Setting Up a Windows Server 2008 Print Server

Windows Server 2008 Print Services allow printers to be shared over a network and provide a centralized printer management infrastructure allowing multiple print servers and printers to be managed from within the Print Management tool.

The objective of this chapter of Windows Server 2008 Essentials is to cover the configuration of a Windows Server 2008 system as a print server and the subsequent installation of both network based and local printer on that server.

Installing the Print Server

The first step in setting up a Windows Server 2008 print server is to install the Print Server role. This is achieved by launching the Server Manager, selecting Roles item from the tree in the left pane and clicking on Add Roles. In the Add Roles Wizard click next on the Welcome screen if one appears and then select the Print Services' option. Click Next and read the information displayed before clicking Next once again to proceed to the Select Role Services screen. On this screen a number of different service options are available for selection and installation as outlined in the following table:

Option	Description
Print Server	Installs the print server and Print Management console. This is a prerequisite for configuring print services on Windows Server 2008.
LDP Service	Installs the TCP/IP Line Printer Daemon Service (LPDSV) allowing UNIX, Linux and other Line Printer Remote (LPR0 based computers to print via the print server. This setting also opens port in the Windows Firewall.
Internet Printing	Creates an Internet Informaiton Service (IIS) hosted web site where users can manage printers and and connect and print to shared printers hosted in the server using the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP). The default URL for the web site is http://servername/Printers, where servername is the name of the server running the print services.