Determining the Print Server Network Connection Method

  • Article

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

After installing Windows Server 2003, choose one of the following three methods to connect your print servers to the network:

  • Whenever possible, use the standard TCP/IP port, also know as the standard port. The standard port is the preferred printer port in Windows Server 2003.

  • For older devices that do not function correctly with the standard port, use the Line Printer Remote (LPR) port.

  • To connect to printers over the Internet or an intranet, use the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP).

When creating printer ports, Windows Server 2003 installs the associated port monitor for that port type.

Connecting Through the Standard TCP/IP Port

The standard port is designed for Windows Server 2003–based print servers that use TCP/IP to communicate with printing devices, including network-ready printers, network adapters such as Hewlett-Packard JetDirect, and external print servers such as Intel NetPort. The standard port uses the standard TCP/IP port monitor (TCPMon.dll), also known as the standard port monitor. The standard port monitor can support many printers on one server. It is faster and easier to configure than the LPR Port Monitor (Lprmon), and it provides rich status information and error condition reporting that eases administration of your print servers.

The standard port monitor uses Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and the standard printer message information base as defined in RFC 1759, "Printer MIB." As a result, the standard port monitor provides much more detailed status information than does LPR when, for example, the printer generates an error indicating a paper jam or low toner, or a print job is not responding and must be purged.

Although Windows Server 2003 requires TCP/IP on the print server in order to communicate with the printer, clients do not need TCP/IP. Because clients communicate with the print server rather than with the printer, they can do so using any common network protocol.

For example, a Novell NetWare client might use the Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX) protocol to send documents to a Windows Server 2003 print server. The server then passes the document to the printer using the TCP/IP protocol. Status and error information is relayed from the printer to the print server using TCP/IP, and from the print server to the client using IPX.

Connecting Through the LPR Port

The LPR port uses the LPR monitor Lprmon, which is provided with Print Services for UNIX. The LPR port acts as the client for printing according to guidelines defined in RFC 1179, "Line Printer Daemon Protocol." The LPR port spools to a target host enabled for Line Printer Daemon (LPD). The target is usually a computer running one of the following:

  • UNIX

  • Multiple Virtual Storage (MVS)

  • Virtual Address Extension (VAX)/Virtual Memory System (VMS)

However, the target alternatively can be one of the following:

  • A printer with a network adapter that supports LPD

  • An external print server

  • A computer running Windows XP Professional, Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000, or Windows NT

  • A print server running Print Services for UNIX or another version of LPD.

Before you can create an LPR port, the client must have TCP/IP and Print Services for UNIX installed. The target server must be running a Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD)–compatible LPD utility that is installed according to RFC 1179. If the server is running Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000, or Windows NT 4.0, make sure that Print Services for UNIX is started.

Using the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP)

You can make Windows Server 2003 printing features accessible over the Internet. To install a printer over the Internet, use the printer’s URL as the name of the printer. Within an intranet, you can alternatively use the printer’s share name (for example, https://servername/sharename).

If you are connecting to a print server on the same intranet, it is recommended that users’ intranet security settings for Microsoft® Internet Explorer be set to medium-low or lower. Having this setting throughout an intranet creates a true Point and Print connection, which offers many advantages over an IPP connection. You can view, connect to, and manage printers from any browser. On clients running Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows Millennium Edition, you must install the Web Client in order to manage printers by using a browser. For clients running Windows NT 4.0, you can manage printers from a browser, but cannot connect to them for printing.

To configure a computer to print to a printer by using a URL address, perform the following procedure.

To configure a computer to print to a printer by using a URL address

  1. Install Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) on a computer that is running Windows XP Professional

    or

    Install Microsoft Peer Web Services (PWS) on a computer running Windows 2000 Professional.

  2. Install IIS on a print server that is running Windows Server 2003.

    The low-level protocol used for job submission is Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) version 1.0, which uses the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) protocol as a carrier.

  3. Ensure that all clients use Internet Explorer version 4.0 or later to connect to a printer.

For information about Internet Printing, see "Internet Printing" in Help and Support Center for Windows Server 2003.