Printing With JetLAN Compact Print Servers

The object in printing on a Novell NetWare network is to get print jobs
from point A (users' terminals or workstations) to point B (hardcopy
output from a printer somewhere on the network). NetWare offers two
choices of network mechanisms or vehicles for that trip: a print server
system or a remote printer system.

All print servers, whether they are hardware devices or software programs,
work similarly. Whenever a network user enters a print command on a PC,
the print job is intercepted by Novell's CAPTURE command and directed to a
print queue on a designated file server.

The print queue is a way station where the job is picked up by a print
server-- which may be a hardware device or a software program. The print
server regularly polls the file server(s) that it is assigned to service.
If a job is waiting in the print server's assigned queue, the file server
responds by sending it to the print server. The print server in turn feeds
the job to its printer. When the printing is done, the print server
resumes polling.

Print Server Evolution Leads To JetLAN-style Devices

Network administrators' choice of a print server used to be simple. Back in
the mid-1980s they used a Novell print-server utility (PSERVER) that ran
on the file server, and print jobs flowed to a printer directly connected
to the file server. As NetWare evolved, a second option became available:
the dedicated PC print server. This is a PC on the network, with a printer
attached. The print-server software resides on the PC, thus taking a
burden off the file server. The PC polls for print jobs in its queues on
the network file server(s), and feeds them to its printer.

However, this ties up a PC on what is essentially a very simple,
single-minded task. Moreover, the PC's keyboard and monitor can allow
unauthorized access to the network, so the solution isn't attractive to
administrators who value security. And if someone inadvertently switches
the PC off, the print server is down.

In the last year and a half, network administrators have begun turning to a
new alternative: ASP's JetLAN. This compact print server comes in versions
that either mount on the printer, sit beside the printer, or even slide
into the printer (for example, into the optional i/o slot of a Hewlett
Packard LaserJet IIID laser printer). It assumes all functions of a PC
print server. Some models can also send jobs to more than one printer.

JetLANs have won wide acceptance from administrators because they offer a
range of features that aren't matched by other compact print servers. For
example, their powerful Utilities program allows them to be tested
independent of the file server, an asset in network diagnostics. The
Utilities even allow users to print to JetLANs when the file server is
down. JetLANs also let administrators easily add new print queues and file
servers, transparently to network users; and they allow the printer to
have a logical name. The high-performance units send data faster and check
the printer more efficiently than do any competing products.

Remote Printer Offers Useful (Though Slower! Alternatives

NetWare's RPRINTER utility and the remote printer function represent
another evolutionary offshoot in network printing. This approach isn't as
speedy or as elegant as the print-server approach. However, there are
times when a slower pace is appropriate and administrators benefit by
downshifting into the remote printer solution.

The differences between a PRINT SERVER and a REMOTE PRINTER are invisible
to network users, but they raise important considerations for
administrators. These include security, reliability, performance, and the
network's capacity to accommodate additional nodes.

The basic distinction between print servers and remote printers is that the
remote printer is passive. A print server is an active player on the
network, in the sense that it polls file server queues, seeking print
jobs. A remote printer, however, is an extension of a print server. It
"lives" quietly at a host's workstation on the network, as a TSR
(Terminate and Stay Resident) program, and waits for a print server to
send a job its way.

Typically the print server driving the remote printer is software that
resides on the file server. When users enter a PRINT command at a
workstation, the job goes to the queue on the file server assigned under
the user's Novell CAPTURE utility. The software print server then picks up
the job from the queue. The print server has a list of remote printers it
can use, and sends the job to one that is available.

The "remote printer" that has been described so far is a software
entity--not a physical printer. The remote printer still has to feed the
job to a mechanical printer, be it a laser printer, a dot-matrix printer,
a plotter, or anything else. This is one reason why the remote-printer
approach is slower than a print-server approach: It generates more network
traffic.

If a print server is directly connected to a printer, it is possible for
printing to start as soon as the server pulls a job from a queue. But if
the job has to go from the print server to a remote printer, the network
is burdened with another transmission.

Dealing With Burdens On Network Traffic

That isn't the only burden. NetWare's remote-printer utility, RPRINTER, is
a Terminate-and-Stay-Resident (TSR) program that runs in the background on
a user's workstation. It shares the processing power of the CPU as it
passes print jobs along to the workstation's printer. Often, the result is
noticeably reduced performance: A user creating a word-processing file may
see text input slow to a crawl when the remote printer utility is active.
Conversely, a print job that arrives while the workstation is crunching a
complex spreadsheet will have to squeeze through to the printer in fits
and starts.

An administrator on a crowded system might choose the remote printer option
despite these drawbacks, in order to get an extra printer on the network
without having to add a new connection to the file server. The remote
printer connects through the node of the PC on which it is resident. A
print server, however, must log in to a node of its own.

Use Remote Printer To Get More Printing-Management Options

Also, an administrator might use the remote printer option to facilitate
installation of a powerful third-party queue-management program. Such a
program helps micromanage network printing by acting as a super print
server, exercising "smart" control over printing activities.

For example, if one printer is busy, the third-party program can re-direct
a job to a similar printer elsewhere on the network. The program becomes
the custodian of soft fonts. It knows what fonts are resident on various
printers, and downloads soft fonts only as necessary. Users don't have to
worry whether a particular printer supports the fonts in their documents.
Moreover, the third-party program exhaustively tracks all printing
activity on the network. It gathers data that administrators can analyze
to fine-tune system efficiency.

Remote printer is mandatory with such programs, because it only works with
printers operating in that mode.

Because the JetLAN supports the Remote Printer mode, administrators can use
a JetLAN in this environment and thus avoid hobbling users' workstations
with RPRINTER. They also gain greater freedom in where to locate printers
around their network. And, unlike a PC running RPRINTER, the JetLAN is
completely optimized for data throughput.

In summary: JetLANs allow network administrators to deploy printers
anywhere on a LAN, in effect putting Print Server or Remote Printer
functionality right on the printer itself. They install easily using
NetWare's native PCONSOLE Utility and they support NetWare's Status &
Control option. Still more powerful configuration and diagnostic functions
are available through the JetLAN Utilities software, which also enables
users to print even if the file server is down. Administrators can add new
print queues and file servers to the network without taking JetLANs
off-line. All JetLANs have clearly labeled LED indicators that provide
useful diagnostic information about their operation. The devices support
up to 16 file servers, on different network segments, and up to 40 print
queues.

ASP Computer Products Inc
160 San Gabriel Dr, Sunnyvale, CA 94086
408-746-2965;  408-746-2803

==========================================================
From the America Online -- New Product Information Service
==========================================================
This information was processed from data provided by the
above mentioned company. For additional details, contact 
the company at the address or telephone number indicated.
==========================================================
All submissions for this service should be addressed to:
BAKER ENTERPRISES, 20 Ferro Dr, Sewell, NJ 08080 U.S.A.
Email:  RBakerPC  (AOL),   rbakerpc@aol.com  (Internet)
==========================================================
