Adding print server(HP) to the AD

I want to add HP200n Print Server to Active Directory and share this printer...

can I add the HP200n as a computer object and assign group policy to this printer?
How can the drivers for the printer be easily downloaded from workstations?

Any help would be much appreciated...

Goldmember

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mcmaster

If you go into Active Directory Users and Computers under Administrative Tools, Go to View and click "Users, Groups, and Computers as containers". This will allow objects like the pinter accounts to be expandable objects which you can locate shared printers under. Drag the printer objects into their own Organizational Unit to publish them. Printers cannot have group policies applied to them specifically but you can use Active Directory groups to designate permissions to printers. Its also common to use Group Policy to push a login script down to client computers that will automatically map and or designate a default printer on client computers.

On the server where the printer is shared, if you go into the printer properties there is a Sharing tab where you can specify what drivers for what OSes you want the Printer server to keep. (additional drivers) Then when you add a published printer in active directory on the client, it will automatically forward the driver over the lan and install it.

As for if the Printer Server appears as a printer or full computer account in Active directory I think depends on whether you can use the HP Printer Server Web Config tool to join it to active directory or not. If it then creates an actually computer account, I don't know if group policies would be applicable being it doesnt have a registry or local security policy. However the printers attached to it would be available under the Printer Server account container.

Goldmember

That is the problem McMaster.

Since the printer uses HPPrintServer, I need to create an AD entry for this printserver.

I can probably create a computer account for this print server, but the Webconfig tool doesn't mention anything about AD.

Why would HP produce a printserver with no AD compatability?

The largets manufacturer of office printers and the de facto standard directory service are not playing well?? ouch..

mcmaster

Goldmember wrote:

Why would HP produce a printserver with no AD compatability?

Haha, maybe because they are HP? Its possible thethat print server you have is being aimed at workgroup environments. Alot of small businesses are perfectly content in a workgroup setting. If theres no way to join to a domain from a client device, i dont know how you can join it. You could have the print server connected to a physical machine that is joined to the domain. In that case though, you might as well run the print server on the server. sorry can't be of more help.