Chapter 13. Configuring and Monitoring Print Services

This chapter covers the following subjects:

• Printing Terminology in Windows Server 2008 R2: This section introduces key terminology and concepts you must be aware of to administer printers. It also reviews the actions that occur when a user submits a print job.

• Installing, Sharing, and Publishing Printers: This section shows you how to install the Print and Document Services server role and then covers the installation, sharing, and publication of printers.

• Managing and Troubleshooting Printers: Print servers and printers come with a large array of properties you must be aware of to effectively manage a corporate printing environment. This section introduces you to the management of these properties, as well as the topic of granting permissions to printers and print servers and troubleshooting common printer problems.

Resources on a Windows Server 2008 network go beyond the subject of files and folders that have been the subject of Chapter 9, “Configuring File Servers,” and subsequent chapters. An important component of any business network is the capability to print documents in a timely and accurate manner, and Windows Server 2008 R2 provides the Print and Document Services server role to assist administrators in setting up print servers and keeping printing capabilities operating properly. Typically, a print server is a computer to which you connect a print device and share so that many people across your network, and even across the Internet, can print to the printer.

In any case, clients that print to the printer can be running a variety of platforms and not just Windows systems. Windows Server 2008 supports hundreds of print devices from a large number of printer manufacturers. This chapter introduces you to the management of printers, which is an important topic—both in real life and on the 70-642 exam.