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MCSE SQL Server 7 Administration Study Guide
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Chapter 4

Managing Network Printing

Certification Objectives

Managing print services is one of the most critical network functions. Printing is one of the few outputs on a network, and even with the movement towards paperless offices, printing is an essential service for network users.

Network Printing Overview

Sharing printers on a network is much more efficient than individual users having their own non-networked printers, reducing the costs for business overall since one printer can serve many users, as illustrated in Figure 4-1. This is one reason that businesses invest in network hardware and software. The NetWare operating system has an extensive history in efficiently serving printers to network users.

Figure 1: A NetWare printer can be accessed by multiple users

Print Queues and Print Servers

Older versions of the NetWare printing system were based on print queues and print servers. Along with Queue and Server objects, a Printer object was included in NDS as a resource object. The printing services NetWare provided were complex. They required the creation of each individual print queue, Printer object, and print server. These printing service objects had to be linked together to provide a path for a print job to follow from the workstation to the printed output. Printing involved three objects in NDS:

The print queue is a storage area that receives print jobs from multiple users and lines them up or queues them for printing. This is how the print queue enables multiple users on a single printer. Because the print jobs are stored, the workstation is not held up waiting for printing before its print jobs can be processed. The actual data for the print jobs is stored on a NetWare server volume.

Exam Watch: A NetWare Print Queue object represents a subdirectory under the volume_name:QUEUES\ directory, which gets created when the first Print Queue object is created. The individual queue directories are assigned hexadecimal numbers as directory names so they may appear as seemingly random numerals and letters.

The print queue sends the print jobs to a print server. The print server accepts the job and sends it to the correct printer. Whereas the print queue is a storage area, the print server is a service that manages the print action. The PSERVER.NLM NetWare loadable module runs the NetWare server.

The Printer object represents a network printer. It is configured in NDS, along with the Print Server and Print Queue objects, to define the connections between the various components.

Printers can either be connected to a NetWare server directly or connected to a workstation. PSERVER.NLM works with either option, however the printer is denoted as either locally connected or remote. When a printer is connected to the server directly, the server must also run the NPRINTER.NLM. When a printer is connected to a workstation, the workstation must run NPRINTER.EXE. For Windows 95 PCs, there is a 32-bit NPRINTER executable, NPTWIN95.EXE. The NPRINTER.EXE and NPTWIN95.EXE programs are stored in the SYS:PUBLIC and SYS:PUBLIC\WIN95 directories on a NetWare 5 server. Note that printers can also be connected directly to the network using special network printing cards or boxes that utilize their own software, which integrates with NetWare’s printing architecture.

From the Classroom

NDPS Printing New Feature

The NetWare print queue has been a workhorse of many NetWare networks since it was introduced. Some popular third-party print servers even encourage using NetWare print queues instead of creating them with the utility that comes with the hardware. So why the switch to NDPS? The short answer is that NDPS is an improvement in administering networked printing. One notable new feature is the Public Access Printer, which is managed through NetWare Administrator, but a user need not be authenticated to NDS to be able to print. This is a convenience for roaming users who carry a laptop computer from location to location, who may not be able to log in easily because their User object resides in a container other than their current locale. It is also useful for users who cannot otherwise log in to NDS without additional effort by the local administrator.

¾ By Dan Cheung, CNI, MCNE, MCT

Begin Exercise:

Exercise 4-1 Setting up Remote Workstation Printing on the Server

  1. First, you must create the printing objects. To create objects, open the NetWare administrator by choosing Start | Run, type SYS:PUBLIC\WIN32\NWADMN32.EXE, and press Enter.
  2. Navigate to the appropriate context and press the Insert key.
  3. Select Printer (non-NDPS) and click OK.
  4. Type in an appropriate name that does not already exist in that context and click Create.
  5. You will be returned to NetWare Administrator still in the same context. Press Insert.
  6. Select Print Queue and click OK.
  7. Type in an appropriate name (not already in that context).
  8. Authors: Should it be Print Queue Volume button? Emily

