Re: Network printer

Tech-Archive recommends: Fix windows errors by optimizing your registry

From: Lanwench [MVP - Exchange] (lanwench_at_heybuddy.donotsendme.unsolicitedmail.atyahoo.com)
Date: 03/05/04 

Date: Fri, 5 Mar 2004 10:00:36 -0500

Inline -

Roland Hall wrote:
> "John Bahran" wrote in message
> news:aea82e98.0403041932.5a545873@posting.google.com...
>> What is the best way to install a network printer?Thank you in
>> advance.
>
> Hi John...
>
> "best" is relative. Best in regards to easiest to install,
> additional user configurations, in regards to the performance on your
> network? I will offer my opinion based on my experience but you
> should weigh all the responses you get and relate them to your
> network, budget, abilities, time available for support, client OS
> involved, etc. What is "best" for me or others, may not be the
> "best" solution for you.
>
> Let me say that my philosophy of network printing is performance
> first, above all else. I find that anything that saves you time,
> which can affect the overall performance of your network, will pay
> for itself in the time it saves you. Your interconnectivity will
> almost always be the performance bottleneck on your network.
>
> 1. The method Lanwench gave you. It is the easiest to install and
> setup, even regarding user setup, especially if you're running NT and
> above on the client because it can pull the printer driver from the
> server. It is however, the worst scenario regarding performance.
> There is no reason, IMHO, to add performance hits to your server to
> print to a printer on the network. The upside to this scenario is
> initially it will not cost you anything monetarily.
>
> 2. The document Kristofer gave you was an excellent How-to document
> with a very good understanding of different scenarios. However, it
> fails in regards to best practices since it does not consider network
> performance. Don't get me wrong. I think the article is a great
> reference and well worth the read. You can learn a lot from it.
>
> 3. I prefer to use a network print server device, like HP JetDirect.
> This is not a perfect solution for all networks. Yes, a printer can
> be attached to it, or multiple printers depending on the model but
> Win9x cannot use TCP/IP printing to print directly to printers hosted
> on this box. If your Windows clients are NT and above, I would make
> this a consideration.

My suggested method *presumes* that there is a JetDirect card or comparable
print server card in the printer itself - not directly connecting a printer
cable to a server. The server merely shares the connection and handles the
print spooling/processing. If the network is large enough to warrant it, a
separate print server should be used anyway. I don't want to set up TCP/IP
printer ports on all workstations to print directly to the print server - if
I make any sort of IP changes, I don't want to visit a dozen workstations.
I also want the control I get over printing by having everything spool
through a server - it's easy to delete hung print jobs, etc., and let
clients manage them themselves if I give them rights. I can move users'
printers from one print server to another easily using a batch file &
con2prt and they never have to know about it.
>
> It eliminates the scenario of adding performance hits to a server.
> Also, if the server has to be rebooted, any current print jobs will
> start over automatically. If the server is down for maintenance,
> printing halts. All moving parts wear out and printing can greatly
> impact the performance of a network. Print devices were devised for
> several reasons, some of these being cost, performance, portability,
> etc.
>
> Another issue to consider is a print device should have it's own drop,
> preferably from a switching hub, just like a server would. It should
> not be attached to a hub, in an area of a department, shared with
> other users in that department UNLESS it is a departmental printer.
> On a side note, shared hubs should never be used anymore except for
> administration where you need to see all packets. Long ago price was
> the determining factor but the price of small workgroup switches is
> no longer a consideration vs using a shared hub.
>
> HP also have larger printing appliances which can support many
> different OS and should be considered depending on your network
> design, etc.
>
>
http://www.hp.com/united-states/consumer/gateway/printing_multifunction.html#servers
>
> HTH...

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Fully parallel Scheme-based language w/ evaluator
    ... Windows Server 2003 and networks in simple - and irreverent - terms. ... If networking really is a big deal, ... Concepts and Terminology in Part I, and The Design and Deployment of Network ...
    (comp.lang.misc)
  • Been Trying to Print on Network for 3 DAYS
    ... A friend of mine and I are setting up a network for a friend of ours who ... We cannot seem to get the printer working over the network in ANY situation. ... We are running windows server 2003, with the enabled roles of active ... Printing a test page we get "Your Test Page Failed to Print. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.network_web)
  • RE: Printer doesnt stop printing
    ... Win 2000 Server spk4 printers setup as local printer and plugged into digi terminal server on the network. ... It is possible to cancel printing of the document. ... In the spool queue, it says printing... ...
    (microsoft.public.win2000.printing)
  • Re: Outgoing POP3 email missing/lost/not received
    ... Funny thing is that I have had this ISP for 8 years and it has always been ... It looks like when you last ran CEICW, you set the ISP's mail server to: ... Internet Connection Wizard. ... After the wizard completes, the following network connection ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs)
  • RE: Printing from Win9x clients stops
    ... > cannot use the SBS Server shared printer. ... Create a local printer and redirect the port to the network server. ... If you are using LPR or printing to a JetDirect card using the ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs)