|
Along with file sharing, printer sharing was one of the original value propositions of Novell NetWare back in the early 1980s. OES Linux continues this on a Linux platform by delivering a powerful printing solution that allows users to print to any network printer to which they have been given rightseven if that printer is on the other side of the world! OES Linux uses iPrint as its default print environment. iPrint leverages the powerful foundation of Novell Distributed Print Services (NDPS), but puts a web face to printing and removes the dependence on the Novell client for print services. With iPrint, mobile employees, business partners, and even customers can access your printers through existing Internet connections. iPrint uses the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP), an industry standard, to make it possible to print seamlessly over the Internet, thus making location-based printing a reality. The benefits of IPP include the following:
Because iPrint is implemented on the foundation of NDPS, you also get all the advantages of robust network printing services coupled with the interoperability and ease-of-use of an Internet standard. So, through the combination of IPP and NDPS, you gain the following capabilities:
When your iPrint environment is configured, you can enjoy powerful printing options suitable for the web-based business world, such as:
iPrint provides the robust printing environment you expect from Novell while at the same time integrating with modern printing standards that extend printing capabilities to the Internet. iPrint ComponentsBecause iPrint leverages NDPS, traditional Novell administrators might recognize several of the components that have been around since NetWare 5. In order to properly manage and route network print jobs from multiple users to multiple printers, NDPS uses the following software components:
In addition to the NDPS components already mentioned, iPrint adds the following components:
TIP If you are managing printers at multiple sites, you should plan to have an iPrint Manager at each geographical location to reduce printing-related traffic over your WAN links. You may also choose to configure additional iPrint Driver Stores, but keep in mind that each store must be individually updated as new printer drivers become necessary. With this introduction to iPrint components, you are now ready to start working with the printing capabilities of OES Linux. Installing iPrintIf you didn't select iPrint during the server installation, you can install it after the fact from YaST. To install iPrint from YaST, complete the following steps:
With iPrint installed on your OES Linux server, you are now ready to start configuring your iPrint environment. Configuring iPrintA few general tasks are involved in setting up an iPrint environmentall of which can be performed through iManager:
The following sections take a look at each of these tasks and describe how you can accomplish each of them. CREATE AN IPRINT DRIVER STORETo create a new iPrint Driver Store for your iPrint environment, complete the following steps from iManager:
When the iPrint Driver Store configuration is complete, it is written to the /etc/opt/novell/iprint/conf/idsd.conf configuration file. This configuration file can be manually edited to perform such tasks as configuring multiple Driver Stores, modifying the eDirectory server assignment, and adding secondary eDirectory servers to the Driver Store. For information regarding the syntax of this file, refer to the /etc/opt/novell/iprint/conf/ idsd-template.conf file. The initialization script for the iPrint Driver Store is /etc/init.d/ novell-idsd. This script should be used to automatically start the Driver Store daemon after configuration within iManager. This script should also be configured to start automatically upon server startup. If necessary, this script can be used with a start or stop command-line parameter to manually load and unload the driver store. NOTE The iPrint Driver Store can also be shut down using the Manage Driver Store link within iManager. After locating and opening the Driver Store object, select the Driver Store Control page and select Shutdown to unload the store. OES Linux ships with many printer drivers for common printers. As printer manufacturers release new printers and updated drivers, however, you might need to add a driver that is not included with the default set that shipped with OES Linux. To see the list of existing printer drivers, and to add a new driver to the store, complete the following steps in iManager:
NOTE You are only allowed to use the Add from System option for the operating system that matches the workstation you are currently using. For all other operating systems, you must use the Add from File option. Also, in iManager printer drivers can only be added from workstations running the iPrint client. If necessary, install the iPrint client prior to performing this operation. The new driver will appear in the list of available resources in the Driver Store database. CREATING AN IPRINT MANAGERAfter you have created and populated your Driver Store, you are ready to create an iPrint Manager on your server. To do this, create an iPrint Manager object in the eDirectory tree and then load the iPrint Manager on the server by completing the following steps in iManager:
When the iPrint Manager configuration is complete, it is written into the /etc/opt/novell/iprint/conf/ipsmd.conf configuration file. If the eDirectory server assignment needs to be changed, or additional eDirectory servers need to be added to the server list, this file can be manually edited. For information regarding the syntax of this file, refer to the /etc/opt/novell/iprint/conf/ipsmd-template.conf file. The initialization script for the iPrint Manager is /etc/init.d/novell-ipsmd. This script is used to start the iPrint Manager upon object creation in iManager. This script should also be configured to automatically start upon server startup. If necessary, this script can be used with a start or stop command-line parameter to manually load and unload the iPrint Manager. NOTE The iPrint Manager can also be shut down and moved to another server using the Manage Print Manager link within iManager. After locating and opening the iPrint Manager object, select the Manager Control page and select Shutdown to unload the store. To move the manager to another server, select the Move option. After successful configuration, the Print Manager will control all printer agents that you install on your OES Linux server. This task is accomplished with the help of an iPrint database. The database is used to track information regarding all configured iPrint servers managed by this specific iPrint Manager. The iPrint database is stored in the /var/opt/novell/iprint directory as psmdb.*. To help protect against configuration loss, this database is backed up every time a printer is added or deleted from the current iPrint Manager. The database is also backed up every night at midnight. The backup database is named psmdbsav.*. In the event of damage to the current database, the backup version can be manually restored using the following steps:
