Print Management Analysis for Windows Server 2008

The larger the enterprise, the more printers in the same network, the more time it takes for IT staff to set up and manage these printers, and the increase in costs. Windows Server 2008 includes print management capabilities that enable administrators to manage, monitor, and troubleshoot all printers in the enterprise (including remote office locations) from a single interface.

Print Management provides instant, detailed information about the status of all printers and print servers from the same console. Print management can help identify printers with an error status and be able to send out email notifications or run scripts when the printer or print server needs repair. In the mode of the printer that provides the web interface, print management can read this extra data, and instantly manage the information such as the ink cartridge and the amount of paper at a remote location.

The administrator of the local print server can add and delete printers. Print Management automatically detects all print devices in the same print server subnet, installs the appropriate printer driver, sets up queues, and shares the print device. Manual intervention is required only if the printer driver cannot be found.

Is the Print Management Service implemented from any running Windows Server? 2003 R2 server, Windows Vista? , or Windows? The XP client (x86 and x64) computers centrally manage the functions of printing devices within the enterprise.

Managing Print Devices

Print Management Services can be used to manage all print devices that are enterprise-wide, including branch offices. Regardless of whether a printing device is installed locally, controlling the sharing mode of the printing device, updating the drive mode, and the print queue have the same interface, there is no need to navigate to a personal folder for each printing device on each print server. Settings. By combining the Print Management Service with the Configure Your Server wizard and Terminal Services, administrators can automatically search for and install network print devices located on the branch's local print server. This type of service is necessary in the absence of training in the branches of the staff.

Listing and Deleting Print Devices in Active Directory

Listing print devices in Active Directory makes it easier for administrators to find and set up print devices. After the printing device is installed on the print server, administrators can use the Print Management Service to list them in Active Directory. Administrators can actually list multiple print devices at the same time. Administrators may need filtering to display all the printing devices that need to be listed or deleted so that they can easily select all of the printing devices at the same time.

Configuring a printing device by using a group policy

A print management service can be combined with a group policy to automatically add a connection to a printing device to the printing device and fax folder of the client computer. Print device connection settings can be automatically added to an existing group policy object (GPO) in Active Directory. When the group policy process runs on the client's computer, the print device connection settings are applied to the user or to the computer associated with the GPO. A printing device configured in this manner appears in a configured print device object of the Print Management Service Catalog when it is detected with its associated print server.

This way of installing a printing device is very useful for labs, classrooms or branch offices, because the computers in each room or office in these locations need to be connected to the same printing device. This type of installation is also very useful in large-scale enterprises, where computer and printing devices are usually divided by function, workgroup or department. By setting the printing device by user's connection method, the user can use the printing device on any computer that is logged in. Setting up a printing device by connecting to a computer causes the printing device to appear in the Printing Devices and Faxes folder, enabling anyone using the computer to use the printing device.

Solving Problems with Printing Devices

The Print Management Service has several features that can help identify and resolve printing device problems, including printing devices at remote locations. Setting a pre-defined filtering method makes it easy for administrators to find all printing devices that are not in standby or print devices that have print jobs in the print backup queue. Many devices, regardless of the manufacturer, provide a wealth of status information that can be used for print management. By closely monitoring the printing devices in the enterprise, administrators may even be able to resolve problems before they occur, such as finding the amount of paper or less toner. By using an automated process system to notify IT technicians when the print server is shut down, the problem can be resolved more quickly to reduce the impact of printing device and print server issues.

Summary

The Print Management Service saves administrators a lot of time setting up and managing and monitoring print devices on client computers. The Print Management Service does not require connection setup and configuration on individual computers, but can be combined with a group policy to automatically add connections to the Print Devices and Faxes folder on the client computer. This is an effective way to save time for most users who need to read the same printing device, such as users in the same department, or all users in a branch office.