Data Requirements
The following table lists the data requirements for setting up a print server.
| Parameter | Description | Your Value |
| Printer name | User-assigned name of the printer. |
|
| Printer share name | User-assigned name of the printer as it will appear to network clients. This can be the same as the printer name if you want. Due to client limitations, this name should be limited to 8 characters. |
| List of client operating systems | To facilitate automatic download of drivers from the server to the client, you must know in advance the operating systems of the clients which will use the shared printer. |
|
Configuration Procedure
Authority Level Required Some of the following configuration steps may require administrative authority.
1. The first step in setting up a
print server is to set the machine up to print directly to the printer. If you have not already done so, do the procedure Configuring Windows 2000 to Print Directly to the Printer, and return here when done.
2. Select Start, then Settings, then Printers. You see the Printers folder.
3. Right-click on the printer and select Sharing....
4. Click the Shared radio button, then enter the printer's share name.
5. If there will be clients on other operating systems that are going to use this shared printer, click Additional Drivers, select all such operating systems in the resulting list, then click OK. At this point, you will be prompted to install the drivers by inserting the Setup CD-ROM. Follow the instructions to do this.
6. As an option, you can enter the location of the printer (such as "Building 3, Room 107") and a comment about the printer (such as "For use by marketing only"). To enter this information, select the General tab.
7. Click OK.
8. Inform the clients that will be using the printer of the share name of the printer.
Verifying the ConfigurationYou will test the shared printer by installing a client of the printer and printing a test page from that client. To install a print client, see
Configuring Windows Print Clients on TCP/IP Networks.
Networks are naturally susceptible to failures because they contain many components and are affected by the configuration of every component. Where, exactly, is your network? In the switch? The drop cables? Bounded by all of the network interface cards in your systems? Any of those physical components can break, resulting in network outages or, more maddeningly, intermittent network failures.
Networks are also affected by configuration problems. Incorrect routing information, duplicate hostnames or IP addresses, and machines that misinterpret broadcast addresses can lead to misdirected packets. You’ll also have to deal with redundancy in network connections, as you may have several routers connecting networks at multiple points. When that redundancy is broken, or its configuration is misrepresented, the network appears to be down.
When a network that you trust and love is connected to an untrusted or unmanaged network, you run the risk of being subject to a denial-of-service attack or a network penetration attempt from one of those networks. These types of attacks happen within well-run networks as well. Security mogul Bill Cheswick asks the attendees at his talks if they leave their wallets out in the open in their offices. Nary a hand goes up. Then he asks how many leave unprotected network access points like twisted-pair wall jacks in open offices, and you see the tentative hands raised. Access to the network is valuable and has to be protected while still allowing user activity to proceed without onerous overhead.
Finally, networks use a variety of core services or basic information services that we lump into the network fabric. Naming systems like NIS or DNS, security and authentication servers, or host configuration servers for hosts requiring DHCP to boot and join a network will bring down a network if they are not functioning or are giving out wrong answers.
File and Print Server FailuresWhen
file and print server fail, clients will hang or experience timeouts. A timeout can mean that a print job or a file request fails. The timeout can also lead to wrong answers or data corruption. For example, using Network File Systems (NFS) soft mounts, a write operation that times out will not be repeated. This can lead to holes in data files that will only be detected when the file is read.
Source: http://www.web-articles.info/e/a/title/File-and-Print-Server-Failures/
File and print services are among the most critical in any organization. It is imperative that users have quick, guaranteed, and secure access to their data. Helping organizations to create highly available, well performing, and secure file and print services are amid the key improvements in
Windows Server 2003.
