ThinPrint – Getting Started

ThinPrint prints with its own printer ports (ThinPrint Ports) which will be automati­cally created during installation. Thus, ThinPrint does not affect printing with conven­tional printer ports, such as Standard TCP/IP Ports.

This chapter describes configuration of the ThinPrint Engine with special attention to adding ThinPrint Ports and adapting them to specific requirements for print job transmission. The Port Manager offers the following options for ThinPrint Ports:

• Add a ThinPrint Port – local and remote
• Configure a ThinPrint Port – local and remote
• Delete a ThinPrint Port – local and remote
• Send port configuration to other Windows machines on which a ThinPrint Engine is installed
• Export and import port properties
• Encryption settings

Starting Port Manager

• Open the ThinPrint Configuration console.

• In case of remote configuration: In the ThinPrint node, click Add and specify the computer address.

Creating ThinPrint Ports

To create new ports use the buttons New ThinPrint Port or New ThinPrint Connection Service Port in Port Managers menu bar. Choose the port settings: port type (protocol) and bandwidth and (optional) encryption.

Note!In principle, there is no limit to the length of printer port names. Some old applications, however, only support port names with a length of four or six characters; if longer port names are used, this could cause problems (printer is not visible in the application, etc.).
Pool not more than 20 to 25 ports because each printer of a pool must be assigned to all ports. Because of Windows restrictions the general rule is:
Length of port name x Number of ports < 200

 

Connnecting printers to ThinPrint Ports

ThinPrint Ports each consist of a pair of two printer ports:

• 1. a classic ThinPrint Port ‒ in the following screenshot for example with the denominations ThinPort: or ThinPort6:
  2. a v4 driver port ‒ in the following screenshot with the denominations \\.\pipe\TPv4_ThinPort: or \.\pipe\TPv4_ThinPort6:

Printer objects that use ether a native v3 printer driver or the TP Output Gateway are connected to the classic ThinPrint Ports ‒ in the following screenshot the printer object HP Color LaserJet MFP#192.168.149.51:1

In contrast, printer objects that use a native v4 printer driver are connected to the v4 driver port ‒ in the following screenshot the printer object  Lexmark XV544#server002:5

Note: The pairs of printer ports introduced with ThinPrint version 13 ‒ consisting of a classic ThinPrint port and a v4 driver port ‒ allows ThinPrint to use both v3 and v4 printer drivers (aka type-3 and type-4 printer drivers, respectively). This linking of pairs of printer ports is ensured by the ThinPrint Transport Service (TPTransport).

• To configure ports, select ThinPrint→ ThinPrint Engine→ Port Manager.

In Print Management, you can view whether the native drivers you are using are Type 3 or Type 4 drivers (or v3 or v4 drivers respectively).

Configuring ThinPrint Ports

• Double clicking a port name will open the port config­uration.

Configure tab

 

Use encryption	Enables encryption; a valid and corresponding certificate must be available for both ThinPrint Engine and ThinPrint Client machine (not for LPD; see also Encryption of print data).
Bandwidth control	• Enable: Bandwidth control on • Max. bandwidth available for printing with ThinPrint; minimum: 1 kbit/s, default: unlimited
Print protocol	• TCP/IP (Sockets) • Use Virtual Channel Gateway (Print data will be sent to the remote desktop and then sent via RDP, ICA or PCoIP with the Virtual Channel Gateway installed there) • LPD (Unix print protocol LPR/LPD) • Virtual Channel Protocol (ICA/RDP) as well as PCoIP This function is not relevant here. It’s intended for direct print­ing from remote desktops.
Minimum print data volume	• Enabled: always highest compression • Disabled: transfer rate optimized compression – depends on bandwidth settings

You can also select the TCP port (default: 4000) for TCP/IP (Sockets) and Use Virtual Channel Gateway print protocols (see the table above). With TCP/IP (Sockets), the TCP port numbers of the ThinPrint Clients (see Advanced tab) must be the same as those of the ThinPrint Ports. With Use Virtual Channel Gateway the TCP port numbers of the Virtual Channel Gate­way(s) must be the same as those of the ThinPrint Ports.

Advanced tab

Under Advanced, you have the following options:

Client control: Bandwidth

If this option is enabled, each user can set her / his own bandwidth value (in the ThinPrint Client Manager).

Client bandwidth settings must be lower than server-side settings; otherwise, ThinPrint Port settings are applied.

Connection retries (TCP/IP and LPD only)

Enter the number of times ThinPrint Engine should attempt to establish a con­nection to the client.

Net Send Service

Net Send Service is used to notify users if ThinPrint experiences print errors. If this box is checked (= default), ThinPrint Engine will send error messages to the relevant account.

