I have a client who is decentralizing their office. Their plan is to place a
key production operator in a home office offsite, access the server via a
virtual private network (via network drive mapping, not RDC). Documents
would/could be printed on her printer, which will be the office's Laserjet
5000 PCL6 printer which is currently connected to the office LAN via an
ethernet board, but will be moving to the remote office.
The printer is in the directory, and available to everyone in the office
currently to use to prepare documents. The server is Windows 2003, SP1.
I don't know how to set the printer up when the production operator moves to
her home office. Obviously, if the printer were attached to her workstaion
via USB or Centronics cables, or even attached to another computer in her
home LAN (she has 3 other computers on a wireless lan), she can print on
that printer herself.
BTW, Terminal Services is not involved, just mapping the drives on to her
workstation after the VPN is esatablised and she's logged on.
The virtual private networkis working fine for accessing the server. Logging
on to the workstation drives a "dial" to the VPN to the office and a
successful login. The problem is what to do with this printer from the
perspective of the other employees located back at the office that need to
print on her printer.
How do I configure active directory to tell the other workstations that this
ethernet connected printer, formerly at the office, is at the other end of
the VPN?
Can I configure the remote workstation that this ethernet connected laserjet
5000 is now driven by it at the remote LAN?
How do I get the office workstations the see, recognize, access, and print
to this laserjet?
This is what I have tried:
I have attempted to do an "add printer" to the domain controller/print
server to attemp to access it when the remote workstaion is connected via
VPN. I get access errors regardless if I attempt to access via the
\\workstation\printername or the
http://workstation method, even if I
specifically use a local userid/password specifically defined on
"workstation."
The Workstation, BTW, is Windows XP Pro, SP3.
I am unsure what to do with the router in order insure the printer gets the
right packets. My understanding of VPN means that the raw print data coming
back should not require port forwarding even if the printer is ethernet
connected. The PPTP drivers on the workstation DO handle remote print
requests for physically attached computers, even if the printers are on
another workstation at the remote location (I know this because this is
exactly how my VPN connections works when I print using a terminal services
session).
So, what I need to do is make the domain controller and active directory see
and understand where this laserjet 5000 PCL6 printer is located so that
employee workstations at the office can see, find, and print to this now
remote printer.
Does anybody have any suggestions?
Your assistance will be highly appreciated.
Regards,
Jim
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