[TriLUG] printer configurations

[Jeremy P]

On Wed, 23 Jan 2002, M. Mueller/bhu5nji wrote:

> How do I judge the merits of network printing configurations?

Here are my opinions of each...see below.
 
> Have one W98 + many Linux boxes in a switched Ethernet LAN.  Have Epson Color 
> Stylus 850 inkjet printer; Which of these  configurations is 
> possible/desireable?
> 
> A.  printer connected by Parallel port to w98; Linux prints to w98 acting as 
> print server

This could work; you'd configure the printer in the Linux boxes as a
Samba printer.  I've had mixed success with this in RHL 7.1; there was a
slight bug in the print filter that didn't allow text-only printing
(postscript worked fine).  I don't know if RHL 7.2 fixes this or not
because we switched to direct printing via Ethernet  (your option C).

> B. printer connected by Parallel port to linux box; w98 prints to linux box 
> acting as print server

You'd need to get an "LPD" driver for the win98 boxes, but this should
work fine.  You might have problems supporting the advanced features of
the printer, however... A or C would be better if you need the advanced
features.

> C. get Ethernet card for printer; still need to choose a print server? both 
> W98 and linux box?

You wouldn't really need either box to be a print server; assuming the
Ethernet card for the printer is "JetDirect" compatible, the printer gets
its own IP address, and each client connects directly to it.  Plain
vanilla Win98 doesn't include a driver to do this, but there are scads
available (and one will come with the printer's Ethernet card for sure).

I'd vote for this solution.  We use it in my department and it works fine.  
I can print from several Linux boxes, from win98 within Win4Lin, and my
co-workers print from Win98 native with no problems.  The win98
clients can access all the advanced features, too.  (Our specific
printer is a Lexmark, however.)

> D. Keep W98 and Linux separate; move printer from w98 to Linux box when 
> necessary

Ick!  No way.  You could also get a physical switchbox, but A, B, and C
are still much better.

--Jeremy