[NA]connect printer to server[NA]

Let'sgoflying!

Let'sgoflying!

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Dave Taylor
My IT guy could not get a new printer (Dell E515dw) to be seen by my server.
-networkable printer
-known good network port in wall
-known good ethernet cable
-wifi off
He says we could enter the TCP/IP, MAC, DNS etc into the printer but its better to leave network detection in auto and let it connect itself.
Call Dell?
 
No help from all the wunnerful IT dweebs on POA?

Is the printer pingable?
 
The "auto" thing is referring to a couple of settings (duplex and speed). You shouldn't need to mess with those. Is the wiring in the wall known to be good (test it with another device)? Also, try a different patch cable on both sides, using a known good cable. Try a a different port on the switch (use a known good one, again). Is the switch configured for multiple VLANs? It is possible the port you are on isn't on the same subnet. It is possible the printer has a bad NIC, as well, if you have ruled everything else out.

Edit: I just reread; by auto, he meant IP address using DHCP. No, that is wrong. It is better to use a static or better yet a reserved address on a printer (you set up,a reservation on the DHCP server). You don't want printers changing their address.
 
If your IT guy is setting a printer up with a DHCP assigned IP address (without a reservation), fire him. That's just stupid, unless you actually WANT to guess what new IP it has when the lease expires. Static is even better as @John221us mentioned.

Is the printer approved for installation on the server OS you have, as in, does it have drivers that let you use all the features?
 
To be fair to the IT guy it's simple to lock an assigned IP address to a particular mac these days.
 
Caramon13 said:
If your IT guy is setting a printer up with a DHCP assigned IP address (without a reservation), fire him. That's just stupid, unless you actually WANT to guess what new IP it has when the lease expires. Static is even better as @John221us mentioned.

Is the printer approved for installation on the server OS you have, as in, does it have drivers that let you use all the features?
Click to expand...

I am not sure it is a firing offence (the newer low end printers and drivers are built to find the printer, even if the address changes as long as it is on the same subnet). It certainly isn't a best practice to do that. That was to make these home printers easier to install for the complete novice. Your IT guy should know better, though. Pinging the printer is a good test, as mentioned by @Clark1961.
Clark1961 said:
To be fair to the IT guy it's simple to lock an assigned IP address to a particular mac these days.
Click to expand...

That would be a DHCP reservation (definitely a best practice). I guess that could have been lost in translation. Apparently we don't even know if it is getting an IP address, at this point.
 
John221us said:
That would be a DHCP reservation (definitely a best practice). I guess that could have been lost in translation. Apparently we don't even know if it is getting an IP address, at this point.
Click to expand...

I just have a home system to take care of anymore but have learned a couple tricks. In this case I'd be looking for the printer on the network before doing much of anything else. I don't know about Dell's drivers but everything else (mostly HP but more than a few other brands) has configured fine once the damn printer showed up on the net.

And I do like to let DHCP handle everything so any updates are no brainers. My printers are manually configed mostly because that's how I've always done it but the NASs and ftp server are DHCP.
 
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In a server/client environment you don't need to install the drivers locally, you install them on a machine acting as a print server and the client just uses those when they grab the printer from the server. The typical bloatware drivers complete with a GUI that come with a "home" printer, don't belong on a server. A professional would not use those, we'd use the bare bones drivers that provide the same functionality. Most of the drivers for modern printers will already be on the server, or are obtainable very easily from the manufacturer.
 
To all of you saying the printer should have a static IP. Nope, sorry, that is very old school. The printer driver can, and will use the hostname of the printer, by default. That allows for dynamic changes within the network. Unless there is no DHCP server, or too many IPs on the subnet, there is no reason to give a printer a static IP.

My only advice is to make sure you run the full installer, sometimes you get drivers only, which requires a lot more experience.
 
JonH said:
To all of you saying the printer should have a static IP. Nope, sorry, that is very old school. The printer driver can, and will use the hostname of the printer, by default. That allows for dynamic changes within the network. Unless there is no DHCP server, or too many IPs on the subnet, there is no reason to give a printer a static IP.

