MCSA/MCSE Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-270): Installing ...

11-4 Chapter 11 Setting Up, Configuring, and Troubleshooting Printers
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print server if the server will be placed under a heavy load. The computer can run
almost every Windows operating system, including the following:
❑ Windows Server 2003, which can handle a large number of connections, and
supports Apple Macintosh and UNIX computers as well as Novell NetWare
clients.
❑ Windows XP Professional, which is limited to 10 concurrent connections from
other computers for file and print services. It does not support Macintosh
computers or NetWare clients but does support UNIX computers.
■ Sufficient random access memory (RAM) to process documents. If a print server
manages a large number of printers or many large documents, the server might
require additional RAM beyond what Windows XP Professional or Windows
Server 2003 requires for other tasks. If a print server does not have sufficient RAM
for its workload, printing performance deteriorates. Given the modern prevalence
of inexpensive memory, RAM is typically not an issue unless you expect a print
server to be heavily utilized. Even having 64 MB of RAM beyond what the computer
requires for other tasks should be sufficient.
■ Sufficient disk space on the print server to ensure that the print server can store
documents that are sent to it until it sends the documents to the printer. This is critical
when documents are large or likely to accumulate. For example, if 10 users
send large documents to print at the same time, the print server must have enough
disk space to hold all the documents until it can send them to the print device. If
there is not enough space to hold all the documents, users get error messages and
cannot print. As with memory, hard disk space really becomes an issue only on
heavily used print servers. Having an extra 500 MB to 1 GB of disk space (or, even
better, moving the print queue to a spare hard disk) ensures that disk space does
not become an issue when printing.
Exam Tip Windows XP Professional supports up to 10 simultaneous network connections.
Windows XP Professional supports printing from the following clients: MS-DOS, Windows 3.1,
Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003,
Windows XP, and UNIX. Windows XP Professional does not support printing from NetWare or
older Macintosh clients. Clients using newer Macintosh operating systems can communicate
directly with Windows clients by using special built-in file and print services named Samba.
Guidelines for Developing a Network-wide Printing Strategy
Before you set up network printing, develop a network-wide printing strategy to meet
users’ printing needs without unnecessary duplication of resources or delays in printing.
Table 11-1 provides some guidelines for developing such a strategy.