Note: This function can become irksome if several users are logged on using the same account.

Naming convention

You can select for each ThinPrint Port whether the address information is at the beginning or the end of the printer name. Examples:

Default addressing	Reversed addressing
TCP/IP Lexmark T620 PS3#192.168.1.100 Lexmark T620 PS3#192.168.1.100:1 HP LaserJet 1200 PCL#client1 HP LaserJet 1200 PCL#client1:2 recommended: Lexmark T620 PS3#client1:2	192.168.1.100#Lexmark T620 PS3 192.168.1.100:1#Lexmark T620 PS3 client1#HP LaserJet 1200 PCL client1:2#HP LaserJet 1200 PCL
Use Virtual Channel Gateway HP LaserJet 1200 PCL# Lexmark T620 PS3#:1 recommended: HP LaserJet 1200 PCL	HP LaserJet 1200 PCL :1#Lexmark T620 PS3
LPD HP PhotoSmart P1000#192.168.1.101 HP PhotoSmart P1000#printer3 recommended: HP PhotoSmart P1000#printer3	192.168.1.101#HP PhotoSmart P1000 printer3#HP PhotoSmart P1000

Job Statistics tab

Print statistics can be activated per ThinPrint Port.

• Select the relevant ThinPrint Port; click Properties→ Job statistics and then High (every second), Normal (every 10 seconds), Low (every 30 seconds), No update, or Statistics off (default) under Update speed.

Note! Use this function only part-time, as it may affect print performance. See also ThinPrint Tracking.

Save

• Save your settings by clicking OK or Apply.

Distributing port configuration

The following strategies are available for creating the same configuration for ThinPrint Ports on multiple servers:

• Remote configuration of ThinPrint Ports (Starting Port Manager)
• Copying port properties with Copy&Paste (see below)
• Export to an .xml file and import to target servers (see below)
• Sending port configuration to target servers (see below)

Copy-and-Paste

•  Open the ThinPrint Engine configuration console (Starting Port Manager).
•  Mark a port in a server’s Port Manager and select Copy from the context menu

•  Mark the Port Manager of a target server and select Paste from the context menu.

Export/Import

The following export and import functions are available:

Export Port Configuration	Exports the selected ThinPrint Port to an .xml file
Import/Export→ Export Port Configuration	Exports all ThinPrint Ports to an .xml file if no port is selected
Import/Export→ Import Port Configuration	Imports ThinPrint Ports from an .xml file

Sending port configuration

The Send Port Configuration function sends ThinPrint Ports to other servers or server groups. There are various modes:

Send Port Configuration (Overwrite)	Sends the selected ThinPrint Port; a port with the same name on the target system will be overwritten
Send Port Configuration (Add Only)	Sends the selected ThinPrint Port; a port with the same name on the target system will not be overwrit­ten
Import/Export→ Send Port Configuration (Overwrite)	Send all ThinPrint Ports; ports with the same name on the target system will be overwritten
Import/Export→ Send Port Configuration (Add Only)	Send all ThinPrint Ports; ports with the same name on the target system will not be overwritten

ThinPrint Ports that already exist on the target computer, but not on the sending com­puter remain unchanged.

Procedure when sending

• Selecting the send option will open the dialog.

•  To improve clarity, first select Object Types, and disable Groups. Click OK to confirm.

•  Select Advanced and then Find Now.

• Mark all target servers and click OK to confirm.

Caution! You are influencing the configuration of remote computers. Check once more that you really want to send the configured ThinPrint Ports to the selected servers. A confirmation prompt gives you the option to cancel the pro­cess.

Note! If you receive an error message when sending, create a connection to the target computer with the MMC, using the relevant ThinPrint Engine node for remote configuration (Starting Port Manager) and repeat the send process from the source computer while keeping the console open.

There’s one last step after installing and configuring the ThinPrint Engine: setting up printers on the ThinPrint Ports.

Which protocol?

If you are working with several ThinPrint Ports, each with a different protocol, then check port configuration before printer installation to see which ThinPrint Port sup­ports which protocol.

ThinPrint naming conventions

Please also refer to the following information when adding printers to the server man­ually (without Management Services).

For simplicity’s sake, only standard addressing is considered here; reversed addressing can be found in the chart in Naming convention, and addressing Thin­Print Connection Service Ports is explained in detail in ThinPrint Connection Ser­vice. On this, see also the section Address information in the Registry (below).