  9. Click the Print Queue volume button and select a server volume; then click OK. If a server is not in that context, you will need to navigate the tree to find a volume. The volume will be the physical place where print jobs are stored.
  10. Click Create.
  11. You will be returned to the NetWare Administrator in the same context. Press the Insert key.
  12. Select Print Server (non-NDPS) and click OK.
  13. Type in an appropriate name (not already in that context) and check off the Define Additional Properties check box; then click Create.
  14. The Print Server properties box will appear. Click the Assignments property page.
  15. Click the Add button.
  16. Select the printer you created and click OK.
  17. Click OK to close the Print Server properties.
  18. In the NetWare Administrator, select the Printer object and double-click it to display its properties. Alternately, select the Object menu and the Properties option.
  19. Click the Assignments property page button.
  20. Click the Add button, select the print queue you created, and click OK.
  21. Click the Configuration property page button.
  22. Under Printer Type, select Other/Unknown. This option states that the printer will be a remote printer. If the printer is connected to a network printing box or card, this would also be selected. If the printer is connected directly to the NetWare Server, select either Serial or Parallel.
  23. Click OK.
  24. At the server console prompt, type LOAD PSERVER and the Distinguished Name of the print server object. This object might be .PSRVR.ENG.PHX.MA, which makes the entire command LOAD PSERVER .PSRVR.ENG.PHX.MA.

If you look at the Print Server object properties and click the Print Layout property page, the result of Exercise 4-1 will be the same as that shown in Figure 4-2.

Figure 2: Print layout for a non-NDPS print server

Begin Exercise:

Exercise 4-2 Setting up Remote Workstation Printing at the Workstation

  1. At the Windows 95/98 workstation that will be running the printer, log in to the network.
  2. If not already mapping a drive to SYS, right-click the Network Neighborhood icon, and select Map Network Drive. Select drive F: Type the server name and SYS volume in the UNC format (Universal Naming Convention), which is \\SERVERNAME\SYS, and click OK.
  3. Choose Start | Run, type F:\PUBLIC\WIN95\NPTWIN95.EXE, and press Enter or click OK.
  4. The NPRINTER Manager will start. The first screen will prompt you to select the NDS PRINTER object. Navigate through the tree to locate the Printer object and click OK.
  5. Make sure that the Activate When Nprinter Manager Loads check box is on so that the same printer will become active each time NPTWIN95 is executed.
  6. Click OK and workstation printing will become active.

Several NDS options can manage and configure printing to work correctly for the environment that it is serving. These options are available through the properties of the Printer, Print Queue, and Print Server objects. The Print Server property options are described in Table 4-1.

Print Server Property

Page

Function

Advertising Name

Identification

Name that is viewed from workstation browsing

Other Name

Identification

Another name used for the print server

Network Address

Identification

IPX network and node address of the print server

Description

Identification

Description of the print server

Location

Identification

Location information

Department

Identification

Department using this print server

Organization

Identification

Business unit using this print server

Version

Identification

Version of the PSERVER.NLM being used

Status

Identification

Whether the print server is currently running or not

Change Password button

Identification

Used to set a password that is required when PSERVER.NLM is loaded at the server console

Assignments

Assignments

The printers that are managed by this print server

Users

Users

The users, or their containers, that are granted permissions to use the print server

Operator

Operators

The operators of the print server

Auditing Log

Auditing Log

Offers powerful auditing features for printing, such as usage of the printer, printing successes, and which printer the job was directed to

Security Equal To

Security Equal To

Objects having the same security as the print server

Print Layout

Print Layout

Displays a graphical map of the connected printing objects

Table 1: Print Server Properties

Print Queue object properties are summarized in Table 4-2.

Print Queue Property

Property Page

Function

Name

Identification

NDS Fully Distinguished Name of the Print Queue object

Volume

Identification

Volume where print jobs are stored until they can be printed

Other Name

Identification

Another name for the Print Queue object

Description

Identification

A description for the print queue

Location

Identification

Location information for the print queue

Department

Identification

Department that uses this print queue

Organization

Identification

Business unit that uses this print queue

Operator Flags

Identification

Check boxes to enable/disable printing to the queue
Allows users to submit print jobs;
Allows service by current print servers;
Allows new print servers to attach

Assignments

Assignments

Displays the connected Print Server and Printer objects

Operator

Operator

Operators for the print queue

Users

Users

Authorized users of the print queue

Security Equal

Security Equal

Lists NDS objects with equivalent security

Job List

Job List

Displays current print jobs and their details; allows print jobs to be held, resumed, or deleted through appropriate buttons

Table 2: Print Queue Object Properties

Printer object properties are described in Table 4-3.

Printer Property

Property Page

Function

Name

Identification

NDS Fully Distinguished Name of the Printer object.

Other Name

Identification

Another name for the Printer object.

Description

Identification

Printer description.

Network address

Identification

IPX network and node address for the printer.

Location

Identification

Location information for the printer.

Department

Identification

Department that uses this printer.

Organization

Identification

Business unit that uses this printer.

