Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted
How do you support you iPads printing have you installed bonjour printing for Windows and has any one done this with papercut as part of the mix as well?
Posted (edited)
Is there a free version of Presto? Or do you need to run the enterprise version it would be cheaper getting a mac? Edited by nicholab
Posted
It would be cheaper than a Mac. $340 a year is about £200. The cheapest Mac Mini Server is about £700 exc VAT. So at that pricing, you've got 3 1/2 years software for the same price as a server (which, lets face it, isn't a server - its a mac mini with OS X Server installed and consumer grade hard disks in it). You also save not having to have another device to manage.
Posted
It would be cheaper than a Mac. $340 a year is about £200. The cheapest Mac Mini Server is about £700 exc VAT. So at that pricing, you've got 3 1/2 years software for the same price as a server (which, lets face it, isn't a server - its a mac mini with OS X Server installed and consumer grade hard disks in it). You also save not having to have another device to manage.

 

You don't have to buy the "server" model of the Mac Mini. In fact, you don't even need a new one. I use a 2009 model Mini that I installed a 64GB SSD into, runs Mavericks fine, and serves 300+ iPads for AirPrint. Cost - less than $300 (market value). With time machine backups it's also a cinch to replace if it ever fails, which it probably won't for another 3 years or so. So, average that out to $100 a year or $200 a year if you want to buy a new base model mini and cost it out over 4 years. Either way, money saved using a Mini.

Posted
You don't have to buy the "server" model of the Mac Mini. In fact, you don't even need a new one. I use a 2009 model Mini that I installed a 64GB SSD into, runs Mavericks fine, and serves 300+ iPads for AirPrint. Cost - less than $300 (market value). With time machine backups it's also a cinch to replace if it ever fails, which it probably won't for another 3 years or so. So, average that out to $100 a year or $200 a year if you want to buy a new base model mini and cost it out over 4 years. Either way, money saved using a Mini.

 

How odd. That flies in the face of nearly everything you say about reliability and stability... ;)

 

Yes, you can use an old model, but if you have a policy of not putting old gear into server roles it won't fit.

 

Not to mention, if you have a virtualised setup already, the Presto route would be more resilient.

Posted
How do you support you iPads printing have you installed bonjour printing for Windows and has any one done this with papercut as part of the mix as well?

 

Our iPad print solution is setup this way:

 

1. Papercut installed on 2008R2 server

2. 2009 Mac Mini running Papercut Pro with Papercut printers shared (so all printing must go through Papercut), and VLANs configured for all 5 WiFi VLANs.

3. Wide area Bonjour configured to provide print services across VLANs.

 

Works a charm.

Posted
How odd. That flies in the face of nearly everything you say about reliability and stability... ;)

 

Yes, you can use an old model, but if you have a policy of not putting old gear into server roles it won't fit.

 

Not to mention, if you have a virtualised setup already, the Presto route would be more resilient.

 

No, it's not odd or contradictory, it's a purely rational decision. It all depends on how critical the service is to the organisation and the impact of a failure and how long it would take to recover from it.

 

Importance of iPads to be able to print - Low/Medium

 

ETA to restore service - 1 hour maximum.

 

Overall impact on school - Very Low

 

 

On the other hand, if the core storage (SAN,NAS, or DAS) goes down - enormous impact. If the core switch goes down - enormous impact, etc.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



×
×
  • Create New...