My only advice is to make sure you run the full installer, sometimes you get drivers only, which requires a lot more experience.
Click to expand...
That is a home network practice, to make it easier to install for novices. It is not a best practice for corporate networks, where you need to be able to remotely support the printer. There are many reasons to give it a static IP.
  • Troubleshooting
  • Ability to add it to print server (see streamlined drivers below)
  • Connectivity with more streamlined drivers, as mentioned by @Caramon13
  • Remote monitoring
  • Routing and ACLs
  • Many more
 
Ha, it self-fixed. I recycled it a half dozen times and it suddenly, with no other inputs to the menu or doing anything on any of the computers changed the disabled status to enabled. 4.5 minutes later, the IT guy had it loaded on the server and all workstations pathwayed to the printer. Several successful tests later, all stations can print!
 
John221us said:
That is a home network practice, to make it easier to install for novices. It is not a best practice for corporate networks, where you need to be able to remotely support the printer. There are many reasons to give it a static IP.
  • Troubleshooting
  • Ability to add it to print server (see streamlined drivers below)
  • Connectivity with more streamlined drivers, as mentioned by @Caramon13
  • Remote monitoring
  • Routing and ACLs
  • Many more
Click to expand...

A home practice seems good enough for this guy lol... Any admin worth their salt can do either configuration. Your "fire him" response is funny. Anyone that understands basic networking principles can choose from a variety of options and the end result is the same.

I work enterprise IS, as a manager. We haven't given a printer a static IP in 10 years. There are hundreds of printers. There is nothing in the list you mention that cannot be accomplished with DHCP.
 
JonH said:
A home practice seems good enough for this guy lol... Any admin worth their salt can do either configuration. Your "fire him" response is funny. Anyone that understands basic networking principles can choose from a variety of options and the end result is the same.

I work enterprise IS, as a manager. We haven't given a printer a static IP in 10 years. There are hundreds of printers. There is nothing in the list you mention that cannot be accomplished with DHCP.
Click to expand...

You obviously didn't read my response very closely. I never suggested the guy be fired (that was someone else) and I said a DHCP reservation was a valid best practice solution. I have and do work in a lot of large IT environments.
 
JonH said:
A home practice seems good enough for this guy lol... Any admin worth their salt can do either configuration. Your "fire him" response is funny. Anyone that understands basic networking principles can choose from a variety of options and the end result is the same.

I work enterprise IS, as a manager. We haven't given a printer a static IP in 10 years. There are hundreds of printers. There is nothing in the list you mention that cannot be accomplished with DHCP.
Click to expand...

That was me that suggested firing him and it was mostly based around the idea that any IT worth their salt should know how to do a DHCP reservation. Unless they are some new hire out of high school n00b. And even then, c'mon...really? "IT Guys" are a dime a dozen. Wasting money on paying some n00b that doesn't know how to do a reservation makes us all look bad.

Let'sgoflying! said:
Ha! I am not the type to casually dispense with employees. Certainly not based on sgoti advice!
Click to expand...

Fair enough, you know where to look if your brilliant "IT guy" has another problem, like installing a switch for example. :)
 
I am old-school. Printers get a static IP.
 
Caramon13 said:
That was me that suggested firing
Click to expand...

Well I did not pay attention to who said it, but it was you - ok.
Your comment struck me as the off-hand (and completely unfair) things we've heard regarding instructors & mechanics here on poa in the past. I 'actively' do not support such criticism; usually it is posted without a full knowledge of the situation, typically is has no self-reflection ("hey, I could screw up - should I then be fired?"), and it plainly is not answering the OP's question - so it is not in any way helpful.
Not to pile on, in my own post, but such comments also seem -to me- of having the goal of bolstering one's own public image on the internet. I admit I could be wrong about all this.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
Well I did not pay attention to who said it, but it was you - ok.
Your comment struck me as the off-hand (and completely unfair) things we've heard regarding instructors & mechanics here on poa in the past. I 'actively' do not support such criticism; usually it is posted without a full knowledge of the situation, typically is has no self-reflection ("hey, I could screw up - should I then be fired?"), and it plainly is not answering the OP's question - so it is not in any way helpful.
Not to pile on, in my own post, but such comments also seem -to me- of having the goal of bolstering one's own public image on the internet. I admit I could be wrong about all this.
Click to expand...

It's your money Dave. That guy should be thankful he has such a forgiving boss.
 
Sorry if I came on harshly about that. You found one of my buttons.
And there I go, getting on the very ugly I complain about!
 
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