Print Queues

Assignments

The print queues that feed jobs to this printer; Priority shows which print queues will have the highest priority when submitting jobs to the printer.

Default Print Queue

Assignments

The default print queue captured when a user captures the Printer object rather than a print queue

Printer Type

Configuration

The type of printer port that the printer is attached to
If attached to the server, use serial or parallel; if attached to a workstation or network printing device, select other/unknown

Communication

Configuration

The specifics of the printer port/type; for example, the parallel port communication allows you to select which LPT port.

Banner Type

Configuration

Specifies whether the banner is in ASCII text format or PostScript. PostScript can be used only on compatible printers.

Service Interval

Configuration

How often, in seconds, the printer checks for new jobs in the print queue.

Buffer Size in KB

Configuration

The size of the data store buffer; a RAM buffer of the print server (either server or workstation) between 3 and 20K.

Starting Form

Configuration

Default form for the printer.

Network address restriction

Configuration

The network addresses this printer is restricted to using.

Service Mode for Forms

Configuration

How to manage the way forms are changed.

Notification

Notification

List users who are notified of printer errors.

Page Description Language

Features

Printer languages supported by the printer.

Memory in KB

Features

The amount of RAM that is installed in the printer.

Supported Type Faces

Features

The printer fonts the printer can use.

Supported Cartridges

Features

The font cartridges the printer can use.

Security Equal

Security Equal

List of NDS objects with equivalent security.

See Also

See Also

Other objects to reference with this Printer object.

Table 3: Printer Properties

Users can attach to print queues in order to print documents to the network printer. The DOS utility for this process is CAPTURE.EXE. It redirects print jobs sent to the LPT port of the workstation to a network print queue and has multiple switches to control how print jobs are handled. Table 4-4 describes some of the switches for the CAPTURE command.

CAPTURE Switch

Function

/AU or /NA

Autoendcap or No Autoendcap; /AU enabled by default. This enables an application to send a job as soon as it is finished printing. If an application does not support this, use /NA to turn it off.

/B=text or /NB

The banner is a leading page describing the print job. The /NB switch turns off the banner. The /B=text adds text to the bottom of the banner.

/C=number

Specifies the number of copies to print the print job.

/CR=filename

Redirects the print job to a file.

/D

Displays the details about the captured printer port.

/EC

/EC L=port Ends Capture of the printer port. /EC ALL Ends Capture of all printer ports. /ECCA Ends the Capture and Cancels the print job.

/F=number or name

Specifies the form to use.

/FF or /NFF

/FF forces a form feed, or blank sheet of paper, after the print. /NFF turns this off. Most applications already have a built-in form feed.

/? or /H

Displays the help screen.

/HOLD

Holds the print jobs. They can be released later through NetWare Administrator.

/J=name

Selects a print job configuration to use.

/K

Keeps a print job and sends it to the queue, even if the capture does not end correctly.

/L=number or /LPTn

Selects a printer port, using the logical ports 1 through 9.

/NAM=name

Specifies the name to be printed on the banner page at the top.

/NOTI or /NNOTI

/NOTI notifies the user that the print job has completed. /NNOTI turns this feature off.

/P=name

Use this option when capturing a port to an NDS Printer object (excludes using the /Q option).

/Q=name

Use this option when capturing a port to a print queue (excludes using the /P option).

/S=name

If using a bindery-based queue, this specifies which server the queue is attached to.

/SH

Displays each captured printer port configuration.

/T=number or /NT

Specifies the number of spaces to use for tab characters in the print job. Most applications do not require this, and the /NT parameter applies.

/TI=number

Specifies the timeout in number of seconds after which time the print job is considered ended because no data was sent during that period.

Table 4: Capture Switches

Capturing a printer in Windows 95 is somewhat different. It is integrated into Client 32. In the Network Neighborhood properties, which is the same as the network icon in control panel, the properties of the NetWare Client include a Default Capture page and a couple of Advanced Settings to manage printing (see Figure 4-3).

Figure 3: Default Capture in NetWare Client 32 properties

The Windows 95 client enables the user to specify the standard configuration to use for printing whenever a capture is made. These settings are specified in the Default Capture page of the NetWare Client properties. As shown in Figure 4-3, the Default Capture page displays many of the same parameters that are available in the CAPTURE command. These include the following:

Taylor has created an automated installation for the NetWare Client 32 that specifies some of the default settings for printers, including a banner page and notification for users. She then automatically updates all workstations through the addition of an ACU Setup command in the login script. A few days after the clients are updated, Taylor receives a complaint from a user that he has captured a printer and reconfigured the capture settings for the banner and notification, but each time he logs in, the capture settings go back to where they were. What’s going on?

