Printing

Windows 2000 includes a number of new ways to send print jobs, including new port monitors and newly supported connection methods such as USB.

Standard Port Monitor

The new Standard Port Monitor connects clients to network printers that use the TCP/IP protocol. It replaces the LPR Port Monitor (Lprmon) as the preferred port monitor for TCP/IP printers connected directly to the network through a network adapter. The new standard port simplifies installation of most TCP/IP printers by automatically detecting the network settings needed to print. Printers connected to a UNIX or VAX host might still require Lprmon.

The Standard TCP/IP Port Monitor (SPM), which uses TCP/IP as the transport protocol, is the preferred port monitor in Windows 2000. SPM uses the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) to configure and monitor the printer status. In addition to SPM, Internet printing adds a Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP) print provider. All port monitors that were included with Windows NT 4.0 are still present, except the Digital Network port monitor, Hewlett-Packard JetAdmin, and the Lexmark Port Monitors.

SPM communicates with network-ready printers, network adapters like Hewlett-Packards JetDirect, and external network print servers like Intels NetPort. SPM can support many printers on a single server and is faster and easier to configure than Lprmon.

SPM sends documents to a printer using either the RAW or LPR printing protocols. Together, these protocols support most current TCP/IP printers. Do not confuse these print protocols with the transport protocols such as TCP/IP or Data Link Control (DLC).

The RAW protocol is the default for most print devices. To send a RAW-formatted job, the print server opens a TCP stream to the printers port 9100 (or another port number) to select connections to multiport external devices. For example, on some devices port 9101 goes to the first parallel port, 9102 goes to the second parallel port, and so on.

SPM uses the LPR protocol when you specify it during port installation or reconfiguration, or when Port 9100 protocol cannot be established.

SPM deviates from the LPR standard in two ways. First, SPM does not conform to the RFC 1179 requirement that the source TCP port lie between port 721 and port 731. SPM uses ports from the general, unreserved pool of ports (ports 1024 and above). Second, the LPR standard states that print jobs must include information about the size of the job the port monitor sends. Sending a print job with job size information requires that the port monitor spool the job twice, once to determine size, and once to send the job to the spooler. Spooling the job only once improves printing performance, so SPM sends the job to the spooler without determining the actual job size, and claims the job is a default size, regardless of the jobs actual size.

SPM can send print jobs to the LPD service running on a print server. For more information about LPD, see Print Components later in this chapter.

Improved Status Information

SPM is compatible with RFC 1759, the standard for the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). As a result, SPM can provide much more detailed status than Lprmon.

For more information about printing to devices located on other platforms, see Operating System Exceptions earlier in this chapter.

To configure a standard TCP/IP port by using SPM

1. Select an installed printer, click File , and then click Properties .

2. Click the Ports tab, and then click Add Port .

3. Click Standard TCP/IP Port , and then click New Port . This starts the Add Standard TCP/IP Printer Port wizard, shown in Figure 14.8.
   Figure 14.8 Standard TCP/IP Printer Port Wizard

4. Type a name or the IP address of a print device in the Printer Name or IP Address text box.

5. Type a host-resolvable port name, which can be any character string, in the Port Name text box, or use the default name that the wizard supplies, and then click Next .
   The system sends an SNMP get command to the device. An SNMP get command asks for the status of a device, so in this case, the system uses the SNMP get command to request a status information from that printer. Using the SNMP values returned from the get command, the device details are determined and the appropriate device options are displayed for further selection (for example, you can select the correct printer port).

6. If prompted by the Additional Port Information Required dialog box, click Standard , and then select one of the devices listed.
   – Or –
   Click Custom , and then configure the port by using the Configure Standard TCP/IP Port Monitor dialog box. If you do not know details of the port, use Generic Network Card .
   If the wizard cannot determine the protocol, it prompts you for the information. If you are not prompted, skip to step 8.

7. When prompted for the protocol, select either RAW or LPR . RAW is preferred.
   If the wizard detects that the device supports multiple ports (indicated in the Tcpmon.ini file), it prompts you to select a port.

