Ten Thousand Printers Can't Be Wrong:
- One Driver Fits All
The Problem
Give Plug’n Study users easy accountable access to the
campus printing environment
Plug’n Study users
Number of unique users per month
Outline
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Presentation
Demo
Organization
Goals
Initial solution
Yet another demo
Architecture
Benefits
Future / plans
Roskilde University
3 years basic studies in Science, Humanities & Social Sciencesucceeded by
2 years masterFounded
studies in
2 of 27 disciplines
1972
10.000
students
1.000
employes
Problem oriented - Project organized -Interdisciplinary
Demo
Demo 1:
Add Printer - show autoconfiguration ... SNMP on mac, don't know on
windows ...
Print page from Text edit "Hi, There"
Go to print.ruc.dk and
Release to printer ...
Organization
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Project group with representatives from:
Novell admins
Student portal group (developers)
IT management
A programmer
Requirements
Integrate with existing printing system
Support different accounting policies
Support Mac, Linux & Windows
Initial
Final solution
• iPrint for Windows + Linux
•Custom solution for anybody
Mac
“Mass virtual printing”
Unauthenticated print entry
Web based authenticated release
PDF based
One printer on user’s notebook
Driver “hell” at server
Access control at server
Integrated with ED, NDS & Pcounter
Unauthenticated print entry
• Traditional method:
One installed printer per queue
• - Find your job and release it
• Print.ruc.dk
One installed printer per user
• - Release your job to printer
Mass virtual Printing
• mass virtual hosting:
xyz.domain.com - xyz looked up in DB
• mass virtual printing:
print.ruc.dk/xyz - xyz looked up in ED
every user has her “own” queue
Mapping jobs to printers at release time
Web based authenticated release
• Easy login to release page using SSO
(CAS)
• OneClick mapping of job to printer
• Almost better than desktop feedback
• - due to custom Postscript generation
PDF based
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User can view or download PDF
Server based document assembly
Integration with campus print shop
Possible integration with institutional
repositories
One printer on user’s notebook
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Using Apple postscript driver
auto configures via SNMP
IPP print
LPD not possible on standard XP
installation
Driver “hell” at server
• Server converts print jobs from PS to PDF
• Autodiscover printer model via SNMP and
uses appropriate PPD
Access control at server
• ACL information from eDir/LDAP
• Only accessible printers are shown
Yet another demo
Demo 2:
Overview - the document is still there - and can be printed ...
Occasional uses - help integrated ...Help for the platforms - with video
Printers - list of printers I'm allowed to see
Select the ones you normally use ...Eg add or remove the colorprinter
Give them a nickname Eg rename hallway to hallAll
Documents are saved for two days ..Possiblity for simple
combination/concatenation of documents
HistoryAlle documents printed - only titles for documents still available
Architecture
Benefits
• Campuswide PDF generator
• Very limited support needed
Future / plans
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Duplex
Direct print
N-Up print
Print from lab computers
Walk-up print
Integration with administrative systems
Q&A