to calculate the pages contained within a print job
Qmeter analyses the actual print data and using Qmeter’s
proprietary technology calculates the page count. The data
is not fully interpreted as is done by a printer, to do so
would use all the resources of a server and would slow the
system to an unacceptable degree.


Given the variety of printer technologies in the market
place Qmeter cannot guarantee to meter all types of print
output. However, the authors are committed to ongoing
development as new print technology emerges. We rely on your
feedback of non-supported printers to achieve these
objectives. All printer support upgrades are free of charge
and will be available on our bulletin board or from your
local supplier.

Qmeter operation overview
-------------------------
Qmeter is a new and unique tool for monitoring and
controlling pages printed via NetWare print queues.

Qmeter installs in minutes and will start metering any queue
on any NetWare 3.x server by simply clicking on a button in
the Qmeter Windows administration program.

Account limits can be set using either a nominated quota of
pages or by setting financial, price per page limits. User,
queue/user and queue limits may be set. Payments can be
posted to the account and the balance will be automatically
decremented as printing takes place. Summary historical
totals can be viewed at any time for any user on any queue.

The control/counting mechanism is installed as a NLM on the
server using the standard LOAD command. No other work is
necessary at the server console. Configuration and all
metering statistics are set-up through the Qmeter Windows
administration program.

No TSRs or Windows drivers are required on the users’
workstations.

As soon as queue metering is activated on a print queue, all
output through that queue is scanned and page counts are
automatically added to each user’s account. With no
additional action, the administrator can immediately see how
many pages each user is printing on metered queues.

Limits may be set in three complementary metering modes and
enforced on daily, weekly, monthly or total page usage.
Limits can be predetermined and enforced using financial
limits based on a circumscribed price per page setting or
numbers of pages. Either or both methods may be implemented
by the administrator. Financial or page credits can be
posted to either the user’s personal account, the user’s
ueue account or the queue account.

Qmeter’s advanced queue management options provide control
over the client’s settings for banners, tabs, form feeds and
notify. This can be activated with or without actual
metering taking place.

Accounting
----------

With Qmeter, measuring users’ print output can be as simple
or as complex as the administrator wishes. All print
metering is based upon the actual number of pages sent
to a NetWare print queue by a user. Three co-operative
accounting systems can influence a user’s right to print to
a queue.

Users general account
---------------------

Counts and optionally enforces a user’s print output to all
metered queues.

Users queue account
-------------------

Counts and optionally enforces a user’s print output to a
specific metered queue. A user can have separate accounts on
many different queues.

Queue account
-------------

Counts and optionally enforces all print output to a
specific metered queue. All users of the queue are affected
by this account.


Account structure
-----------------
All accounts offer the following control features

	All methods offer historical views of print usage
	covering total page/print output over the last seven
	days, the last four weeks and the last twelve months.

Time based metering

	Set and enforce a daily page count - usage resets to
	zero at midnight every night. This limit, if set to
	enforced, overrides any available credits from
	other accounts.

	Set and enforce a weekly page count - usage resets to
	zero at midnight every Saturday. This limit, if set to
	enforced, overrides any available credits from
	other accounts.

	Set and enforce a monthly page count - usage resets to
	zero at midnight on the last day of each calendar
	month. This limit, if set to enforced, overrides any
	available credits from other accounts.

	Set and enforce a total page count - never reset. This
	limit, if set to enforced, overrides any available
	credits from other accounts.

Account based metering - financial or page quantities

 Currency balance:-     reduced by configurable price per
			page calculation as printing takes 
			place.

 Page balance -         reduced as printing takes place.

	

Qmeter calculations
-------------------

With Qmeter a user can use page credits from the following
possible sources.

	Users print queue currency account
	Users print queue page account
	Print queue currency account
	Print queue page account
	Users currency account
	Users page account

	Accounting must be turned ON in every case.

If sufficient credit is available on any of the above
accounts then the print job will be allowed and the
appropriate account is decremented by the value/pages
applicable.

Accounts are checked and adjusted in the following order.

	Queue/User page balance
	Queue/User currency balance
	User page balance
	User currency balance
	Queue page balance
	Queue currency balance

Note: if any enforced limits (by day, week, month or total)
are breached the job will be locked irrespective of any
credits on any accounts.

What Qmeter can and cannot meter
--------------------------------

Qmeter can meter
================

PostScript output
	Most popular applications and printer drivers produce
	PostScript output that will be correctly scanned and
	calculated in pages by Qmeter.
HP PCL  output
	Most popular applications and printer drivers produce
	PCL output that will be         correctly scanned and
	calculated in pages by Qmeter.

Qmeter cannot meter
===================

Text output with no formatting
	Raw text cannot be correctly calculated because the
	quantity of resultant pages is dependent upon the
	status of the printer - default font, default
	page size, etc. and this cannot be known by Qmeter.
	This type of output can         be barred by Qmeter.

Non supported  output - Plotters, Cora 5, etc.


System requirements

Server
	
	NetWare 3.x
	Library CLIB 3.12h or greater

Server Memory
	
	110KB plus 40k per metered queue

Administration
	
	Windows 3.1 or greater.

Workstations

DOS, Windows 3x, Windows 95, Windows NT, OS2 (any client
that conforms to the NetWare print capture standard).

