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Print job tracking

How it works

Personal Printing, ThinPrint Engine and Tracking Service

Order of installa­tion

Enabling service account for printing

Tracking Service

Tracking Report Engine

Technical requirements

Installation of Tracking Database

Selecting authentication mode

SQL server authen­tication

Windows authenti­cation

Managing the tracking database

With SQL authenti­cation

With Windows authentication

Installing the Tracking Report Engine

Analyzing tracking data  using the Tracking Report Engine

SQL database


The ThinPrint Tracking option allows you to oversee your print volume: How many printers are overloaded? Which are hardly used? How many color or black&white printouts are printed on a daily basis? What are the resulting costs?


How it works

The print data of ThinPrint Ports is compiled by the server and transferred into an SQL database. From there, they can be graphically presented as a website using the Tracking Report Engine, which also allows for many other settings, such as querying print volumes for a certain branch during a certain time period. Authorized individu­als can access the website from anywhere.

Print job tracking has the following components:

  • ThinPrint Engine or Personal Printing
    sends data to the ThinPrint Tracking Service
  • ThinPrint Tracking Service
    receives data and writes it to an SQL database
  • ThinPrint Tracking Report Engine
    web component for clear analysis, summary, and graphic report of tracking resultsexample for using ThinPrint Tracking

Tracking is part of the following ThinPrint products:

  • ThinPrint Engine
  • Personal Printing

If not yet installed, an SQL server must be installed to enable use of the tracking fea­ture within the ThinPrint Engine. This program is not included in the ThinPrint Engine software.


Personal Printing, ThinPrint Engine and Tracking Service

If you use Personal Printing either together with Tracking Service (included in Per­sonal Printing) or with ThinPrint Engine (not included), please note the following instructions.


Order of installa­tion

It is recommended that you install each of the Personal Printing, Tracking Report Engine, ThinPrint Engine, and ThinPrint License Server components on separate servers. Two exceptions are the combinations:

  • ThinPrint Engine + Personal Printing
  • License Server + ThinPrint Engine

So if you want to install Personal Printing on a print server together with the ThinPrint Engine, please follow the following sequence:

1. ThinPrint Engine
2. Personal Printing

Note! The Tracking Report Engine must not be installed together with Per­sonal Printing, ThinPrint Engine or License Server on the same computer. To do this, use a separate web server.


Enabling service account for printing

Since version 10, the ThinPrint Engine is equipped with a license server. If ThinPrint is used additionally, the service account which is to be created for Personal Printing installation and configuration (see User account for installation) must be enabled for printing on the License Server.

ersonal Printing's service account on the ThinPrint license server

  Personal Printing's service account on the ThinPrint license server


Tracking Service

You can gather information about the print jobs sent with the ThinPrint Engine for your statistics (tracking). To do so, you must set up a Microsoft SQL server. The ThinPrint Engine sends its tracking data to the server that has the tracking service installed. Print data which can be analyzed and displayed by Tracking Report Engine are:

  • Author of a print job (user/group)
  • Printer used
  • Settings used
  • Number of pages printed
  • Information on any errors
  • Costs
  • Compression rates (ThinPrint Engine only)
  • Print duration
  • Print data during a defined period

The SQL server can collect print data from different sources – from ThinPrint Engines on application or print servers or from Personal Printing servers.


Tracking Report Engine

ThinPrint Tracking includes a web application for viewing the tracking data. This pro­gram represents the SQL data graphically in its web interface – installed on a web server. The tracking data can therefore be analyzed from the web browser on any workstation.

 ThinPrint Tracking: analyzing SQL data in a web browser 

Technical requirements

Your architecture must meet the following requirements for running ThinPrint Track­ing:

  • The SQL server additionally requires:
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express and later
  • The ThinPrint Tracking Report Engine can be run on the following servers (as a web server):
  • Windows Server 2012 R2
  • Windows Server 2012
  • Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1

Note! The Tracking Report Engine must not be installed together with Per­sonal Printing, ThinPrint Engine or License Server on the same computer. To do this, use a separate web server.

The following is required:

  • Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP 1
  • ASP .NET (can be enabled as a Windows component or installed as a part of the .NET Framework)
  • Internet Information Services (IIS) 5.1 or later. Port 80 is used by default. Do not change this port number and make sure that no other programs are using this port.

Administrator permissions are required for all installation and configuration proce­dures.
Please note with ThinPrint Tracking, that data printed via a ThinPrint Port is col­lected.


Installation of Tracking Database

To install the tracking database, please follow the steps below:

  • Copy Setup.exe onto the SQL server and open it.
  • Select the desired language → InstallShield Wizard opens and click Next

running ThinPrint Tracking database installer

  • Select the SQL server, on which you wish to install the Tracking database.
  • Then specify how do you wish to access the database:
    • Windows authentication
      or
    • SQL server authentication
  • Confirm with Next.

ThinPrint Tracking: selecting database server and authentication to SQL server

  • Choose a name for the database in which the information about print jobs will be stored: tptrack1 for example.
  • In case of a software update, you can select an existing database by clicking on the button Browse. Confirm with Next.

ThinPrint Tracking: selecting database server and authentication mode


Selecting authentication mode

By choosing the authentication mode, you have defined how Report Engine admin­istrators and the tracking service access the data.


SQL server authen­tication

  • Create an account with administration permissions, TrackingService for exam­ple. Or specify an existing one.
  • Note the user name and password. Confirm with Next and close InstallShield Wizard with Finish.ThinPrint Tracking: creating administrator account for the database


Windows authenti­cation

If you choose Windows Authentication, all users and servers need to be members of the same domain. Users can log on with their user name and their domain password.

  • Choose Windows authentication and confirm with Next.

ThinPrint Tracking: selecting database server and authentication mode

You can select user groups from the Active Directory which should be able to access Tracking Database. For this, click Advanced.

ThinPrint Tracking: inheriting groups from Active Directory

During installation of Tracking database, Tracking database administrators with read and write permissions will be created, as well as users with read permissions only. 

ThinPrint Tracking: defining administrator groups and user groups Finally, conclude Tracking database installation in InstallShield Wizard with Install and Finish.


Managing the tracking database

  • Open a management tool for the database, as for example Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express. With this tool, you can administer the database created by the installer.

ThinPrint Tracking: SQL database 

With SQL authenti­cation

When you install Tracking database with SQL authentication, a user account will be created with read permissions on the database. This name of the user account will be TrackingUser.

  • To access the SQL server remotely, open SQL Server Configuration Manager and enable the protocols Named Pipes and TCP/IP. 

ThinPrint Tracking: enabling protocols

  • Then start the SQL server browser in the Services folder. 

SQL Server Browser starten

With Windows authentication

  • To ensure the Tracking Service gets access to the SQL server, open Management Studio Express and enter with a right click in the folder Security on New and Login.

ThinPrint Tracking: creating access for Tracking Service on the SQL server

Create a new account according to this sample:

<domain>\<tracking service address>$

 In this example: 

ourdomain\tp-server07$

ThinPrint Tracking: creating login for Tracking Service

  • Put a checkmark at the database, which is configured for Tracking, here: tptrack1 (arrow above) and a checkmark at TREAdmin (lower arrow).

ThinPrint Tracking: user mapping

Now Tracking Service can access the database with Windows authentication.


Installing the Tracking Report Engine

See the section Installing the Tracking Report Engine on a webserver.


Analyzing tracking data using the Tracking Report Engine

See the section Analyzing tracking data.

 

SQL database

See the section SQL database.



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