Chapter 7. Managing Printing

Objectives

This chapter covers the following Microsoft-specified objectives for the "Managing and Maintaining a Server Environment" section of the Managing and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Environment exam:

Troubleshoot print queues

• When working in a Windows Server 2003 environment, it is important that you have a thorough understanding of troubleshooting print problems. Printing is one of the major roles of a Windows Server 2003 server.

Monitor file and print servers. Tools might include Task Manager, Event Viewer, and System Monitor.

• Monitor print queues

• The purpose of this objective is to teach you how to monitor print usage using the various tools available in Windows Server 2003.

Outline

Introduction			308
Printing with Windows Server 2003			308
	Working with the Print Spooler		308
	Assigning Print Permissions		312
		Print Job Management	314
		Printer Pooling	316
	Scheduling Printer Availability		318
	Setting Printer Priority		320
Managing Printing in Windows Server 2003 R2			322
	Installing the Print Management Console		322
		Adding Drivers via the Printer Management Console	328
	Using Printer Filters		330
Troubleshooting Printing Problems			334
Chapter Summary			337
	Key Terms		337
Apply Your Knowledge			338

Study Strategies

• In studying this section, be sure to practice all the activities described. Become very familiar with the Print Management Console, how it is installed, and its capabilities and limitations.

• To perform the exercises in this chapter, it's not essential that you have a physical printer attached to your server. Most of the exercises will work fine because they're tied to the logical printer configuration. Just remember not to attempt to print any test pages!

• Pay particular attention to managing access to printers through the use of permissions and groups.

• It would seem that because Microsoft dedicated only two objectives to the print process, it might be lightly covered on the exam. However, this is far from the case. Historically, printing has been heavily emphasized on the Microsoft exams, and it is an essential part of your duties as a system administrator.