HP JetDirect Print Server Questions

[Bob]

A friend asked me to look into buying a network printer to
be used in a small network of PCs (and maybe a Mac) where
there is no central server. I am looking at the HP P30005n
LaserJet which has an EIO port in which the JetDirect 620n
can be installed.

Am I understanding correctly the 620n is basically a print
server where it will manage requests from different computers
on the network? In reading the Admin Guide it appears that
it supports Win98/2000/XP as well as Mac AppleTalk?

I'm not sure how it works. If a job is being printed
from PC #1 and PC #2 wants to print, does PC #2 just
see that it's busy and waits until job #1 is finished?

Or does the 620n keep track of jobs from multiple computers
such that one can somehow see that the 620n has a queue
of multiple jobs?

TIA

 

[Fred McKenzie]

A friend asked me to look into buying a network printer to
be used in a small network of PCs (and maybe a Mac) where
there is no central server. I am looking at the HP P30005n
LaserJet which has an EIO port in which the JetDirect 620n
can be installed.

Am I understanding correctly the 620n is basically a print
server where it will manage requests from different computers
on the network? In reading the Admin Guide it appears that
it supports Win98/2000/XP as well as Mac AppleTalk?

I'm not sure how it works. If a job is being printed
from PC #1 and PC #2 wants to print, does PC #2 just
see that it's busy and waits until job #1 is finished?

Or does the 620n keep track of jobs from multiple computers
such that one can somehow see that the 620n has a queue
of multiple jobs?

Bob-

I have the JetDirect 615n in my HP CLJ 4600n's EIO slot. I'm not sure
what the difference is with the 620n, but it might have something to do
with the type of network interface. The 615n is strictly Ethernet.
Where I used to work, they were used where there might have been fifty
people printing to one heavy-duty printer.

I found an HP P3005n at the HP web site that already has a JetDirect
card installed. If you plan to use Ethernet to connect, you probably
don't need to purchase a new 620n card.

It would seem that the JetDirect print server does most of what you
want. It accepts a print job and completes it before accepting another.
Each computer seems quite happy to wait its turn.

I don't think there is a way to see the JetDirect's print Queue. If you
need that ability, it may be necessary to set up a computer as a print
server using software with the ability to manage the Queue. However,
one of the other computers can bypass such a server and print directly
to the JetDirect. Such a print job would not show up in the server
machine's Queue. (Does this make sense?)

The HP P3005n looks like a good choice for a small office environment.
I think it would be a good idea to increase its memory to the maximum it
can use.

Fred

 

[Bob]

Bob-

I have the JetDirect 615n in my HP CLJ 4600n's EIO slot. I'm not sure
what the difference is with the 620n, but it might have something to do
with the type of network interface. The 615n is strictly Ethernet.
Where I used to work, they were used where there might have been fifty
people printing to one heavy-duty printer.

I found an HP P3005n at the HP web site that already has a JetDirect
card installed. If you plan to use Ethernet to connect, you probably
don't need to purchase a new 620n card.

It would seem that the JetDirect print server does most of what you
want. It accepts a print job and completes it before accepting another.
Each computer seems quite happy to wait its turn.

I don't think there is a way to see the JetDirect's print Queue. If you
need that ability, it may be necessary to set up a computer as a print
server using software with the ability to manage the Queue. However,
one of the other computers can bypass such a server and print directly
to the JetDirect. Such a print job would not show up in the server
machine's Queue. (Does this make sense?)

The HP P3005n looks like a good choice for a small office environment.
I think it would be a good idea to increase its memory to the maximum it
can use.

Hi Fred...

Thanks for the reply. I looked at the detailed spec for the
HP P3005n and I believe you are correct in that it already has
an EIO 620n card installed. Your description gives me a better
understanding of how it works.

Now I have to do some research & comparison with a Lexmark T640/642
printer...

Bob

 

[Warren Block]

A friend asked me to look into buying a network printer to
be used in a small network of PCs (and maybe a Mac) where
there is no central server. I am looking at the HP P30005n
LaserJet which has an EIO port in which the JetDirect 620n
can be installed.

The letter "N" on the end of a LaserJet model number usually means a
JetDirect is included. On some printers, it's built in, and does not
occupy an EIO slot.

Am I understanding correctly the 620n is basically a print
server where it will manage requests from different computers
on the network?
Yes.

In reading the Admin Guide it appears that it supports Win98/2000/XP
as well as Mac AppleTalk?

Yes. The good news is that you mostly don't have to worry about that
any more, because any current system out there will print either through
port 9100 or lpd/lpr protocols. The JetDirect supports both. (It also
supports older protocols like AppleTalk and Netware, which you should
only need to use to support old systems.)

Or does the 620n keep track of jobs from multiple computers such that
one can somehow see that the 620n has a queue of multiple jobs?

The JetDirects have a web interface that lets you see what jobs are
queued. In practice, there's little reason to use that.

 

[Bob]

Bob <[email protected]> wrote:

The JetDirects have a web interface that lets you see what jobs are
queued. In practice, there's little reason to use that.

So if three computers have a print job, one printing and the other
two pending, through the web interface one can see which computer
has the job printing and that there are two pending?

Thanks for all the info Warren. It has alleviated some of my
apprehension...

-bob

 

[Bob]

Bob <[email protected]> wrote:

The JetDirects have a web interface that lets you see what jobs are
queued. In practice, there's little reason to use that.

So if three computers have a print job, one printing and the other
two pending, through the web interface one can see which computer
has the job printing and that there are two pending?

Thanks for all the info Warren. It has alleviated some of my
apprehension...

-bob

 

[Warren Block]

So if three computers have a print job, one printing and the other
two pending, through the web interface one can see which computer
has the job printing and that there are two pending?

It's been so long since I've used the JetDirect web interface that I
went and tried it, and... can't find a way to view a list of queued
jobs. Maybe I was thinking of some larger network printers.

In any case, unless your printer is very slow or the print jobs are very
large, jobs usually don't take long enough that you have to look up who
is slowing down the printer.

 

[Bob]

It's been so long since I've used the JetDirect web interface that I
went and tried it, and... can't find a way to view a list of queued
jobs. Maybe I was thinking of some larger network printers.

In any case, unless your printer is very slow or the print jobs are very
large, jobs usually don't take long enough that you have to look up who
is slowing down the printer.

I appreciate your efforts Warren!

 

[Fred McKenzie]

In any case, unless your printer is very slow or the print jobs are very
large, jobs usually don't take long enough that you have to look up who
is slowing down the printer.

Bob & Warren-

Normally there is no problem as you say. My experience at work was that
it sometimes helped to be able to see who was hanging up the printer.

Printing from a Macintosh, I couldn't see the print queue on the Windows
computer used as a server. I had to enlist the aid of a coworker to
find out who the guilty party was!

Only the originator or a system administrator could delete a problem
print job from the print queue on such a server. If you are using a
JetDirect server, anyone can press the "Cancel Job" button on the
printer.

Fred