Network-attached printers often support more than one method of communicating with a print service. The most common method of communicating with the print service is through a raw TCP connection to a well-known port on the device. Other methods of communication include the RFC-1179 and IPP network protocols. You can select the server-to-printer communication protocol when adding a new print queue in one of following ways:
By using the lpadmin command with the following options, and as shown here:
# lpadmin -o protocol={bsd|tcp} -o dest=printer:queue-or-port -m netstandard{_foomatic} |
This method for communicating with the print service was introduced in the Solaris 2.6 OS and is available in all subsequent Solaris releases.
The second method is to use the lpadmin command with the -d option, supplying a device-uri, and the -m option, specifying a uri.
This method for communicating with the print service was introduced more recently and is intended to replace the previous method. For more information, see What is a Device URI?.
When determining which protocol to use for server-to-printer communication, consult the vendor printer documentation for more specific information. Documentation includes information such as TCP port numbers, RFC-1179 printer names, and the IPP printer URIs that are supported by the device. In most instances, a raw TCP socket communication is likely to provide the most reliable results.
Also, note that due to differences between printing services on UNIX and Windows platforms, Windows hosted printers should be configured as network-attached printers and administered as such. These types of printers require the creation of a print queue if you are using them on a Solaris system. These printers might also use the SMB protocol for server-to-printer communication. For more information about the SMB protocol, see Using the SMB Protocol.
For more information about setting up printers and configuring print queues, see Setting Up Printers on a Print Server (Task Map).