The process of deploying a printer on your Windows SBS 2011 network consists of the following basic steps:
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Connect the print device to the computer or network.
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Create a printer on the print server and install drivers.
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Share the printer.
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Configure clients to access the printer.
These steps are discussed in the following sections.
1. Connecting a Print Device
For most of the print devices on the market today, the process of connecting
the device consists of simply plugging a cable into a USB or IEEE 1394
port on the computer you intend to use as a print server, or plugging a
cable into any network connection. Keep in mind, however, that many
print devices do not include the required USB or network cable in the
box, so you might have to purchase one separately.
Older print devices might use a parallel or serial port connection to connect to a computer. Parallel
connections use a large, heavy cable that is limited to a maximum
length of 6 to 9 feet. Serial cables are thinner and lighter, and can be
longer, but print devices with serial connectors are relatively rare.
To connect a print device that does not have a built-in network
adapter directly to the network, you can purchase a device that
provides a network connection. Some print device models have an
expansion slot that can accept a proprietary network adapter/print
server made by the print device manufacturer, but external print server
devices are also available that are not proprietary, which enable you to
connect any print device to your network. Print server devices
supporting either wired or wireless networks are available, providing
you with virtually unlimited freedom in placing your computers.
Note
The network interface adapters that print devices use are different
from those you install in computers. The expansion slots in print
devices are not standardized like those in computers, so the adapters
that fit into them use proprietary designs that are uniquely designed
for specific print devices.
USB and IEEE 1394 are both Plug and Play interfaces, so when you
connect a print device to a Windows computer using one of those ports
and turn on the print device, the system typically detects it and
automatically starts a Plug and Play hardware detection and installation
sequence. During the installation process, Windows creates a printer,
configures the port that provides access to the print device, installs
printer drivers, and typically offers to share the printer with the
network as well.
All the current Windows operating systems include a large collection
of printer drivers, but if your print device is a newly released model,
or a particularly obscure one, the system might prompt you to supply
drivers. Print devices typically include a driver disk, and
manufacturers usually have the latest drivers available on a website.
Your print device might also include additional software, such as a
print device management application. In most cases, Windows can access
the print device without any special software other than drivers, so installing these other products is usually optional.
2.1 Installing a Local Printer Manually
If you have a print device that does not use a Plug
and Play interface, such as one that connects to the computer’s
parallel or serial port, you have to run the Add Printer Wizard. The
following procedure illustrates the process of installing a printer
connected to a server running Windows SBS 2011 using a parallel or
serial port:
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Click Start, and then click Devices and printers. The Devices And Printers Control panel appears.
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Click Add printer. The Add Printer Wizard appears, displaying the Choose An Option page.
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Click Add a local or network printer as an administrator. The What Type Of Printer Do You Want To Install? page appears.
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Click Add a local printer. The Choose A Printer Port page appears.
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Leave the Use an existing port option selected and choose the correct port from the drop-down list. Then click Next. The Install The Printer Driver page appears.
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From the list on the left, select the manufacturer of the print device.
Note
If your printer does not appear in the list, you must obtain a printer driver from the manufacturer and click Have disk to install it.
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From the list of the manufacturers’ printers on the right, select your print device and click Next. The Type A Printer Name page appears.
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Specify the name that the system will use to identify the print device and click Next. The wizard installs the printer and the Printer Sharing page appears.
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Leave the Share this printer so that others on your network can find and use it option selected and, in the Share name
text box, specify the name by which the printer will be known on the
network. Optionally, you can also specify additional information about
the printer in the Location and comment text boxes.
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Click Next. The You’ve Successfully Added the printer page appears.
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Click Finish. The wizard closes and the printer appears in the Devices And Printers Control panel.
Caution
If you open the Windows SBS Console immediately after installing a printer using this procedure, the printer does not appear in the Printers list on the Network/Devices
page. This is because although the Add Printer Wizard has shared the
printer, it has not added it to your Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) domain.
