Posted: 22 Jun 2005
Ever need to deploy the same printer drivers to multiple NetWare servers
without using iManager? Install the printer drivers to one server, and with a
simple modification to one file, you can copy the drivers to another server.
This is especially useful with adding multiple printers to multiple servers. I
used this process to replicate over 48 Windows 2000 print drivers to 15 servers
in a matter of minutes (minus the initial print driver setup on the first
server). I will be using this to replicate Windows XP drivers to those same
servers.
Prerequisites:
You have iPrint installed on at least two servers and you know how to install
print drivers into the iPrint database. If you need directions on installing
print drivers, consult the documentation found here.
Directions
- Install the printer driver to one of your brokers.
- Open the NDPSTOC.INI in the %OS% folder on the resource management service
database volume of the server you install the printer driver for (default is
\servernameSYS
dps
esdirENGLISHPrndrv\%OS%).
- Locate the printer you just installed. The line will look something
similar to this:
"HP LaserJet 4000 Series PCL
5e"="PCL","DOT4PRTHewlett-PackardHP_LA1FBB&PRINT_HPZ;
Hewlett-PackardHP_LA1FBB;HP_LaserJet_4000_PCL5c",
"ZIP=1584510","426947C7","ndps.inf"
Note the number in quotes
before *ndps.inf*, in this case 426947C7. This represents the folder that the
driver is located in.
- Locate this folder in the directory you are looking in
(\servernameSYS
dps
esdirENGLISHPrndrv\%OS%), and copy it somewhere to
your local machine or a location on a server where you want to store your
iPrint drivers.
- Open the 426947C7 folder, and then the ARCHIVES folder inside that. Open
the NDPSTOC.INI file you will find.
- Change the *Built for Path* line, modifying the part right after the = for
your new server. For Example:
"Built for
Path"=OLDSERVER/SYS:/ndps/resdir/ENGLISH/prndrv/%OS%/
4269474A/ARCHIVES/NDPSTOC.INI
would become:
"Built for Path"=NEWSERVER/SYS:/ndps/resdir/ENGLISH/prndrv/%OS%/
4269474A/ARCHIVES/NDPSTOC.INI
- Save the file.
- Copy the 426947C7 folder to
\NEWSERVERSYS
dps
esdirENGLISHPrndrv\%OS%.
- Access the NEWSERVER's console, either directly or remotely (iManager,
rconj, etc.) and navigate to your NDPS Broker screen.
- Highlight Resource Management Service, and press ENTER.
- Press ENTER to say YES to disable the service.
- Press ENTER again, and then press ENTER one more time to enable the
service. This just recreated the NDPSTOC.INI file that lists all of the
drivers on the server for each OS.
You can now setup a printer on the
NEWSERVER and select the drivers you just installed.
Extra Tip
Install multiple printers to one server, then copy
the
\NEWSERVERSYS
dps
esdirENGLISHPrndrv\%OS%
folder to another
location.
Using a program that will allow you to search/replace a text string on
multiple files, you can replace the servername of all the NDPSTOC.INI files. I
personally use a free program called Crimson Editor for this.
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