Network Printing

College of Veterinary Medicine overview

Many printers are not suitable for network use as they may cause loss of file/print services for significant periods of time, lack proper drivers, or even cause overall failure of the server operating system. Given the operational dependence on printing, this policy has been established to delineate the requirements for networked printing systems.

Network printer policy

Network interface

• Network printers should have installed or support the installation of an internal print server (MIO/EIO). All printers must use an internal print server if installed/capable. Use of Serial/Parallel/USB print servers (e.g. JetDirect) is permitted under special circumstances.
• All print server devices must meet all security requirements.
• All print servers must use TCP/IP v4 protocol and will be assigned a static IP address. Use of DHCP on printing devices is prohibited. A static IP address will be assigned by VIS on the basis of compliance.

Printing system (the printer)

• All network printers should be listed on print queue server's operating system hardware compatibility list (HCL). If a printer does not appear in the HCL, the printer must be in full compliance of this Network Printer Policy otherwise.
• All printer features may not be supported for use as a network printer. Functionality is dependent on the drivers/software provided by the vendor. VIS cannot guarantee operations of all printing system features when networked.

Print drivers

• All network printers which will be hosted from a CVM print queue server(s), must have available, drivers certified for use with the print queue server's operating system. These drivers should be available natively or available or through operating system updates. In cases were the drivers are not available through operating system vendor, third party drivers may be used but must be certified for use with print queue server's operating system.
• All printers to be served from a CVM print queue server must specifically have server only versions of drivers available from the printer's manufacturer. No drivers which designed for desktop use or require user interaction will be installed on a CVM print queue server.
• Printer drivers designed for use on print queue servers may not fully support the features of the printing system. VIS cannot guarantee operations of all printing system features when networked.
• Should operational issues arise at any time with drivers for any networked printing device served by a college print queue server, VIS retains the right to disable hosting and uninstall drivers to restore operations.

Printing language

• The printing system must support the PCL or the PostScript printing language. Printers which will be used from multiple operating systems support the PostScript printing language. VIS cannot guarantee cross-platform operations for PCL-only printing systems.
• Printers which do not support the PCL or PostScript printing languages will not be hosted from a CVM print server.

Multifunction printing systems (mopier)

• Multifunction printers or copier systems will not be hosted from CVM print queue servers. VIS will provide network connectivity support for these systems only.
• Multifunction printers or copier systems are permitted for use on the CVM network. They must be compliant with all printing, network and security policies.
• Printing to any multifunction printer or copier system is not supported by VIS. Support and service for printing to these systems must be arranged through the vendor. Additional rights/permissions for installation/management of printing software on workstations can be provided by VIS and is subject to approval.

Network Security

• Password authentication is required for all print server devices in compliance with the College of Veterinary Medicine and The Ohio State University security policies. Strong passwords should be used on devices.
• All protocols aside from TCP/IP v4 and AppleTalk/EtherTalk must be disabled on the printing systems network interface (print server). The disabling of all unnecessary protocols is required.
• The printing systems network interface (print server), must support a TCP/IP-based access control list (ACL). The access control list must restrict access to the CVM subnet. Remote access to any printing system is not permitted. If remote access is required, it must be done through a secured connection compliant with the College of Veterinary Medicines security policy.

Recommended printing systems

Given operational experience, VIS recommends Hewlett-Packard printing systems for all network printing applications. HP printing systems typically exceed CVM's requirements for network printing. However, this does not apply for printing devices made for home office use. If you are uncertain, please contact the VIS Help Desk (2-4146, vtshelp@cvm.osu.edu) for assistance.

Recommended product lines:

• Black and White Printing
  HP LaserJet N, TN, and DTN Models
• Color Printing
  HP Color LaserJet N, DN, DTN, HDN Models