Windows SharePoint Service | Windows Server 2003 R2 provides a sophisticated collaboration system that takes your file and print level to the next level by empowering end users to share information and work together more effectively through collaboration on documents, meetings and projects. This enhances your operating efficiency, and provides the functionality that makes your end users more productive. This system also is designed to give the IT Pro, control over the environment, while providing end-user self-service to minimize calls to IT and/or the helpdesk. | Simplify end user collaboration by facilitating the sharing of documents amongst teams. Effectively manage your documents, lists, contacts, and tasks in a team and project centric Windows SharePoint Services environment. Leverage wide range of out-of-box custom scenarios with 30 new application templates for the Windows SharePoint Services platform, a starting point for effective collaborative experience. Easily extend it to support your business processes and customer interactions. | Now built-in with Windows Server 2003 R2 |
Print Management Console | New print management console based on a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in. This console enables the management of multiple printers and with integration with other Windows services, it is now easy to push drivers to the different resources and also enables the management of the print jobs from a remote location. | Facilitate the management of remote printing resources (in branch office for example) and enables management of multiple printers from the same console. | Integrated with Active Directory |
Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) | The ability to quickly create point-in-time copies of data, allowing easier and more reliable backups of important organizational data, even while files are open. VSS significantly reduces a server's backup window by providing on-disk, point-in-time recoverable data sets. | All major backup independent software vendors (ISVs) are developing solutions based on VSS to take advantage of this service. By moving a point-in-time copy to another server, a business analyst can query against the latest company data without affecting performance on the production system. | Introduced in Windows Server 2003 |
NTFS Journaling File System | Because NTFS offers reliable file system recovery, extremely large storage media, and strong granular security, organizations can be confident that their data is safer. | NTFS allows reliable, secure, and high performing access to data. | 100-139 percent increase in performance over Windows 2000 Server |
Encrypting File System (EFS) | EFS creates a layer of security that transparently encrypts data on the physical disk with no need for end user interaction, ensuring that data is safer. | Since data on the disk is encrypted, even a mobile user whose sensitive organizational data is lost or stolen will be safer from data theft. | Encryption of offline and Web folders now possible EFS files can be shared among multiple users |
Enhanced Anti-Virus Support | Choose from a huge selection of enterprise anti-virus vendors to protect resources in your organization from malicious code delivered by viruses. | Create a comprehensive anti-virus strategy by using third-party tools to scan file servers. | New kernel level anti-virus APIs Windows Hardware Quality Lab test suite and driver certification test process for antivirus and file system drivers New tools are available for third-party anti-virus vendors to enhance the performance and reliability of their products |
Improved Print Cluster Support | Improve administrator productivity by making it easier to install and configure print clusters. | Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of printers can be installed on a highly available print cluster therefore allowing end users to have continual access to their resources, even during a hardware failure. | 8-Node clusters supported in Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition, and Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition Clustering is not available in Standard or Web editions. Printer drivers automatically propagate to each node in the cluster |
64-bit processor support | Take advantage of the latest and best performing hardware in the industry. | File and print server consolidation can reduce administrative and hardware costs dramatically. | Introduced in Windows Server 2003 Supports GUID Partitioning Table (GPT) Approximately 3,800 in-box 64-bit print drivers |
Improved Print Performance and Availability | Users will get their printed documents faster than ever. | Organizations see the need to consolidate print servers to lower total cost of operation (TCO) without losing performance or availability. | Optimized file spooling for higher print volume management Kernel mode driver blocking Enhanced printer redirection through Terminal Services |
Enhanced Windows Defragmentation Tool | Optimizing files on a server can dramatically increase the performance and availability. | Administrators can use the scheduled tasks feature to schedule disk defragmentation seamlessly optimizing the file system. Administrators can also script disk defragmentation on servers using command line utilities. | Faster performance than in Windows 2000 Supports online defragmentation of the Master File Table (MFT) Defragmentation of any NTFS cluster size now possible Volume Shadow Copy support Command line scripting support |
Increased CHKDSK Performance | CHKDSK is a program that verifies the logical integrity of a file system on Windows. When CHKDSK encounters logical inconsistencies it takes actions to repair file system data. | Because NTFS has always been a true journaling file system that supports file system recovery, it is very rare that a disk need to be checked (less than 1percent of unplanned outages require checking). However, in Windows Server 2003, CHKDSK performs faster, requiring even less downtime.
Source:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/evaluation/overview/technologies/fileandprint.mspx
| Performs 20-38 percent faster than Windows 2000 Server |
A print server helps reduce administrative and management workload by centralizing local and remote printer management at the print server. It also simplifies many of the labor intensive functions experienced by users when using direct IP printer connections. This section describes the key print server features and their benefits to both the administrator and the end user.
Point and Print
Point and Print allows a user to create a new connection to a shared printer without requiring the user to install any software for that printer. Point and Print downloads the printer files and configuration information automatically when a user installs the printer. Point and Print will update the user’s printer software as the printer software is updated on the server.
Point and Print also updates printer driver configurations when they change. For example, the administrator might install a new printer option such as a duplexer or a stapler. After the administrator reconfigures the driver to use the new feature, Point and Print will update the configuration for each user of that printer.
In contrast, those users with a direct IP connection to a shared printer must have that printer’s current version of the printer software available to them, as well as the permission to install and configure that software on their computer. This process may be manageable and actually quite reasonable in a small office, but as the number of users or printers grows, distributing and updating this software for each potential printer user can become a difficult task.
In addition, Point and Print can help you avoid security issues because users do not need Administrator access to their machines in order to install the software for a new printer. Point and Print installs the software on the user’s machine automatically in a limited system context, which protects against security issues that take advantage of a user running with Administrator access.
Users connecting to shared printers using direct IP connections must have Administrator or Power User access to their system in order to install the necessary printer software. These elevated levels of access may allow virus software running on the machine to cause severe damage to users’ systems and, in the worst case, to other computers on the network.