CREATING NETWORK PRINTERSTo create an iPrint printer, you must first create a Printer object in the eDirectory tree, and you must have already created an iPrint Manager object. To create a Printer object using iManager, complete the following steps in iManager:
IPP support is enabled automatically when a new printer object is created. However, you can enable/disable secure IPP support (requires SSL/TLS) from the iPrint Support subpage of the Client Support tab for each printer object. You can also enable/disable LPR/LPD client support on the LPR Support subpage beneath that same Client Support tab. When your printers have been installed, managing them is relatively easy. Everything you need is located in iManager. The Printer Management links, shown in the left side of the navigation frame in Figure 13.3, are a one-stop shop for managing user access, printer configuration, and print service support. PRINTER POOLINGiPrint lets you create a pool of printers to share print duties. Users install one of the printers associated with a pool. When a print job is sent, if the installed printer is busy, the Print Manager can automatically redirect that print job to an idle printer in the pool. Pool printers need to use the same print driver and be of a similar make and model to be sure that print jobs will print correctly. All printers in a pool must be assigned to the same Print Manager. To create a printer pool, complete the following steps in iManager:
After the printer pool has been created, it will transparently share jobs among all printers in the pool when necessary. PRINTER BANNERSiPrint also lets you configure print banners, or cover sheets, which can be assigned to specific iPrint printers. Thanks to the integration of eDirectory into the iPrint system, these banners can even include information such as the print owner's email address, location, or full name. NOTE In order for eDirectory attributes to be used in print banners, the iPrint Manager must have the necessary eDirectory rights to read the desired attributes. This can easily be solved using iManager and assigning the iPrint Manager the appropriate trustee rights to the containers where user objects can be found. Banners are associated with a specific iPrint Manager. When assigned to a manager, printers managed by the iPrint Manager can then be assigned to one of the configured banners. To create a custom banner, complete the following steps in iManager:
After creating the banner, you must associate it with a printer in order to perform a function. The following steps outline the process of assigning a print banner to a printer:
Accessing iPrint PrintersIn order for users to use iPrint, they need two components:
When a user selects a printer to be installed by iPrint, iPrint determines whether the Novell iPrint client is installed. If it is not installed, iPrint will walk the user through the client installation. Following this, the printer driver is downloaded and the printer is installed on the user's workstation. iPrint client files and printers can be quickly and easily installed from a web page. TIP The iPrint client and appropriate printer drivers can also be distributed using ZENworks for Desktops (Windows workstations), and ZENworks for Linux Management (Linux workstations). If you have either of these additional Novell products, consult the Novell online documentation for more information on automating client delivery and installation with ZENworks. Users simply browse to the iPrint URL, which, by default, is the following: http://<server_IP_address or DNS_name>/ipp. Figure 13.4 shows a sample iPrint printers home page. Figure 13.4. A sample iPrint printers home page.The iPrint printers home page displays a listing of available printers and a link to install the iPrint client. Users simply select Install iPrint Client and follow the prompts to complete the client installation. If they try to install a printer before installing the iPrint client, they will be prompted to install the client first. NOTE FOR WINDOWS WORKSTATIONS When using the iPrint client in a Windows environment, the workstation must normally reboot to complete the installation. To remove the iPrint client from a Windows workstation, either the standard Remove Programs option in the Windows Control Panel or the Uninstall shortcut under the Novell iPrint program group can be used. NOTE FOR LINUX WORKSTATIONS In a Linux workstation environment, the iPrint client is downloaded in rpm format. After the client is downloaded, the root account must be used to install the rpm. To avoid this requirement, ZENworks for Linux Management (ZLM) can be used to push the client out to Linux workstations. Otherwise, download the rpm to the user's home directory and install the client manually. Linux workstations do not require a reboot after installing the iPrint client. However, iPrint browser plug-ins will not be recognized until the user's browser is restarted after installing the client. If you are using the Konqueror browser, the iPrint plug-in can be registered by choosing Settings, Configure Konqueror, Plugins, Scan for New Plugins. After the client is installed, users return to the same iPrint URL to install the necessary printer support. If you have associated a printer driver with each of your iPrint printers, it is automatically installed on the users' workstations. If a printer driver already exists on the workstations, it will be overwritten. When the printer driver installs on a Windows workstation, a Printer icon is added to the users' Printers folder. From that point on, users access the printer through all the normal avenues. DEFAULT PRINTER DRIVER OPTIONSYou can control how printer driver options are set when the printer driver is installed on a workstation. To use this functionality, you must configure Location-Based Printing with the iPrint Map Designer. As part of the iPrint Map Design process, you must configure the properties of all printers being made available through iPrint maps. Table 13.1 shows the supported parameters for iPrint printers.
