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Direct Printing
In many of today's networks, there is no central file server. Instead, users share resources in a peer-to-peer manner. This is particularly true in smaller networks. Hanging a printer directly off a workstation allows different people to share the printer, but this approach has several disadvantages: it slows down the workstation sharing the printer, uses memory and disk space on the workstation sharing the printer, relies on a printer connection which is often very slow on a PC, and if that workstation is turned off or reboots, print jobs may become lost or corrupted. When possible, shared printing is recommended for maximum benefit.
Intel's® NetportExpress™ PRO and PRO/100 print servers allow workstations on the network to send their print jobs directly to a print server without going through an intermediate PC or file server. Port Monitor is installed on each workstation to handle resource contention issues.
For Direct Printing Setup Instructions see Microsoft* Network Direct Printing Setup.
Shared Printing (Recommended)
In some environments, particularly in larger networks, many network administrators like to set up printing under Windows NT* in a manner similar to NetWare*. That is, each user prints to a shared printer on a Windows NT* server, and that Windows NT* server prints to a print server ?.
NetportExpress PRO and PRO/100 print servers easily support this configuration. In reality, any Windows* system capable of sharing a printer (such as a Windows* 95 workstation) can act as the central system in this configuration. This configuration is essentially standard Windows resource
sharing combined with Direct Printing (described above) on the Windows NT server. Workstations printing to the Windows NT* server do not need Port Monitor installed. This is the recommended configuration for when clients are Windows 95, Windows 3.1 or OS/2.
? This approach has two main advantages for the LAN administrator:
- The administrator can set up drivers for Windows* NT and Windows* 95 on the Windows NT server so that users who attach to the server can automatically download the proper printer drivers when they run the "Add Printer" wizard on their own workstations--no need for users to guess about that driver is correct
- It provides a central point that the network administrator can monitor and control. Administrators can change configurations or locations of printers and print servers without having to reconfigure workstations
For Shared Printing Setup Instructions see Microsoft* Network Shared Printing Setup.
This applies to:
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