Inside Windows® Server 2003

Printer Sharing

There's a high level of “print rage” among users. I think this is because users think that printing is a trivial thing that any numbskull should be able to get working. They don't realize that network printing involves a complicated set of technologies with devices and drivers and interface boxes from a myriad of vendors.

In this section, we'll take a look at how to configure network printing in Windows Server 2003 and how to avoid as much user wrath as possible by anticipating potential difficulties.

Functional Description of Network Printing

Figure 16.19 shows a diagram of a typical printing system layout. The fact that it resembles a game of Mousetrap is not coincidental. Rube Goldberg would have been astonished at the complexity ...