Windows 2000 Printers
We have a server farm with 7 Windows 2000/Metaframe Servers. These servers host around 400 users running a Windows Based Accounting Package.
Our largest headache is with printers. Metaframe provides a facility to replicate printer drivers between servers, but not actual printers. It also provides a facility to import network print servers into the system, which I believe is in the form of \\windows_computer\shared_
However, if we used a windows computer as a print server, this would represent a single point of failure, ie that server crashes, then noone can print. Not a very good solution.
So what we do at the moment, is maintain the printer on each and every server. Around 150 of them which is now getting much too difficult.
I have downloaded the PrintMig utility from Microsoft, but am a little nervous about running something like this. I can see it would be useful in setting up a new server, but not too sure about how it would go if I created a new printer on a server and then wanted to replicate this out to the other servers.
Does someone know more about PrintMig abilities and stability or is there some other utility that allows me to maintain printers/document defaults/port information/drivers and replicate these settings out to multiple other servers.
Thanks
Our largest headache is with printers. Metaframe provides a facility to replicate printer drivers between servers, but not actual printers. It also provides a facility to import network print servers into the system, which I believe is in the form of \\windows_computer\shared_
However, if we used a windows computer as a print server, this would represent a single point of failure, ie that server crashes, then noone can print. Not a very good solution.
So what we do at the moment, is maintain the printer on each and every server. Around 150 of them which is now getting much too difficult.
I have downloaded the PrintMig utility from Microsoft, but am a little nervous about running something like this. I can see it would be useful in setting up a new server, but not too sure about how it would go if I created a new printer on a server and then wanted to replicate this out to the other servers.
Does someone know more about PrintMig abilities and stability or is there some other utility that allows me to maintain printers/document defaults/port information/drivers and replicate these settings out to multiple other servers.
Thanks
RDAdams
If I understand you have 7 servers running 150 printers? Why so many? What type of printers and what is your usage rate? (how many pages per month) Are you running metaframe 1.8 or XP?
Just as a note, we have a citrix metaframe XP farm with 15+ servers and use three printer servers. All have at least one of each type of printer required ie high speed b&w, plotter, and color printers available. That way if one server goes down the other two are available to all the users.
ASKER
The servers are used for hosting. We have around 120 different customers. Each customer has 1 - 2 printers that only they access.
I would need to have 2 print servers, so I still have the problem of replicating the printer information on both.
The two print servers I would have to rent, so it increases my monthly spend.
I would need to have 2 print servers, so I still have the problem of replicating the printer information on both.
The two print servers I would have to rent, so it increases my monthly spend.
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Please note, this is in a pure Windows 2000 environment. No Citrix here.
ASKER
Ok. Will have to investigate this. If we are going to change the way printers are configured, then I want to make sure I get the correct way of doing it.