Taylor had configured the default capture settings for the client. When the files installed, they updated the user’s workstation settings. The default capture settings are inherited by each new print capture performed at the workstation. The only way to change this for the user is to have him go into the Default Capture settings page for the NetWare Client 32 properties and change to the preferred settings there.

The Windows 95 Client 32 Advanced Settings page includes several printing management settings. Many of these settings could possibly affect the performance of printing, merely by optimizing the workstation, such as enabling Large Internet Packets and Packet Burst. Others affect printing directly and are listed here:

On the Job: Since legacy NetWare printing uses Sequenced Packet Exchange (SPX), large or complex prints that do not print correctly can sometimes be fixed by adjusting the SPX parameters of the IPX/SPX 32-bit protocol properties. Specifically, increasing the SPX connections parameter to 60 or above can correct some printing problems.

Exercise 4-3 Capturing a Printer Port in Windows 95

  1. Right-click the Network Neighborhood icon.
  2. Select Novell Capture Printer Port from the pop-up menu (see Figure 4-4).
  3. Figure 4: Network Neighborhood pop-up menu

  4. The first available port will appear in the upper part of the dialog box. If you wish to select a different port, select it from the drop-down list.
  5. The second portion of this dialog box should be completed with the name of the server and print queue as displayed in Figure 4-5.
  6. Figure 5: The Capture Printer Port dialog box

  7. Click the Capture button.
  8. You can click the Settings buttons and customize the capture settings, if desired. If the defaults are OK, then click Close.

New Technology Directions

NetWare’s print queue-based printing architecture was efficient, and Novell’s NetWare operating system was well known for its printing services. However, newer technology demanded that a printing system be created that could incorporate bidirectional communication with more intelligent printers, and desktop printers have begun moving in this direction. Integration with Microsoft Windows operating systems, the most widely installed desktop operating systems, was a requirement. And, in extending the single-seat administrative concept of Novell Directory Services, a management solution was also in order for printing.

Introduction to Novell Distributed Print Services

Novell Distributed Print Services (NDPS) is the next generation for printing within a NetWare 5 environment. This printing architecture was designed by the partnership of Novell, Hewlett-Packard, and Xerox. The goals for NDPS were as follows:

Benefits of NDPS

NDPS leverages the power of Novell Directory Services, and the single point of administration advantage that it offers. The NDPS Printer object is the main focus of NDPS administration. The bi-directional and intelligent communication built into printers feeds information into the NDPS object. From there, the administrator can view proactive information and review printer messages without having to get up to visit the printer and view its information panel. The administrator can move, pause, copy, and delete print jobs. Event notification features of NDPS can even submit an e-mail, write an event to a log file, and prompt a pop-up window on the administrator’s workstation. The event notification features can include FAX and beeper notification, if a third party application has been integrated with NetWare 5.

With NDPS, administrators can install common Windows drivers for the printer and configure the printer setup so that the correct printer driver automatically installs when the user first attempts to print. The NDPS client software is integrated with the Novell NetWare Client 32 software. This software also enables the user to view printer status, job status, and other printer details, as well as reroute their own print jobs. DOS printing still requires the legacy Novell NetWare print queue environment.

End users can benefit from print-job scheduling features of NDPS. There is the ability to schedule print jobs in a first-in, first-out basis, or prioritize them based on the smallest sizes first.

On the network, there is an improved performance for the network in general. NDPS reduces network traffic that is associated with SAP (Service Advertising Protocol) broadcasts. Even NDPS printers connected to HP JetDirect cards, network printing devices connected directly to the network, are not required to SAP under NDPS, thus reducing bandwidth. Instead, under NDPS, a new printer is registered with the NDPS Service Registry that notifies clients of printer availability.

NDPS provides support for all Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) standard management information base (MIB) Printer objects. This means that any NDPS printer can also be managed through Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). With a draft of the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) still in the IETF standards committee, Novell is actively participating in IPP development. NDPS already includes many IPP-like principles. Novell’s current plans include adding support for IPP.

Justine is an engineer who is migrating an Enterprise network from a mixed legacy NetWare 3.x and NetWare 4.x network to NetWare 5. The internetwork includes an Ethernet segment that historically performs poorly during main business hours. Justine notes that this segment includes a large number of printers and decides to migrate the servers that manage those printers first. Why would she decide to do this?