It is irrelevant to a ThinPrint printer name whether the object represents a tradi­tional (native) printer driver or the Output Gateway “printer driver”. The ThinPrint printer name is composed according to the network protocol in use:

Network protocol	names of printer objects
TCP/IP	Either: printer_name#client_name:printer_ID Example: Kyocera FS-850#client1:3 Or: printer_name#IP_address:printer_ID Example: Kyocera FS-850#191.168.1.17:3
Use Virtual Channel Gateway (RDP/ICA/PCoIP)	Either: printer_name#user_name:printer_ID Example: Kyocera FS-850#administrator:3 Or: printer_name#:printer_ID Example: Kyocera FS-850#:3
LPD	Either: printer_name#client_name Example: Kyocera FS-850#printer1 Or: printer_name#IP_address Example: Kyocera FS-850#191.168.1.18

client_name

Client name with TCP/IP and LPD means the real name of the client in the network (= host name). Alternatively, the client’s IP address can be used; this is especially necessary when there are difficulties with the name resolution.

Note! With TCP/IP it is possible to send print data to any client computer run­ning a ThinPrint Client – independent of a remote desktop session.

printer_ID

At the client (i. e., a workstation, a thin client or terminal, a ThinPrint Hub, an SEH printserver ONE or a local print server), the ThinPrint Client automatically assigns every installed printer an ID. The printer_ID can be omitted if

• there is only one printer installed on the client
• printing should take place on the ThinPrint Client’s current printer
• if, firstly, all the print jobs are sent via Virtual Channel Gateway and, secondly, the share name entered in Dynamic Printer Matrix’ Target Printer column and the printer name on the client machine match (= if the variable %LCPRN% can be used in the Target Printer column).

printer_name

The printer name can be anything you like. It is nonetheless recommended that it is the same as the printer name at the client machine.

Example:

Client

Client name	client1
IP address	192.168.1.17
Printer	Lexmark T644

ThinPrint Client assigned this printer ID 2

Server

Lexmark T644 # client1:2
Or
Lexmark T644 # 192.168.1.17:2

Print protocol ICA, RDP or PCoIP

With the Use Virtual Channel Gateway protocol type, it is possible to print from print servers via RDP, ICA or PCoIP. Print jobs are then sent via TCP/IP from the ThinPrint Engine installed on the print server to the Virtual Channel Gateway on the remote desktop and from there via RDP, ICA or PCoIP to the client. The nam­ing convention for the printers on the print server is the same as for RDP, ICA or PCoIP.

The RDP, ICA and PCoIP protocol assumes all communication with the client, including the client’s unambiguous identification. The printer name is composed of:

Description of the Printer and the Printer ID

Example:
Kyocera FS-850 is to be printed via ThinPrint using RDP. If multiple printers are installed 
and ID 3 was assigned to the printer by the ThinPrint Client, the printer name could be:
   Kyocera#:3 (# before :)
   or Kyocera FS-850#_:3 (underline before :)
If Kyocera FS-850 is ThinPrint Client’s Current Printer or the Dynamic Printer Matrix is
in use (and share name and client printer name match), this name is sufficient:
   Kyocera FS-850

Note! With the RDP, ICA or PCoIP protocol print data is sent automatically to the client from whose session the print data was created.

Address information in the Registry

If you use unique printer names in your print environment, you can alternatively store the address information in the Windows registry. To do this, write the address of the ThinPrint Client to:
hkey_local_machine\system\currentcontrolset\control\print\printers\<printer-name>\PrinterDriverData\TPAddr [reg_sz]

and the printer ID to:
hkey_local_machine\system\currentcontrolset\control\print\printers\<printer-name>\PrinterDriverData\TPID [reg_sz]

Port pooling

Pooling printer ports with ThinPrint means you can attach printer objects to several ThinPrint Ports – also known as printer pooling. This has the following advantages:

• Improved performance
• Little chance of blockage from very large or “hanging” print jobs
• Fewer printer ports on the server (because multiple printers can be connected to a few ports)
• Bandwidth limitation is more clearly defined

ThinPrint Port pooling is supported by:

• ThinPrint Ports including v4 driver ports
• ThinPrint Output Gateway
• AutoConnect
• Virtual Channel Gateway
• Connection Service
• ThinPrint Management Services

Port pooling is mainly used to improve print performance. It should be remembered though, that all ThinPrint Ports in a pool should have the same settings – this can be done automatically using the Management Services.  Port pooling with ThinPrint Ports in combination with Output Gateways, Management Services and AutoConnect, however, brings more than maximum perfor­mance; it also makes administration particularly easy and convenient.

When setting bandwidth, note that the bandwidths of a pool are added to each other when all ThinPrint Ports print simultaneously.

With the installation of the ThinPrint Engine, a port pool is installed that contains the ThinPrint Ports ThinPort1: to ThinPort5:. This allows ‒ with all printers connected to it ‒ five print jobs to take place simultaneously.