Why are print servers hard to "make work"

  • Thread starter Thread starter zigipha
  • Start date Start date
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zigipha

Can someone explain, with some level of detail, why there is an
apparently large variability in the sucess of deploying a print server?
Assuming that the issues of networking, subnets, wireless issues,etc
can be put aside, what is the core reason? Is it that people who deploy
this are usually in over their heads? Is the variability due to the
printer? Server? Some combination? Are there any guidelines that would
improve the chance of sucess (i.e. any printer made in the last 2 years
will work; any printer from company xyz, etc).

Many thanks
 
Can someone explain, with some level of detail, why there is an
apparently large variability in the sucess of deploying a print server?
Assuming that the issues of networking, subnets, wireless issues,etc
can be put aside, what is the core reason? Is it that people who deploy
this are usually in over their heads? Is the variability due to the
printer? Server? Some combination? Are there any guidelines that would
improve the chance of sucess (i.e. any printer made in the last 2 years
will work; any printer from company xyz, etc).

Many thanks
Click to expand...
from what I've seen, working in a lot of different enterprise
environments, is that some admins just take a fling at it, while others
really due a little homework, before bringing everything under one
umbrella. At the same time there are a lot of networks that have been
migrated to an AD environment in the past few years, and the printer
structure was a complete after thought. And yes having a stable of like
printers helps, I have seen admins utilize a wide range of printers
makes/models with success. Like anything, if you do your homework it is
a no brainer.
 
Thank you for your reply.... I should have mentioned that I meant wired
print server (usb printer connected to a lan, in a home or soho office)

Thanks
 
Can someone explain, with some level of detail, why there is an
apparently large variability in the sucess of deploying a print server?
Assuming that the issues of networking, subnets, wireless issues,etc
can be put aside, what is the core reason? Is it that people who deploy
this are usually in over their heads? Is the variability due to the
printer? Server? Some combination? Are there any guidelines that would
improve the chance of sucess (i.e. any printer made in the last 2 years
will work; any printer from company xyz, etc).
Click to expand...

I'm not convinced that print servers are hard to set up, but some people
have trouble.

The issues are often due to the difference between a client and a
server. Most computers are already set up as clients, and the user
doesn't need to know anything to plug them into a network.

On a server, even a print server, there are a bunch of things that
really do matter, and have to be chosen by the installer. The IP
address has to be consistent, whether static or DHCP. You may need to
know whether the print server wants port 9100 or lpr/lpd and the queue
name, or the difference between raw and "cooked" queues.

Drivers, Winprinters, all-in-ones, poorly-engineered cheap printers or
print servers, all add complexity and more chances for something to go
wrong.

HP JetDirects have always worked well for me, both external and
internal. There have been some off-brand (Trendnet? can't recall,
sorry) but compatible ones that have also worked, and cost much less.
 
Can someone explain, with some level of detail, why there is an
apparently large variability in the sucess of deploying a print server?
Click to expand...

Because there's no one single way that PCs "talk" to printers. This is
especially true when it comes to *reading back* status information from a
printer: Many network print servers don't suppose this "reverse channel" at
all, and many printer drivers then simply throw up their hands and refuse to
operate. Even for those that do, you're essentially building a "virtual
connection" between your PC and the printer when you're running it over a
network print server, and this causes all kinds of changes in the timing and
"patter" of the data transfer -- again, some printer drivers don't like this.
Are there any guidelines that would
improve the chance of sucess (i.e. any printer made in the last 2 years
will work; any printer from company xyz, etc).
Click to expand...

Nothing so simple, but a good way to start is to see if you can "share" the
printer off of another PC and then successfully print to it from other PCs in
the network. If that doesn't work, you can pretty much be guaranteed that
using a print server with that printer won't work. Although I believe it's
changed in the past few years, for quite awhile the official position of HP
was that network printing like this was simply unsupported with their
lower-end printers, and many of them simply didn't work.

Bugs in the printer's device driver tend to be exacerbated by print servers
(this is a consequence of the general rule that, even with an abstract
"printer API," there are many errors you can make in API calls that will just
so happen to work when everything is on the same physical machine and not on,
e.g., the other side of town with an Internet connection); many lower-end
printers have drivers that aren't particularly well tested.
 
Are there any guidelines that would
improve the chance of sucess (i.e. any printer made in the last 2 years
will work; any printer from company xyz, etc).
Click to expand...

I would say you have a better chance of networking an older printer. Older
printers didn't require an "application" to run in order to print.

I would say any printer that installs by pointing to an INF file would work
better than today's printers that require allot of hand holding with the
host computer.

Some of the new hp all in ones say no network support.
 
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