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Print server

Print server

Overview
A print server, or printer server, is a computer or device that is connected to one or more printers
Computer printer
In computing, a printer is a peripheral which produces a hard copy of documents stored in electronic form, usually on physical print media such as paper or transparencies. Many printers are primarily used as local peripherals, and are attached by a printer cable or, in most newer printers, a USB...

 and to client computer
Client (computing)
A client is an application or system that accesses a remote service on another computer system, known as a server, by way of a network. The term was first applied to devices that were not capable of running their own stand-alone programs, but could interact with remote computers via a network...

s over a network
Computer network
A computer network is a group of interconnected computers. Networks may be classified according to a wide variety of characteristics. This article provides a general overview of some types and categories and also presents the basic components of a network....

, and can accept print job
Print job
In computing, a print job is a file or set of files that has been submitted to be printed.Jobs are typically identified by a unique number, and are assigned to a particular destination, usually a printer. Jobs can also have options associated with them such as media size, number of copies and...

s from the computers and send the jobs to the appropriate printers.

The term can refer to:
  1. A host computer with one or more shared printers.
  2. A computer that implements a printing protocol such as the Line Printer Daemon protocol
    Line Printer Daemon protocol
    The Line Printer Daemon protocol/Line Printer Remote protocol also known as the Berkeley printing system, is a set of programs that provide printer spooling and network print server functionality for Unix-like systems. The most common implementations of LPD are the official BSD UNIX operating...

     or Microsoft Network Printing protocol.
  3. A dedicated device that connects one or more printers to a local area network
    Local area network
    A local area network is a computer network covering a small physical area, like a home, office, or small group of buildings, such as a school, or an airport...

     (LAN).
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Encyclopedia
A print server, or printer server, is a computer or device that is connected to one or more printers
Computer printer
In computing, a printer is a peripheral which produces a hard copy of documents stored in electronic form, usually on physical print media such as paper or transparencies. Many printers are primarily used as local peripherals, and are attached by a printer cable or, in most newer printers, a USB...

 and to client computer
Client (computing)
A client is an application or system that accesses a remote service on another computer system, known as a server, by way of a network. The term was first applied to devices that were not capable of running their own stand-alone programs, but could interact with remote computers via a network...

s over a network
Computer network
A computer network is a group of interconnected computers. Networks may be classified according to a wide variety of characteristics. This article provides a general overview of some types and categories and also presents the basic components of a network....

, and can accept print job
Print job
In computing, a print job is a file or set of files that has been submitted to be printed.Jobs are typically identified by a unique number, and are assigned to a particular destination, usually a printer. Jobs can also have options associated with them such as media size, number of copies and...

s from the computers and send the jobs to the appropriate printers.

The term can refer to:
  1. A host computer with one or more shared printers.
  2. A computer that implements a printing protocol such as the Line Printer Daemon protocol
    Line Printer Daemon protocol
    The Line Printer Daemon protocol/Line Printer Remote protocol also known as the Berkeley printing system, is a set of programs that provide printer spooling and network print server functionality for Unix-like systems. The most common implementations of LPD are the official BSD UNIX operating...

     or Microsoft Network Printing protocol.
  3. A dedicated device that connects one or more printers to a local area network
    Local area network
    A local area network is a computer network covering a small physical area, like a home, office, or small group of buildings, such as a school, or an airport...

     (LAN). It typically has a single LAN connector, such as an RJ-45 socket, and one or more physical ports (e.g. serial
    Serial port
    In computing, a serial port is a serial communication physical interface through which information transfers in or out one bit at a time...

    , parallel
    Parallel port
    A parallel port is a type of interface found on computers for connecting various peripherals. It is also known as a printer port or Centronics port. The IEEE 1284 standard defines the bi-directional version of the port....

     or USB (Universal Serial Bus)) to provide connections to printers. In essence this dedicated device provides printing protocol conversion from what was sent by client computers to what will be accepted by the printer. Dedicated print server devices may support a variety of printing protocols including LPD/LPR
    Line Printer Daemon protocol
    The Line Printer Daemon protocol/Line Printer Remote protocol also known as the Berkeley printing system, is a set of programs that provide printer spooling and network print server functionality for Unix-like systems. The most common implementations of LPD are the official BSD UNIX operating...

     over TCP/IP, NetWare, NetBIOS/NetBEUI
    NetBIOS
    NetBIOS is an acronym for Network Basic Input/Output System. It provides services related to the session layer of the OSI model allowing applications on separate computers to communicate over a local area network. As strictly an API, NetBIOS is not a networking protocol...

     over NBF, TCP Port 9100
    Jetdirect
    JetDirect is the name of a technology sold by Hewlett-Packard that allows computer printers to be directly attached to a Local Area Network. The "JetDirect" designation covers a range of models from the external 1 and 3 port parallel print servers known as the 300x and 500x, to the internal EIO...

     or RAW
    Raw
    Raw describes a material that is in its natural unprocessed form, or has not had the final stages of processing. For example, raw food refers to food that has not been cooked, and raw silk is the term for unprocessed silk. Raw also has symbolic meaning...

     printer protocol over TCP/IP, DLC
    Jetdirect
    JetDirect is the name of a technology sold by Hewlett-Packard that allows computer printers to be directly attached to a Local Area Network. The "JetDirect" designation covers a range of models from the external 1 and 3 port parallel print servers known as the 300x and 500x, to the internal EIO...

     or IPX/SPX
    IPX/SPX
    IPX/SPX stands for Internetwork Packet Exchange/Sequenced Packet Exchange. IPX and SPX are networking protocols used primarily on networks using the Novell NetWare operating systems.-Protocol Layers:...

    . Dedicated server appliances tend to be fairly simple in both configuration and features. However these are available integrated with other devices such as a wireless router, a firewall, or both.


The term print server usually refers to (1) or (2) above, while print server device or print server appliance usually refers to (3).