Justine knew that in migrating the servers, she could also migrate the printers to NDPS and immediately receive a performance bonus on that segment of the network. This is because NDPS does not need to use SAP, whereas legacy printing is known to consume excess traffic due to SAP usage.

NDPS Structure

Novell Distributed Printing Services was designed to have an architecture that was independent of the operating system. This makes NDPS portable to other environments. The following components make up the NDPS structure:

The Printer Agent is the center of NDPS, and it combines the same functions performed by the legacy NetWare printer, print queue, print server, and spooler. The Printer Agent can be software running on the server, or firmware embedded in a network printing device. A Printer Agent can make printers publicly available by not being registered as an NDS object. In contrast, a controlled access printer uses a Printer Agent that is an object within NDS.

Printer Gateways enable communication between non-NDPS printers and NDPS clients so that NDPS clients can place jobs in print queues. The two types of gateways are third-party gateways and the Novell gateway:

The Novell gateway utilizes a Print Device Subsystem (PDS) and Port Handler. The PDS stores printer information in a database. The PDS information is then used for the Printer Agents created for each of the NDPS printers. The Port Handler portion of the gateway makes sure that there is communication between PDS and the printer.

The NDPS Manager is where Novell Distributed Print Services Printer Agents are created and managed. The NDPS Broker provides three services:

The NDPS client software is integrated with the NetWare 5 client software. The NDPS Print Client includes an agent for the Printer Service Requester. The client transmits print jobs to the Printer Agent.

Setting Up Novell Distributed Print Services (NDPS)

There are two areas where Novell Distributed Print Services must be set up in order for it to function. First, NDPS files must be installed on a NetWare server, either during server installation or later through the NetWare Configuration NLM. Then, NDPS must be set up so printers can be shared.

Setting Up NDPS During Server Installation

When installing a network server, the installation program reaches a point where it prompts for additional products to be installed. This is a critical point for NDPS, since it is listed in the products available for installation. If a server did not have NDPS installed when it was set up, it is still possible to load the product.

Exercise 4-4 Installing NDPS Files on a NetWare 5 Server

  1. Load NWCONFIG.NLM at the server console.
  2. Select Product Options from the menu.
  3. The resulting menu should include an option for Install Novell Distributed Print Services (NDPS) in the upper box (see Figure 4-6).
  4. Figure 6: NetWare configuration menu product installation

  5. In the lower box, select Choose an item or product listed above.
  6. It will move the cursor to the upper box, in which you should select Install Novell Distributed Print Services (NDPS).
  7. The NWCONFIG program will prompt for the path to the installation files. Verify that the correct path is being prompted, or press F3 and type the correct path.
  8. Files will copy and NDPS will be ready for further configuration through NetWare Administrator.

On the Job: INSTALL.NLM is no longer used in NetWare 5. It has been replaced by NWCONFIG.NLM.

Completing NDPS Setup from the Workstation

NDPS objects are set up in the NetWare Administrator, which is run from the workstation. The workstation setup for NDPS is easiest to initiate from the creation of the NDPS Manager and an NDPS printer.

Exercise 4-5 Creating NDPS Objects

  1. Choose Start | Run, type F:\PUBLIC\WIN32\NWADMN32.EXE, and press Enter.
  2. Navigate to the context where you wish to place the NDPS objects.
  3. Press the Insert key.
  4. Select NDPS Broker from the list of objects.
  5. Type in an appropriate name and press Enter.
  6. You will be returned to NetWare Administrator; press the Insert key.
  7. Select NDPS Manager from the list of objects.
  8. Type an appropriate name and press Enter.
  9. At the NetWare Administrator window, press the Insert key.
  10. Select NDPS Printer from the list of objects (see Figure 4-7).
  11. Figure 7: NDPS printer creation

  12. Make sure that the Create New Printer Agent is selected in order to set up the NDPS Printer Agent; then click Create.
  13. The NDPS Printer Agent prompts for the correct gateway and NDPS Manager (see Figure 4-8). For NDPS Manager Name, click the button to the right of the box and navigate until the NDPS Manager object is selected. This printer will be a printer connected locally to the server, in which case the Novell gateway should be selected. The other two gateways are for use with Hewlett-Packard and Xerox printers attached directly to the network. Click OK.
  14. Figure 8: Selecting the Novell printer gateway and NDPS Manager

  15. The next screen, shown in Figure 4-9, prompts for the configuration of the PDS (Print Device Subsystem) and Port Handler. Select the printer type in the upper box, and click OK.
  16. Figure 9: PDS and Port Handler configuration screen

  17. The next screen configures the printer connection. Select Local (physical connection to the server) and the appropriate physical port (most likely LPT1); then click Next.
  18. At the next dialog box, accept the default parameters for PSERVER emulation and click Finish.
  19. The NetWare Administrator next prompts for the resource drivers to be distributed by the Resource Management Service. Click the Windows 95 Driver tab and select the appropriate driver. Click OK.

