About Print Servers

Print servers are devices connected to printers and user computers, configured to accept print requests and process them as print jobs. The user or client computers send in the print requests, which the print server will process and sends to the appropriate printer through the network. Print servers often have more than one printer, with multiple user computers sharing the printers.

Features

A print server can support up to 255 printers. It is configurable to process requests by priority, or placing print requests into a queue and then kicking off the print job with high priority first. It should have an operating system, such as Microsoft Windows or any other operating system (UNIX or LINUX) that are running Microsoft Network Printing Protocol or another type of printing protocol, such as TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol), NetBEUI, IPX/SPX (Internetwork Packet Exchange/Sequenced Packet Exchange), LPD/LPR (Line Printer Daemon/Line Printer Remote) and NetBIOS. It features a single LAN connector and one or more physical ports providing connections to the printers, such as serial cables, parallel cables or USB (Universal Serial Bus) cables.

Considerations

Before setting up a print server, one must take into consideration the number of printers and user/client connections. Bear in mind, though, that, although a robust and scalable printer server can handle multiple requests and can host up to 255 printers, the speed of printing can slow down when multiple incoming requests come in. In bigger companies, there should be more than one printer server in order to provide load balancing the printer queue. It is also wise to have a second printer server as a back up just in case the primary printer server should go down. In some cases, a printer server does not only function as a print server but as a file server as well doing multifunction with sharing files and data at the same time as printing. Printer connections may be in different places or in one centralized location. Take into consideration also the remote printing capability done through the WAN (Wide Area Network). With multiple connections, it is also important to implement security and provide access to users on a permission basis only instead of opening it up to everyone.

Size

A print server can be as small as a workstation or regular PC (Personal Computer) configured to share resources, such as a printer for a small office, or it can be a huge server with multiple blades in a server or data center environment servicing thousands of users from different locations.

Significance

A print server provides a centralized location to process print requests through a network, whether it is wired or wireless type of network. It allows multiple users to connect to the print server and send print requests to different choices of printers available in the network. Anyone can send a printout to someone else who is located miles away, without having to print it locally and then sending by mail. This is especially useful when one needs to print huge amount of documentation in a secured network. It eliminates the risk of losing important documentations through the mail. Furthermore, large documents are too big to send via an email, so utilizing a print server can save time and effort.

Warning

Have a secondary server available in case of technical difficulties. Configure print servers as a pair from separate locations, so that when the primary print server is down, the secondary print server can take over the work. It is also important not to connect the printer servers directly onto a wall electrical socket. It is best to connect it to a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) so that when there is a power outage, it will make use of the back-up power from the UPS. For companies processing sensitive data or information, it is important to secure the network by using password protection, encryption and firewalls to prevent hacking.

Resources

• Setting Up a Print Server