What's the difference between Install and Connect

[Bill Bradley]

I have a Win2K3 print cluster with two virtual servers used as print
servers.

After installing the printers on the virtual server as shared printers, I
can then go to the client workstations and add the printers.

Depending on exactly how I add them, they are either "installed" or
"connected"--which do I want to do?

I want to print THROUGH the print server, not direct via IP, so, assume
installed is what I want, but, what's connected?

Thanks!

 

[Bruce Sanderson]

Unfortunately, the printing world is full of terminology confusion!

To use a printer shared from a Microsoft Windows print server, you need to
do two things:

1. "connect" to the printer share on the print server - same idea as for a
folder share - establish a logical conduit, get authenticated and verified
as having appropriate permissions
2. "install" the printer driver for the printer, on the client computer, if
one is not already installed.

The Add Printer Wizard does both when you ask it to "Add" a "Network
Printer", but these actions/concepts are not distinguished clearly by the
Wizard.

If you navigate to a print server in Windows Explorer (or click Start, Run
and key \\PrintServerName), then right click on a shared printer and select
"Connect", this does the same thing the Add Printer Wizard would do -
connects to the printer share and installs the driver if it is not already
installed.

Subsequently, when you logon to the client computer, the "connection" to the
printer share is automatically re-created - since the driver is already
installed, this doesn't need to be done again.

 

[Bill Bradley]

Thanks! A clear explanation!

Unfortunately, the printing world is full of terminology confusion!

To use a printer shared from a Microsoft Windows print server, you need to
do two things:

1. "connect" to the printer share on the print server - same idea as for a
folder share - establish a logical conduit, get authenticated and verified
as having appropriate permissions
2. "install" the printer driver for the printer, on the client computer,
if one is not already installed.

The Add Printer Wizard does both when you ask it to "Add" a "Network
Printer", but these actions/concepts are not distinguished clearly by the
Wizard.

If you navigate to a print server in Windows Explorer (or click Start, Run
and key \\PrintServerName), then right click on a shared printer and
select "Connect", this does the same thing the Add Printer Wizard would
do - connects to the printer share and installs the driver if it is not
already installed.

Subsequently, when you logon to the client computer, the "connection" to
the printer share is automatically re-created - since the driver is
already installed, this doesn't need to be done again.