In order to use an NDPS printer from a workstation, the user simply has to browse through the Network Neighborhood tree and double-click the NDPS printer. The following dialog box appears to the user:

Illustration 1

After clicking Yes to this dialog box, the printer automatically installs its driver and prompts you to verify the name to use for the printer in the client workstation’s Printers folder. This process alone is a vast improvement over the legacy printing method from the end user’s standpoint.

The end user can also use the Novell Printer Manager from the workstation to install printers and manage their print jobs. This application is found in SYS:PUBLIC\WIN32. The executable name is NWPMW32.EXE. When it is running on the workstation, the user can install a printer as follows:

  1. Click the Printer menu and select New.
  2. Click the Add button, which extends the dialog box.
  3. Click the Browse button and navigate to the NDPS printer object to print on.
  4. Click OK; then click Install.

The installed printers show up in the Novell Printer Manager window. To view the list of print jobs, double-click the printer icon. To see the current status of the printer, select the Printer menu and click Information. To configure the Printer object, select the Printer menu, and click Configuration.

Managing NDPS

There are two NLMs that are loaded on the server for NDPS functionality. One is NDPSM.NLM, which is the NDPS Manager NLM and loaded at the server console prompt by typing LOAD NDPSM. The other is the broker, which is loaded at the server console prompt using the command LOAD BROKER .BROKERNAME.OU.O. To verify that they are loaded, type MODULES at the server console prompt.

Exam Watch: The NDPS NLMs, as well as most of the NLM files for NetWare, are stored in the SYS:SYSTEM directory or in the C:\NWSERVER directory. The server will search the NWSERVER and SYSTEM directories first for NLMs. If an NLM is moved to another directory, the LOAD command must include the path to the NLM file. Or the administrator can execute a SEARCH ADD <volume:path> command on the console so that all subsequent LOAD commands will also search that path for the NLM file before reporting that the file is not found.

The NDPS Manager displays the printer status at the server. The printer shown in Figure 4-10 has run out of paper.

Figure 10: NDPS printer status at the NDPSM.NLM server

The NDPSM.NLM offers several options to manage the NDPS printing. The first menu offers the options for Printer Agent List, NDPS Manager Status and Control, and Exit. To view an individual printer’s status, such as that depicted in Figure 4-10, select a printer from the Printer Agent List.

To view further details of the NDPSM.NLM, select NDPS Manager Status and Control. This screen displays how long the NDPS Manager has been up and running. It also shows the number of attached printer agents and the current status of the NDPS Manager. The final option in this screen is Database options. Select this for further features as shown in Figure 4-11.

Figure 11: Database options for the NDPS Manager

These options, which consist of a database file and an index file, are available for advanced troubleshooting of NDPS Manager. The Examine Database option will display database statistics. The Backup Database Files option copies the NDPS Manager database files. The Auto Backup option displays another menu of automatic backup for NDPS Manager database files. If requiring an NDPS Manager Database Restore, select the Restore Database from Backup option. The Resynchronize Database Files builds a new Index file from the database file. To review the NDPS events, select View Log File. Delete the log file if it has become too large. Uninstall Database removes the NDPS Manager and its supporting files from the NetWare 5 server.

The Novell Printer Manager enables users to manage their own print jobs, view printer status, and install printers. The NetWare Administrator provides further configuration and management of NDPS printing objects. In particular, when viewing the NDPS Printer object properties, the Job List and Set Defaults buttons in the Printer Control property page display the same information as the Novell Printer Manager Information and Configuration options. Table 4-5 describes NDPS Broker properties.

NDPS Broker Property

Property Page

Function

Name

Identification

NDS name for the NDPS Broker object.

SAP Name

Identification

Name to use for SAP (Service Advertising Protocol).

Description

Identification

Description information for NDPS Broker.

Location

Identification

Location information for NDPS Broker.

Status/Unload

Identification

Allows the administrator to unload the NDPS Broker NLM from the server.

Managers

Access Control

Lists users given manager access to the NDPS Broker.

Service Registry Service

Service Registry Service

Displays the services registered and availability. When a service option is selected, the address for the service information will display a MAC or IP address. A Disable button allows the administrator to select a service and turn it off.

