Wednesday, October 24, 2007 9:25 AM
Kurt Roggen
Windows Server Terminal Services 2008: Easy Print - How does it work?
So I've talked about the concept of "Easy Print" in the Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services in a previous post, but how does this "universal print driver" actually work?
"Easy Print" builds on the functionality provided by the XPS (XML Paper Specification) printer/driver infrastructure delivered with Windows Vista and also included in Windows Server 2008.
XPS (XML Paper Specification) printing provides some extra advantages:
- Public open document format
- Portable and printer independent (incl. print server x86/x64 independent)
- Flexible document properties handling
- Lower bandwidth consumption
- For typical knowledge worker print jobs
- For print jobs with multiple copies
But what is the real advantage of this "Easy Print"??
First of all, you no longer need to map the local client-side print driver with the exact Terminal Server-side print driver, which introduced some administrative overhead, and in some case (x64 Terminal Servers) would be blocking due to the absence of x64 print drivers.
Another advantage of the Easy Print is that all client side printers can be made available including their specific printing properties/options/preferences and enhanced device settings/capabilities. By default, only the default client-side printer is redirected for performance/scalability reasons.
XPS EasyPrint enables users to have a much more consistent printing experience between local and remote sessions.
As I've mentioned, by default, the Terminal Services Easy Print driver is enabled/active in Windows Server 2008 and will be used for all TS printing for both RemoteApps and remote desktop sessions. However on the client-side, RDP 6.1 and .NET Framework 3.0 SP1 are required (available around Windows Server 2008 RTM). To understand about these dependencies, look at the architecture layout below.
Notice how print jobs are spooled from the server-side via XPS over RDP to the client-side where they are being printed using the local print queue via the locally provided print drivers or via a central print server.
All of this
without the need of any server-side IHV (Independent Hardware Vendors) print drivers.
Print jobs will consume less bandwidth than before - due to XPS EasyPrint - and combined with the "Display data prioritization", will be more controlled so they do not interfere with display data, keyboard and/or mouse input.
For more information:
Filed under: WindowsServer2008, TerminalServices