Windows 7 / Getting Started

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Integration with Active Directory Domain Services

Full support for the Windows operating system today also means integration with Active Directory Domain Services. Each shared printer is now published within the directory, much in the same way file and DFS shares are. Printers are published in the directory by default. Their object names are stored in their parent domain. Users can use the directory to search for printers and automatically connect to the appropriate printing service.

ADDS stores information about printer features and locations. Locations are especially important, since it is one of the best ways for users to find printers within your network. Descriptions are also important, since these are also included in the elements users have access to when searching for printers in the directory.

Users now search for printers in much the same way as they search for file shares: through the Active Directory Search tool. They can search based on printer name, printer location, or model. They can also search based on features such as double-sided printing, stapling, color output, and resolution.

Windows Server 2008 supports Printer Location Tracking. This component is based on the Active Directory Domain Services site topology you designed. One of the key elements of the site topology is the subnet. Each subnet includes a name and a description. It can also include location information. Location information is stored in the subnet properties under the Location tab. Location information is stored in hierarchical form. Each level is separated by a slash. You can use up to 256 levels in a location name, though the entire location name cannot be more than 260 characters. Each part of the name can include up to 32 characters. For example, a printer located in the northeast corner of the first floor of the headquarters building could be identified as HQ/First Floor/Northeast Corner.

To enable Printer Location Tracking in your domain, you need the following elements:

• Subnets and subnet locations entered into Active Directory Sites and Services
• A printer location naming convention
• The Location Tracking GPO must be enabled
• Location settings for all printers
• Location settings for all PCs and servers

Begin by making sure that your site structure is created and locations have been entered into each subnet; otherwise, the Browse button will not be populated in any of the dialog boxes you use for the other operations.

The Location Tracking GPO should be set at the domain level in order to have it apply to every object within the domain. You didn't want to modify default domain policies, since there is no rollback feature. Therefore, you need to create an Intranet Domain Policy GPO. This should be the GPO that includes the Printer Location Tracking setting. This setting can be found by selecting Computer Settings | Administrative Templates | Printers. To turn on Printer Location Tracking, you must enable the Pre-populate Printer Search Location Text setting. This setting enables the Browse button in the Location tab for printer and computer properties within the directory. It also enables this button in the Search Printers tool on servers and PCs.

TIP: Though you can choose to list printers in the directory when you share the printer, it doesn't appear automatically as an object. You can, however, find this object and, once found, place it into an OU for later manipulation. Use the Find tool in Active Directory Users and Computers to locate all printers, and select them from the Find window to move them into an OU. Create a Printers OU under the Service Offerings | File and Print OU.

There are two ways to enter location information for printers. You can either enter it when you share the printer or enter it afterwards once the printer is shared. To enter location settings for printers once they are shared, locate all of the printers in your directory, and then open their Properties page. In the Attribute Editor tab, scroll to find the Location attribute, click it, and then select Edit. Enter the location using the notation format identified previously. You will usually want to be as specific as possible when identifying printer locations. For example, you can include more detail, such as room number, within the printer's location information. Perform this operation for each printer.

Perform the same operation on all computer objects in the directory. Open their Properties page, and use the Location tab to either enter the location or use the Browse button to select it. By entering locations for each object, you will make it easier for users to search for printers. Then, whenever users use the Search tool to locate a printer, printer location will automatically be entered in the Location field, enabling your user community to find printers near them without having to know your location naming strategy. Because of this, you may not need to include user printers in their logon script or through GPOs. You only need to show them how to locate printers close to them and how to connect to them during migration training.

Printer drivers are automatically downloaded to user systems when a user connects to the printer, so long, of course, as the printer driver for their version of the OS has been loaded onto the server when you shared the printer. If you are using the parallel network, you will not require the installation of multiple client drivers on your print spoolers, especially if you are running Vista clients, but you will have to add drivers for 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems. If you're not using the parallel network, you will need to add other versions of printer drivers-one to support each client OS in your network. Keep in mind, though, that you do not need version 2 drivers for Windows NT clients. Windows NT clients can usually operate with version 3 drivers.