Event Notification Service

Event Notification Service (ENS)

Displays which events are loaded. The administrator can load more services, unload the ones currently loaded, or disable the ENS altogether.

Resource Path

Resource Management (RMS)

Shows the path where resources are located on the network.

Table 5: NDPS Broker Properties

The NDPS Manager properties are summarized in Table 4-6.

NDPS Manager Property

Property Page

Function

Name

Identification

The NDS Fully Distinguished Name for the NDPS Manager.

Version

Identification

The version of the software loaded for the NDPS Manager.

Net Address

Identification

The network and node address of the NDPS Manager.

Description

Identification

Description information for the NDPS Manager.

Location

Identification

Location information for the NDPS Manager.

Volume

Identification

Volume where the NDPS Manager files exist.

Status/Unload

Identification

The status shows whether the NDPS Manager is active. The Unload button enables the administrator to unload the NDPSM.NLM from NetWare Administrator.

Role

Access Control

Lists the users who have manager control over the NDPS Manager.

Printer Agent List

Printer Agent List

Lists the printers that are being served to the network.

Table 6: NDPS Manager Properties

Table 4-7 summarizes NDPS printer properties.

NDPS Printer Property

Property Page

Function

DS Name

Printer Control

Identification button¾ NDS name for the NDPS printer

Printer Agent

Printer Control

Identification button¾ name of the NDPS Printer object

NDPS Manager

Printer Control

Identification button¾ name of the NDPS Manager object

Description

Printer Control

Identification button¾ description information for the NDPS printer

Location

Printer Control

Identification button¾ location information for the NDPS printer

Manufacturer

Printer Control

Identification button¾ manufacturer name communicated from the printer

Model

Printer Control

Identification button¾ model name communicated from the printer

Net Address

Printer Control

Identification button¾ IPX network and node address

Printer Control DLL name

Printer Control

Identification button¾ DLL snap-in for the printer

Spooling location

Printer Control

Spooling button¾ volume for spool files

Disk space available

Printer Control

Spooling button¾ space available on volume where spool files are located

Limit disk space

Printer Control

Spooling button¾ limits the disk space for the spool files

Scheduling

Printer Control

Spooling button¾ selects the scheduling type for the printer

Queue compatibility

Printer Control

Spooling button¾ selects NetWare print queues to service as a backward compatibility feature

Job List

Printer Control

Job List button¾ lists the current print jobs and their status

Update Console

Printer Control

Updates the console with current information

Features

Printer Control

Features button¾ displays the printer’s features as communicated to NDPS by the printer, including the amount of RAM

Advanced

Printer Control

Features button¾ displays advanced printer features

Set Defaults

Printer Control

Set Defaults button¾ enables the administrator to select the printer configuration to be passed to users, including the number of copies and banner pages

Media

Printer Control

Media button¾ enables the administrator to limit the type of media loaded on the printer

Status

Printer Control

Status of the printer

Access Control

Access Control

Ability to establish managers, operators, and users for the printer

Configuration

Configuration

Creation and management of print job configurations

Container for remote config

NDPS Remote Printer Mgmt

NDS container object in which to store the remote configuration

Remote Printer Options

NDPS Remote Printer Mgmt

Automatically installs or removes this printer to workstations in the container listed

Table 7: NDPS Printer Properties

Certification Summary

Network printing is the ability to print from a workstation to a printer that is connected somewhere else on a network. The printer can be attached to another workstation, a server, or be attached directly to the network.

Legacy printing structure in Novell NetWare included Printer, Print Queue, and Print Server objects in NDS. These objects are linked together so that prints are spooled under the Print Queue object, served out to the network by the Print Server object, and then printed to the Printer object.

New technology, such as bi-directional communication, central management solutions, and intelligence in printers and network-attached print devices, has forced a new look at the way Novell NetWare handles printing. Novell, in partnership with Hewlett-Packard and Xerox, created Novell Distributed Print Services (NDPS), which incorporates new technology functions.

NDPS offers a single point of administration through its integration with NDS. It can communicate with printers directly, give notification of printer events, distribute printing resources such as print drivers automatically to clients, and reduce bandwidth consumption through the replacement of SAP with SRS. There are several components to NDPS:

To set up NDPS, the files for NDPS must be copied on a server first. If this is not done during the server installation, the files can be installed through the Product Install option in the NWCONFIG.NLM on the server console. The three NDS objects that must be created for NDPS are NDPS Broker, NDPS Manager, and NDPS Printer. This is done in the NetWare Administrator.

