Highly Available Print Servers

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Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Q. How do I cluster a printer?

A. Printers can be clustered using the Print Spooler cluster resource. The Windows 2000 and the Windows Server 2003 online help both give specific examples and the steps necessary to create a highly available print server.

Q. Can I have active/active print servers?

A. Yes, it is possible to host multiple print spoolers on a single Server cluster. The spoolers can be failed over independently and can run concurrently on multiple nodes in the cluster.

Q. How do I migrate printer settings from a single server to a cluster?

A. Microsoft provides a tool (Print Migrator) as part of the ResKit that can be used to migrate printer settings from one node to another or from one node to a Server cluster.

Q. How many printer resources can be hosted on a cluster?

A. The number of printers is limited by the number of resources the cluster can support, however, as the number of printers increases, so will the time to failover.