Changes

Windows Server 2008 also provides the ability to migrate both printers and print queues from one print server to another. This makes it easy to, for example, take a print server off-line for maintenance or to permanently re-assign a printer from one print server to another. Because both the printer and its print queue can be migrated the migration is transparent to any users that may currently be using the printers in question. The steps outlined below assume that print Management has been configured to manage both the source and destination target print servers as outlined in the preceding section of this chapter. If this is not the case, the printer export file will need to be copied onto the destination server or made available via file sharing and imported using Print Management on that server.

After reviewing the listed information click ''Next'' and select a suitable location to save the printer export file and click ''Next'' once again to perform the export process. Depending on the number of printers being exported and the size of the drivers the export process may take a few minutes to complete. If the export was successful a message will appear beneath the progress bar stating this fact. If the export was unsuccessful, click on the ''open Open Event Viewer'' button provided to learn more about the cause of the problem so that remedial action may be taken. Assuming a successful export click ''Finish'' to dismiss the Printer Migration dialog.

The next step is to import the printers into the ''destination target server''. Begin by right clicking on the destination server in the Print Management window and selecting ''Import printers from a file...''. In the resulting dialog, use the browse button to navigate to the export file, select it and click on ''Next'' to proceed. Once the file has been rad a screen will appear identical to the one displayed prior to exporting the printer objects in the preceding step. Review this information and click ''Next'' to display the ''Select import options'' screen as illustrated in the following figure:

* '''Keep existing printers; import copies'''- It is possible that a printer being imported is already also installed on the destination server. With this option selected, the original printer on the destination server will be left unchanged and the new printer imported as a copy. * '''Overwrite existing printers''' - If the printer being imported is already installed on the target server it is overwritten by the imported copy when this option is selected. * '''List printers that were previously listed''' - When selected, only printers that were already listed in Active Directory will still be listed after the import process is completed. * '''List all printers''' - All printers are listed in Active Directory * ''Don't list any printers''' - No printers are listed in Active Directory Once the required settings are configured, click ''Next'' to initiate the printer import process. The printer configurations, drivers and queues will be subsequently be imported onto the target print server.