Connecting clients to a printer
Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2
Connecting clients to a printer
After you have added a printer to a computer running a Windows Server 2003 family operating system, you can set up clients to access it. The tasks that you perform to make sure users can print depend on the operating system used by the client computers on your network.
Windows XP**, Windows 2000, Windows NT, Windows 95, and Windows 98 clients**
For Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 95, and Windows 98 clients, you do not need to do anything further. The users connect to the shared printer by clicking Connection to this printer in the Add Printer Wizard. Or, if Active Directory is enabled, they can just search for the printer they want to add, right-click it, and then click Connect. In both cases, the printer driver is automatically copied to the client computer.
Windows 2000 and Windows NT 4.0 clients check the printer driver and printer configuration each time they connect. Windows NT 3.x clients check each time the spooler service on the client is started. If the driver is not current, a copy of the new driver is downloaded automatically. The printer driver for a client running Windows 95 or Windows 98 is not automatically kept current. If you update the driver on the print server, you must manually install the driver on clients running Windows 95 or Windows 98. However, administrators should update the drivers on the print server, making it easier for these clients to update their drivers manually from the print server instead of requiring floppy disks or CD-ROMs. For more information, see Connect to a printer on a network, or Connect Windows NT 4.0, Windows 95, and Windows 98 clients.
Windows 3.x, Windows for Workgroups, and MS-DOS clients
MS-DOS and all the different versions of previous Windows operating systems support printing from MS-DOS-based applications and Windows-based applications, by using 16-bit printer drivers that must be installed on each computer. Typically, they send jobs to the print server by using one of the following network client redirectors:
LAN Manager
Microsoft Network Client 3.0 for Windows
Windows for Workgroups built-in redirector
The network redirector can send jobs using NWLink or TCP/IP. The print server receives the job through the server service, which typically does not alter the print job. For more information, see Connect MS-DOS, Windows 3.x, and OS/2 clients.
NetWare Clients
NetWare clients can install network client software on each client computer to provide direct access to NetWare servers, and to Windows Server 2003 family servers and printers. For example, on Windows 95 and Windows 98, clients that are connected only to the NetWare server need to add the Client for Microsoft Networks to add connectivity to computers running Windows Server 2003 operating systems.
Note
- The IPX/SPX protocol is not available on Windows XP 64-bit Edition (Itanium) and the 64-bit versions of the Windows Server 2003 family.
Macintosh Clients
Macintosh clients send print jobs over AppleTalk to a print server computer running a Windows Server 2003 family operating system. Print Server for Macintosh must be installed on the print server.
Note
- Print Server for Macintosh is not available on the 64-bit versions of the Windows operating systems.
UNIX Clients
UNIX clients can connect to a print server computer running a Windows Server 2003 family operating system, by using the Line Printer Remote (LPR) monitor. This might be problematic because not all UNIX systems support LPR specifications, and different versions of UNIX use different LPR command syntax. For more information, see Print from an LPR client to a printer.