Using Network Printers

Once you have set the IP address you can access the printer or print server using the ipp, lpd, or socket backends. The following is a list of common network interfaces and printer servers and the settings you should use with CUPS:

Table 1: Common Device URIs
Model/Manufacturer	Device URI(s)
Apple LaserWriter	lpd://address/PASSTHRU
Axis w/o IPP Axis OfficeBasic (see directions)	socket://address:9100 socket://address:9101 socket://address:9102
Axis w/IPP	ipp://address/LPT1 ipp://address/LPT2 ipp://address/COM1
Castelle LANpress^TM	lpd://address/pr1 lpd://address/pr2 lpd://address/pr3
DPI NETPrint	lpd://address/pr1 lpd://address/pr2 lpd://address/pr3
DLink DP-301P+	socket://address
EFI® Fiery® RIP	lpd://address/print
EPSON® Multiprotocol Ethernet Interface Board	socket://address
Extended System ExtendNET	lpd://address/pr1 lpd://address/pr2 lpd://address/pr3
Hewlett Packard JetDirect w/o IPP	socket://address:9100 socket://address:9101 socket://address:9102
Hewlett Packard JetDirect w/IPP	ipp://address/ipp ipp://address/ipp/port1 ipp://address/ipp/port2 ipp://address/ipp/port3
Intel® NetportExpress XL, PRO/100	lpd://address/LPT1_PASSTHRU lpd://address/LPT2_PASSTHRU lpd://address/COM1_PASSTHRU
Lexmark^TM MarkNet	lpd://address/ps
Linksys EtherFast® (see directions)	socket://address:4010 socket://address:4020 socket://address:4030
Linksys PSUS4	lpd://address/lp
Kodak®	lpd://address/ps
QMS® CrownNet^TM	lpd://address/ps
Tektronix® PhaserShare^TM	socket://address:9100
XEROX® 4512 NIC	lpd://address/PORT1
XEROX® XNIC	lpd://address/PASSTHRU
XEROX® (most others)	socket://address:5503

Getting the IP Address

When you first install a network printer or print server on your LAN, you need to set the Internet Protocol ("IP") address. On most higher-end "workgroup" printers, you can set the address through the printer control panel. However, in most cases you will want to assign the addresses remotely from your workstation. This makes administration a bit easier and avoids assigning duplicate addresses accidentally.

To setup your printer or print server for remote address assignment, you'll need the Ethernet Media Access Control ("MAC") address, also sometimes called a node address, and the IP address you want to use for the device. The Ethernet MAC address can often be found on the printer test page or bottom of the print server.

Configuring the IP Address Using ARP

The easiest way to set the IP address of a network device is to use the arp(8) command. The arp sends an Address Resolution Protocol ("ARP") packet to the specified Ethernet MAC address, setting the network device's IP address:

Configuring the IP Address Using RARP

The most flexible way to remotely assign IP addresses under UNIX is through the Reverse Address Resolution Protocol ("RARP"). RARP allows a network device to request an IP address using its Ethernet MAC address, and one or more RARP servers on the network will respond with an ARP packet with the IP address the device can use.

RARP should be used when you have to manage many printers or print servers, or when you have a network device that does not remember its IP address after a power cycle. If you just have a single printer or print server, the arp command is the way to go.

Some UNIX operating systems use a program called rarpd(8) to manage RARP. Others, like Linux, support this protocol in the kernel. For systems that provide the rarpd program you will need to start it before RARP lookups will work:

Both the rarpd program and kernel RARP support read a list of Ethernet and IP addresses from the file /etc/ethers. Each line contains the Ethernet address (colon delimited) followed by an IP address or hostname like:

Add a line to this file and cycle the power on the printer or print server to set its address.

Configuring the IP Address Using BOOTP

The BOOTP protocol is used when you need to provide additional information such as the location of a configuration file to the network interface. Using the standard bootpd(8) program supplied with UNIX you simply need to add a line to the /etc/bootptab file; for IRIX:

The myprinter.boot file resides in the /usr/local/boot directory by default. If you do not need to provide a boot file you may leave the last part of the line blank.

Verifying the Printer Connection

To test that the IP address has been successfully assigned and that the printer is properly connected to your LAN, type:

If not, verify that the printer or print server is connected to the LAN, it is powered on, the LAN cabling is good, and the IP address is set correctly. You can usually see the current IP address and network status by printing a configuration or test page on the device.

Configuring Axis Print Servers

The Axis print servers can be configured using ARP, RARP, or BOOTP. However, on models that do not provide IPP support an additional step must be performed to configure the TCP/IP portion of the print server for use with CUPS.

Each print server contains a configuration file named config that contains a list of network parameters used by the server. To modify this file you must first download it from the print server using the ftp(1) program:

Next, edit the file with your favorite text editor and locate the lines beginning with:

This disables the Reverse TELNET protocol and enables the standard TELNET protocol on the print server. Next, assign a port number for each parallel and serial port on the server as follows:

This essentially makes the Axis print server look like a Hewlett Packard JetDirect EX print server. Save the file and then upload the new config file using the ftp command:

Configuring Linksys Print Servers

The Linksys print servers can be configured using ARP, RARP, or BOOTP. Like older Axis print servers, an additional step must be performed to configure the TCP/IP portion of the print server for use with CUPS.

Each print server contains a configuration file named CONFIG that contains a list of network parameters used by the server. To modify this file you must first download it from the print server using the ftp(1) program: