Lesson 7

Deploying a Print Server

FYI: Printing is usually the number one helpdesk request. Note the last paragraph of current printing devices being used at my current employment.

Printing typically involves the following four components: print device, printer, print server, and print driver.

The simplest form of print architecture consists of a locally attached print device. The printer then can be shared with other users on the same network.

XML Paper Specification (XPS) is a new, platform-independent document format used in Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista in which print job files use a single XPS format to the print device rather than being converted first to EMS and then later to PCL.

With network-attached print devices, the primary deployment decision that the administrator must make is which computer will function as the print server.

Printer permissions are much simpler than NTFS permissions. They basically dictate whether users are allowed to merely use the printer, manage documents submitted to the printer, or manage the properties of the printer itself.

The Print Management snap-in for MMC is an administrative tool that consolidates the controls for the printing components throughout the enterprise into a single console.

Currently coming from a Novell network to a Microsoft network we purchase printers with a NIC cards and set the printer to a static IP address. Then when adding a printer we create a port o the workstation to point to the IP address on the printers then select the most current print drivers for a local network share. As we have progressed we have move Multi Function Printers that fax, scan to PDF, store user print jobs until they release it at the printer. These also add security putting password on accounts so someone can’t just walk up and print from the HR Directors mailbox. These printers are administered via a webpage point to the device.

In the future I see this more and more the norm along with the reduction of printing hard copies.