Printer Pools under Windows NT (112991)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.1
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.1
  • Microsoft Windows NT Advanced Server 3.1
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.5
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.51
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.5
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.51
This article was previously published under Q112991

SUMMARY

Windows NT allows you to create a pool of printing devices on a print server and make them appear as one printing device. This type of setup might be used in a high-volume environment where it is not practical to have to wait long periods of time for an individual print job. Keep in mind that under Windows NT, a printer is a software interface between an application and a printing device, and the instrument that prints is referred to as a printing device.

MORE INFORMATION

When a printer pool is created, multiple printing devices are connected to a single print server and behave as a single printing device. When a document is printed by a user, the first available printing device in the printer pool prints the job. The printing devices in the pool should be identical to ensure printing consistency.

To create a printer pool:

  1. From the Print Manager window, choose the Printers icon or the printer window for the printer you want to create a pool with.
  2. From the Printer menu, choose Properties.
  3. In the Printer Properties dialog box, choose the Details button.
  4. In the Printer Details dialog box, select port names from the Print To Additional Ports dialog box that correspond to the ports where you have connected printers.
To add (or change) the port name:

  1. In the Printer Properties dialog box, select Network Printer in the Print To dialog box.
  2. In the Print Destinations dialog box, select Local Port.
  3. Type the name of the port you want to add in the Enter A Port Name dialog box (this can include redirected ports to shared printers), and then choose the OK button. (This is when the administrator should assign unique, descriptive names.)
After the printer pool is set up, it appears to the users as a single printing device. The owner of the printer pool should specify unique port names for each printing device because this is the only indicator to the user which printing device a print job is being printed to.

A printer pool is most useful if all of the printing devices are in the same geographic location. If the user has to wander around from location to location to find a print job, a printer pool is probably not a good use of available resources.

Because the user never knows which printing device in the pool will print a particular job, it does not make sense to have different types or models of printers pooled together. Even something as simple as a different default print tray or less RAM in one printing device in the pool may have adverse effects on a particular print job.

When you define a printer pool, it is best to define the fastest printing device first because the print spooler checks the available sources in the order they were created.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:12/15/2003
Keywords:kbprint KB112991
©2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.