8. Select a port from the list and finish the wizard.
   The new port is listed on the Ports tab of the Properties dialog box.

Reconfiguration

The SPM port can be reconfigured in the printers Properties dialog box. Click Configure Port on the Ports tab. The SPM has its own Configure dialog box that appears, as shown in Figure 14.9.

Figure 14.9 Configure Standard TCP/IP Printer Port Monitor Dialog Box

Caution

The Configure Standard TCP/IP Port Monitor dialog box does not verify that the options you select are correct. If they are incorrect, the port does not work. Check with the printer manufacturer to see if the device supports SNMP.

Status Reporting

Printers return status over SNMP. Since SPM is compatible with SNMP, it allows detailed status reporting when the printer provides it. Printers that are not compliant with the SNMP standard do not return status information. Therefore, when there is an error during printing, the spooler displays a general printing error or does not detect any error at all.

Internet Printing

Windows 2000 supports Internet printing. This makes it possible to use printers located anywhere in the world by sending print jobs using Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). Using Microsoft Internet Information Services or a Web Peer Server, Windows 2000 creates a Web page that provides information about printers and provides the transport for printing over the Internet. Using the Internet, printers can be used to replace fax machines or postal mail.

Use an Internet printer as you would any other Windows 2000 installed printer.

For more information about installing an Internet printer on your computer, see Installing Network Printers earlier in this chapter.

For more information about managing print jobs sent by using IPP, see Internet Printing Management later in this chapter.

USB

Windows 2000 supports printing to Universal Serial Bus (USB) printers. USB is comprised of an external bus architecture for connecting USB-capable peripheral devices to a host computer, as well as a communication protocol that supports serial data transfers between a host system and USB-capable peripherals.

IrDA

Infrared Data Association (IrDA) is a system of exchanging information between computers using infrared transmissions that do not require a cable connection. IrDA can occur between any two devices that support IrDA (such as computers and printers). Windows 2000 supports printing using IrDA.

IrDA is a point-to-point protocol based on TCP/IP and WinSock APIs. IrDA can be used to exchange data between non-Windows devices that use the IrDA protocol. IrDA exchanges data at rates approaching those typically provided by local area network (LAN) connections.

Support for the IEEE 1284.4 (DOT4) Protocol

Windows 2000 supports DOT4, enabling Windows 2000 print servers to send data to multiple parts of a single multifunction peripheral (MFP) device. DOT4 is a driver that creates different port settings for each device function, so a device with both printing and scanning capabilities can process both types of jobs simultaneously.

DOT4 is automatically installed when a DOT4-enabled device is detected, so no installation or configuration is required.

Sending Faxes

Windows 2000 integrates sending and receiving faxes through your computers fax modem in the same way it sets up a printer.

If your computer has a fax modem, install the modem by using the Add Printer wizard, the same as you install a printer.

When creating fax jobs, use the Send Fax wizard to provide information to send your fax. The fax wizard includes a number of pages that allow you to configure the following fax job attributes. The Send Fax wizard includes the following pages:

• Welcome page.

• Recipient and dialing information. Use this page to enter the phone number to which you want to send the fax (or multiple numbers, if desired), and special dialing rules, such as dialing 9.

• Adding a cover page. Use this page to add a cover page and note for the faxs recipient.

• Scheduling transmission. Use this page to determine when to send the fax. By scheduling transmissions, you can take advantage of lower rates during specific times of day.

• Summary page. Use this page to confirm the configuration you have chosen before sending the fax.

After you use the Send Fax wizard, Windows 2000 automatically uses the modem to send your job to the fax numbers you have specified, unless you have specified that the job is to be sent at a later time. If the fax job is not successfully sent, Windows 2000 tries sending the fax job again at regular intervals, depending on the information set in Fax Service Properties .

For more information about configuring Windows 2000 to send faxes, see Configuring Fax earlier in this chapter.