Adding Spooler Resources to Server Clusters

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

In order to add printers to server clusters, you first need to create and configure print spooler resources. After creating the spooler resource, you can add printers, publish them in Active Directory, and add any additional drivers that your users require. You must also create and specify the spooler resource in order to use Print Migrator 3.0 to restore printers from another print server.

Creating a Spooler Resource

To create a spooler resource for a cluster, you must be the administrator of the cluster as well as of each node within the cluster. You must also have the administration software installed on your computer. Cluster Administrator is the graphical application that is supplied with the Cluster service to manage clusters. Alternatively, you can use Cluster.exe, a command-line tool, or develop custom administration tools by using the Cluster service command interfaces. Cluster Administrator is included in the Administrative Tools Pack (Adminpak.msi). The Cluster.exe tool and Adminpak.msi files are located in the Windows\System32 directory of a Windows 2003 Server.

The procedure for creating a print spooler resource is like the procedure for creating any resource in a cluster service. For more information about creating a cluster-managed printer, see "Create a cluster-managed printer in Help and Support Center for Windows Server 2003.

After you create the print spooler resource, migrate existing printers from existing print servers, if necessary, by using Print Migrator 3.0. For more information about Print Migrator, see "Choosing a Print Server Migration Method" earlier in this chapter.

Configuring the Resource

Configure the spooler resource by selecting the print spooler resource type in the Cluster Administrator window or by using Cluster.exe. Each cluster group can have only one print spooler resource, because resources are organized into interdependent groups that must fail over together.

After you create and configure the print spooler resource, you might need to install any third-party port monitors and print processors that are cluster-compatible on each node of the cluster. To do this, take each spooler resource offline, and then bring it online again so that the new resource is visible to the cluster. Then add printers to the clustered spooler. For more information about printing and the Cluster service, see "Print Spooler resource type" in Help and Support Center.

Adding a Printer to a Cluster

After creating a group and resources, you can add printers to the cluster. Each node must have connectivity to the remote print device. A printer that is locally connected to a node cannot be part of a cluster configuration, because the printer connects directly to the node and does not fail over if that node goes down.

Adding a printer to a cluster is very similar to adding the printer to any other computer, with the following exceptions:

  • You never start from the local Printers and Faxes folder. The cluster always appears remote, even if you are working on the active cluster node. Instead type the virtual server name (for example, \\Virtual_Server_Prn) in the Run dialog box, and then click the remote Printers and Faxes folder that is displayed.

  • If the Add Printer Wizard does not appear when you open the remote Printers and Faxes folder, you cannot continue. One of three things might be wrong:

    • The associated print spooler resource is not online or is not configured

    • You are not logged on as the administrator.

    • The spooler service is not started on the local computer. (This is unlikely.)

When a cluster group containing a print spooler resource fails over to another node, the document that is currently being sent to the printer is restarted on the other node after the failure. When you move a print spooler resource or take it offline, Cluster service waits until all documents are spooled or the configured wait time elapses. The cluster discards any documents that are submitted while the spooler resource is unavailable or the cluster is offline, and users must resubmit those print jobs.

For more information about clustering, see "Designing and Deploying Server Clusters" in this book.