Large amount of printers to map... GPP, GPO or script?

[gshaw]

Quick straw poll to see if anyone has any ideas on this one...

 

We're aiming to move from a legacy print management product to vanilla Windows Server mapped network printers... fairly simple there. The bigger challenge is mapping them on clients due to the large number of printer objects (100+) so need to box a bit clever with how they're pushed out.

 

I've had a few ideas...

 

1. create policies per block and use GPP and machine OU per-item filtering to select them
   
2. use GPO and set per OU (room-based) objects but I think that method doesn't let you explicitly set the default printer
   
3. use GPO set at Computer OU level with Loopback then use GPP-based policies for each room
   
4. go retro and use my trusty old VBscript which will then let me use IP ranges \ machine names to narrow down the search
   

Option 3 lets me keep one script and apply that simply to all machines but is a bit more clunky to maintain vs. the GPP option which is point and click but may perform more slowly. Any thoughts?

Edited June 27, 2017 by gshaw

[RLR]

We went with option 2. It does allow to set default printer with a checkbox that you tick per printer you add.

[Oaktech]

I don't have vast quantities to process, about 5, but I have had no problems with doing it via GPP and item level targetting. It saves the overhead of processing a ton of seperate GPOs.

[gshaw]

We went with option 2. It does allow to set default printer with a checkbox that you tick per printer you add.

@RLR any chance you could screenshot where the default printer checkbox is? Can't see it on the Deployed Printers page

[SkreeM1980]

Option 1 cross 4?

 

GPP On Machine OU's but loopback processed, so you can reduce printers in policy to a selection from 100 but not have to apply every policy to users in case they roam.

[RLR]

@RLR any chance you could screenshot where the default printer checkbox is? Can't see it on the Deployed Printers page

 

Seems I am wrong. Thought we where using GPO but we are using GPP with item level targeting to machines in specific OUs.