More information on the iPrint Map Design process is available later in this chapter. IPRINT CLIENT UPDATESPeriodically, users will need to update their iPrint client. Each time a user starts his or her workstation, the iPrint client checks with the default printer to determine whether a newer version of the iPrint client exists. If necessary, a newer version of the client can be installed. You can control how this update takes place with the iprint.ini file. The iprint.ini file is stored in /var/opt/novell/iprint/htdocs on each server where iPrint is installed. It lets you specify whether the user should be prompted before a new client is installed, or if the update should be a "hands-free" process. Descriptive text for each entry in iprint.ini is included in the file. You can view and edit the file using a text editor. WARNING The iprint.ini file should be synchronized across all servers on which iPrint is running. Location-Based PrintingLocation-based printing is one of the key values of iPrint. It lets users easily locate and install printers using one of two methods:
Each of these methods is discussed in the following sections. CREATING PRINTER LISTSiPrint provides a default list of printers organized by the iPrint Manager. To create a custom list, you can modify the HTML of the iPrint page and create links to individual printers' IPP URLs. When you create an iPrint printer, a URL is listed in the accepted IPP URL list. This is the URL you will specify when creating a customized printer list. Using the iPrint Map Designer tool, you can quickly create a map showing printer locations. The tool lets you import floor plans so that you can drag and drop printers to actual locations. These maps are then published on a web server so that users can install printers that are closest to their location. CREATING PRINTER MAPSCreating printer maps requires that you have the iPrint client installed on the workstation from which you will be creating the maps. You must also access the Map Designer using Internet Explorer 5.5 or later. The iPrint Map Designer lets you create maps showing the physical locations of printers in a building by using background images of the building's floor plan. After creating the maps, use the iPrint Map Designer to modify or update your maps as necessary. To create a printer map for your iPrint users, complete the following steps:
WARNING If you click Refresh or close your web browser without saving the map, all changes made since the last time the map was saved will be lost. Repeat step 4 for each printer you want to place on your map. You can edit a printer's information at any time by clicking the appropriate printer icon and changing the printer information fields as required. If you need to add or modify printers from a previously used Print Manager, click a printer icon from that manager and the printer list will be populated with printers from that manager. HOSTING THE MAPS ON A WEB SERVERAfter creating your maps, you need to post them on a web server in order for your maps and iPrint to work properly. This web server can be a new or existing web server, or it can be the OES server itself. To use a new or existing web server, copy the contents of the /var/opt/novell/iprint/htdocs directory and its subdirectories to the web server directory structure. You can then link to your maps from your company's internal web page or send the URL out to your users. To use the OES server itself, simply copy the map file to the /var/opt/ novell/iprint/htdocs directory. The map file then must be linked to an existing website, or published to end users. The URL for the map will be http://<server address>/ippdocs/<map>. Printer Availability on WorkstationsSometimes you might want printers to remove themselves automatically from a workstation. For example, suppose you have a printer in your lobby for a customer to use. When the customer leaves, you want the printer to be removed from the customer's laptop. Setting the persistence of the printer allows you to automatically remove the printer when the customer reboots his or her laptop. To configure a printer's persistence, you must be using Location-Based Printing. When configuring the location maps, you have the opportunity to configure the driver settings for each printer. If you would like to modify a printer's persistence, configure the persistence attribute to one of the values listed in Table 13.2.
As with other driver parameters, this can also be manually entered into existing maps by following the syntax in the example.htm file found in /var/opt/ novell/iprint/htdocs. |
|