NDPS is also managed from the NetWare Administrator. It provides the single seat of administration. Print jobs can be configured, managed, moved, and deleted. The NDPS Printer object will display the status of the printer and other relevant printer information that can be useful in managing printing. The NDPS Broker and NDPS Manager objects enable configuration management of printing. The NDPS Manager NLM (NDPSM.NLM) loaded on the server offers some administration capabilities over the printer agents it manages. End users can use the Novell Printer Manager to list and manage their own print jobs.

Two-Minute Drill

Self Test

The following Self-Test questions will help you measure your understanding of the material presented in this chapter. Read all the choices carefully, as there may be more than one correct answer. Choose all correct answers for each question.

  1. How does network printing reduce costs?
    1. It reduces the costs of consumables, such as toner and paper.
    2. It increases the uptime of network printers.
    3. The ability to share printers enables multiple users to share a single resource.
    4. It does not reduce costs.
  2. Select the best description for a print server.
    1. A storage area for print jobs
    2. The service that manages the print action
    3. The printing device
    4. An object in NDS that uses Service Registry Service
  3. What is the purpose of the Print Queue Volume of a Print Queue object?
    1. It is the allowable size of a single print job.
    2. It is the allowable size for the entire set of print jobs.
    3. It is the place where print drivers are stored.
    4. It is the NetWare volume that stores the print jobs before they are serviced.
  4. When creating a non-NDPS Printer object, when should the Printer Type be Other/Unknown?
    1. When the printer is connected to a workstation
    2. When it is an AppleTalk printer.
    3. When it is a UNIX printer.
    4. When the printer is connected to a server’s serial port.
  5. How does a user install the NDPS client software?
    1. The NDPS Manager NLM adds the installation to the login script of a container unit, automatically installing it on clients.
    2. At the setup of NDPS, the Resource Management Service distributes the NDPS client automatically.
    3. The user navigates to SYS:PUBLIC\WIN32 and executes the NWPMW32.EXE application.
    4. The user installs/updates NetWare Client 32. NDPS client is integrated with the NetWare Client 32 that comes with NetWare 5.
  6. Select the NDPS component that acts as a legacy NetWare print queue, print server, and printer.
    1. Printer Agent
    2. Printer Gateway
    3. NDPS Broker
    4. NDPS Manager
  7. Select the NDPS component that enables communication from the client to the non-NDPS printer through PDS and a port handler.
    1. NDPS Client
    2. Printer Gateways
    3. NDPS Broker
    4. NDPS Manager
  8. Which of the following are services offered by the NDPS Broker? Select all that apply.
    1. PDS
    2. RMS
    3. ENS
    4. SRS
  9. Which NDPS Broker service enables the automatic download and installation of printer drivers to a workstation?
    1. RMS
    2. ENS
    3. SRS
    4. None. NDPS Broker does not handle this.
  10. If NDPS files were not copied during the initial NetWare 5 installation, which of the following commands will begin the product installation at the server console?
    1. LOAD INSTALL
    2. LOAD PINSTALL
    3. LOAD NWADMIN
    4. LOAD NWCONFIG
  11. Which of the following are gateway options included in the Printer Agent installation dialog box? Select all that apply.
    1. Novell Printer Gateway
    2. Hewlett-Packard IP/IPX Gateway
    3. Xerox Gateway
    4. IBM Printer Gateway
  12. Which of the following menu options from the NDPS Manager NLM database options will create a new index file?
    1. Examine Database
    2. Auto Backup Database
    3. Restore Database from Backup
    4. Resynchronize Database Files
  13. Chris is a network administrator with a new NetWare 5 network in two offices of 80 users using NDPS. All the printing services are managed by two servers sharing an NDPS broker that are set aside to handle printing on the network. One Monday morning, Chris is alerted that in one of the offices no printers can print. Which of the following NDS properties could help Chris determine the cause of the printer problems?
    1. The Status/Unload property of the NDPS Broker
    2. The Status/Unload property of the NDPS Manager
    3. The Status properties of the NDPS Printer objects
    4. The Information option of the Novell Printer Manager
  14. Which of the following properties represents the storage area for a printer object?
    1. The Print Queue Volume
    2. The Container for Remote Configuration
    3. The Spooling Location
    4. The Access Control
  15. Where can the administrator set default properties for the way that a print job is handled in NDPS printing?
    1. By setting up the Default Capture settings for each of the clients
    2. By specifying the Job List in the Novell Printer Manager
    3. By Setting Defaults in the Printer Control page of the printer object
    4. There is no way that this can be done.
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