Do I need any of these protocols enabled on my printers?

[sidewinder]

Ive been going through our 80+ network printers, some of which were configured 4 or 5 years ago, and trying to turn off any unused protocols, enable passwords on them etc.

 

Ive been turning off the obvious ones that we dont use, like IPX, Appletalk, Rendevous, DLC/LLC, but there are others Im not really sure about. I suspect we dont need them at all but just want to check here first

 

LPD Printing?

mDNS? (is this an Apple thing?)

9100 Printing?

SLP Config?

[richard.thomas]

I know that you can do away with mDNS- It's a means of DNS that needs no server. The printers that have mDNS can give them selves names and announce them via multicast... Don't think it's used anymore though.

 

If i were you i'd have a quick look at google/wikipedia for the other ones. Unless there's a protcol king in here.

[Geoff]

LPD = a *nix thing. If you don't have any Linux/OSX machines around you don't need this. Windows can print this way if you want though. Also on some external print servers, this is the only way you can print to the second or third port.

mDNS = Apple Rendezvous. If you have no OS X machines, disable this.

9100 = normal TCP/IP printing. When you add a printer in Windows using a TCP/IP port, this is how it works.

SLP = Service Location Protocol. Basically, disable it.

 

Other ones you might see are IPP, Email, FTP and HTP which you can also disable.

[sidewinder]

Thanks Geoff

 

Now you've said that, I do remember having to deal with LPD when I had a 3 port print server a while back

 

We do have OSX clients but they only print to a handful of printers in the Art department so I will disable mDNS on most of them

[localzuk]

I disable everything except standard 9100 - then everything goes through the print server. The reduction in network traffic from this is tremendous (reduced background traffic by about 50%), and we only have half a dozen network printers!