Chapter 7 - Planning a StreetTalk Print Service
Overview of StreetTalk for Windows NT Print Services
Before reading this chapter, you should be familiar with the information presented in Planning a Banyan Network regarding print services.
Use StreetTalk Print to add Windows NT print queues to the list of print destinations available to Banyan client workstations. You create a new service for each Windows NT print queue added to the list of print destinations.
StreetTalk Print gives Banyan clients access to Windows NT local or network printers by allowing you to assign a StreetTalk name to a Windows NT print queue. Each Windows NT print queue shared through StreetTalk runs as a Banyan print service on the StreetTalk for Windows NT server. Access rights to the printer are determined by the rights extended to a user or StreetTalk group.
Print services allow users to access and use printers on your network. To manage printers across the network, you first create a print service on a server and then add the printers to the service.
StreetTalk for Windows NT imposes no limit on the number of print services that can exist on a single server. You can install as many print services on a StreetTalk for Windows NT server as the Windows NT system supports.
StreetTalk print services differ from native VINES print services in the following ways:
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Macintosh client workstations cannot spool files to a StreetTalk for Windows NT print service. ![]()
Each StreetTalk print service supports only one print destination. ![]()
You cannot configure PC Print print destinations for StreetTalk print services. ![]()
You create StreetTalk print services using StreetTalk Explorer, not MSERVICE. ![]()
StreetTalk print services assign StreetTalk names to existing Windows NT print queues. ![]()
You cannot move jobs in the print queue of a StreetTalk for Windows NT print service to another print service.
Prerequisites to Using StreetTalk Print
Your Windows NT network printers must be installed and properly configured for StreetTalk Print to work. Verify that you can print to your local Windows NT print destination before attempting to create a StreetTalk Print service. The Windows NT printer on the server does not have to be configured as a shared printer in order to use it for a StreetTalk print service.
Before creating a StreetTalk for Windows NT print service, verify that the StreetTalk Print software is installed by locating the entry StreetTalk Print in the Windows NT Service Controller. If you did not initially install the StreetTalk Print software when you installed your StreetTalk for Windows NT software, install it by running the StreetTalk for Windows NT installation program. Select a custom installation and select the StreetTalk Print component from the list of components.
The default printer specified in the Windows NT Print Manager has no effect on StreetTalk print services.
The print driver on Banyan clients printing to the StreetTalk Print destination must be compatible with the printer attached to the Windows NT system.
AdminList Requirements
You add a print service to a specific server and StreetTalk group. To add a print service, you must be a be a member of the Admin List of:
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The group where you plan to create the service ![]()
The server where the print service will reside
Banyan SETPRINT commands issued from a StreetTalk for Windows NT server may affect the way that StreetTalk Print handles jobs that clients send to print services on the server. It is recommended that you remove SETPRINT commands from the profile of any user who logs in to the Banyan network from the Windows NT Server hosting StreetTalk Print.
Starting the StreetTalk Print Software
After you install your StreetTalk for Windows NT software, the StreetTalk Print service starts automatically when you start the server. The Windows NT Service Controller indicates that the StreetTalk Print service is running by reporting its status as Started.
After you create a print service, you can use the Service Manager to start and stop the StreetTalk Print software as needed. Stopping the StreetTalk Print software stops all StreetTalk print services on the server. To change the status of the StreetTalk Print software, you must be logged on to the Windows NT Server as a Windows NT Administrator.
Refer to "Stopping and Restarting the StreetTalk Print Software" in Chapter 8 for information about how to change the status of the StreetTalk Print software.
Configuring Print Destinations
When you create a StreetTalk print service, you specify a destination print queue that resides on either:
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The local Windows NT Server ![]()
Another Windows NT system
The destination printer does not need to be attached to a server running StreetTalk Print; it can be any printer to which the Windows NT Server can connect (Table 7-1 ).
Destination Type | Description |
Physical | Printers directly connected to ports on the Windows NT Server |
Network | Printers connected to other Windows NT systems on the network |
Each StreetTalk print service can send print jobs to only one destination printer. You cannot configure multiple destination printers for a print service. However, each printer can serve as the destination for multiple print services.
Recommendations for Print Services
Consider these recommendations when you set up print services for your Banyan network:
Separate types of printers - Create separate print services for different types of printers, especially for Postscript printers and ASCII printers.
Check application printer files - Check the printer files of the applications. The printer files may require some changes for sending jobs to PostScript printers.
If you use a single Windows NT print queue to print jobs from a StreetTalk print service and from other Windows NT users, the jobs sent by the Windows NT users may gain priority over jobs sent by StreetTalk print service.
When users send jobs to a StreetTalk print service, the print service accepts them, and then sends them one at a time to the Windows NT printer. In other words, a StreetTalk print service does not send a job to its associated Windows NT printer until the previous StreetTalk print job is completely printed. If Windows NT users are using the same printer, multiple non-Banyan print jobs may be queued before the StreetTalk print service finishes printing the current job.
Restricting Access to Print Services
Ensure your print service is protected from unauthorized use, by specifying rights for the service. Restricting access to a StreetTalk print service involves:
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Restricting access to the Windows NT Console ![]()
Specifying operators and users of the service
Refer to Chapter 10 for more information about these topics.
Managing StreetTalk Print Services
You use a combination of Windows NT and Banyan tools to manage StreetTalk Print. You can start and stop the StreetTalk Print software, obtain service statistics, add and remove services, modify access, and so forth.
For information on how to add and remove print services, refer to Chapter 8. Refer to Chapter 9 for more information about managing StreetTalk print services.