Print Server on XP

[link470]

So we only have so many Server 2003 licences here at the school, and I've used them all up with the domain controllers and file servers. I've got a lab that has 4 printers in it. It's the new art lab, and none of the printers are network printers. So what I did, was built a simple Windows XP Professional machine, and had the printers installed on that under the printer desk in the corner of the room at the back. Nobody knows it's there. It has no monitor, just a network cable so it can talk to the domain and so I can control it through RDC remotely.

The problem of course, is that there are now far more than 10 computers in that lab and that use those art printers, and we all know here that Windows XP only supports 10 connections at once over the network to the machine. So as soon as the 11th computer comes on and tries to connect to the printers, the connection fails. So at the moment, I'm wondering if anyone knows a way to have more connections allowed to Windows XP Professional, or if someone knows some simple Windows print server that's free. Normally I'd just buy a print server box that attaches to the network so I can manage the printers from the Print Server in the server room, but I don't know of any that does 3 USB printers and a parallel printer at once.

Do I build a linux server? What distro is the best and how easily can I manage print jobs remotely?

I'd like to preferably keep them on that machine, and the district doesn't have any more server licences. I asked them if they had any spare Windows 2000 licences :P They said they didn't.

Thanks!

[dhicks]

Share your printers from the Windows XP machine, install those shared printers on the print server, then share /those/ printers and have users connect to those. That way, your Windows XP machine is handling (four? One for each printer, or just one?) connections, your print server is handling the bulk user end of things.

--
David Hicks

[richard.thomas]

There is a patch you can run on XP to allow more connections... I'll have a look if i can find it

[richard.thomas]

There you go, that allows you to have more than 10 connections

We cannot condone this type of altering of the OS as it strictly against the EULA so I have removed the link -ChrisH

[Geoff]

There are 'patches' out on the Internet that will remove the connection limit. However it is a breech of the EULA to do this.

Building a Linux print server isn't an impossible task. It's probably not a good first project for a Linux novice though. Help and assistance is avalible in the *nix forum if you wish to pursue this idea.

[ChrisH]

There are 'patches' out on the Internet that will remove the connection limit. However it is a breech of the EULA to do this.

Building a Linux print server isn't an impossible task. It's probably not a good first project for a Linux novice though. Help and assistance is avalible in the *nix forum if you wish to pursue this idea.

oooh I was editing as you were posting

[richard.thomas]

I'll consider my self told

I'm sure I originally found that patch on here though when I have trouble with iTalc.

[Geoff]

I imagine you did, however that's not the point.

[link470]

Thanks for the tips everyone.

That's what I originally had in mind, to share the printers and have 4 connections as dhicks pointed out, and share those from the server (having the server shared printers show in the directory, and the Windows XP server shares not listed in directory by unchecking the checkbox).

The problem is that when I try to list them in the directory from the server, the server automatically checks that box on the windows xp shares, and they become shared again out of Windows XP.

So I'll connect to the Windows XP computer from the server, add those printers. Remote connect to the Windows XP server, leaving those printers shared I uncheck the show in directory box, and then I go back to the server and make sure they're added, and go back to the windows xp box, and the box is checked again. Sure enough, upon add printer>network printer>search active directory, a list of all the printers comes up, and in that list is the 4 from the windows xp server, listed as shared on that box, not the server. So I'm not sure how I can get around that. I may be missing something or doing something in the wrong order.

Thanks again for all your help.

[FN-GM]

You could use USB Print servers like the one on this link http://www.netgear.co.uk/usb_print_server_ps121.php

Z

[Michael]

@link470 - Thinking about it logically, if the Art Lab now has 11 machines, no doubt this will set to grow again in future.

You can easily buy Parallel > Ethernet or USB > Ethernet converters, so the printer now belongs to the server itself and you can share and distribute it to all 11 machines easily and legally.

In the longterm, maybe the Art Lab should be looking at purchasing a native Network Printer which would be able to print better quality (more than likely) and manage the amount of jobs thrown at it.