Making Network Printing Easy

HP JetAdmin for Windows 95

One of the greatest challenges facing network administrators and users today is dealing effectively with the proliferation of network printers. Installing and configuring network printers can be difficult and time consuming, and managing them often seems to be a 24-hour-a-day job. For a large network, which might have hundreds of network printers and thousands of workstations distributed over a large area, it may take an administrator up to 40 hours just to install all the new Windows printer drivers on every workstation. Users can't figure out how to print to "that printer over there," and whenever they encounter even the smallest printing problem, it's the network administrator who gets the call.

By 1995, HP estimates, 49 percent or nearly half of all laser printers in LAN environments will be directly attached to the network, up from 25 percent today. According to research recently conducted by BIS Strategic Decisions, however, network printing problems already take up from 20 to 30 percent of a network administrator's time. Ironically, it seems, while technology is making it easier for larger numbers of network users to share network printers by boosting performance at ever lower cost, it is also greatly increasing the burden on network administrators.

Pioneering the Network Printing Revolution

HP lead the industry in addressing the initial network printing connectivity, performance, print quality and multiprotocol issues facing administrators and users. Now HP is focusing its efforts on providing network printing products offering the greatest ease of use and ease of management.

Hewlett-Packard pioneered network printing in January, 1991, with the introduction of the HP LaserJet IIIsi, and at the same time broke the file server bottleneck with the HP JetDirect family of network-attached print servers. Since then, HP has sold more than one million JetDirect print servers for attaching printers directly to networks. As part of its ongoing commitment to simplifying network printing, HP is driving standards, working closely with other software and hardware vendors, meeting the broadest needs of users and instituting innovations that can actually make network printing easier than personal printing.

HP Network Printer Management Solutions

HP early on recognized the need to provide tools to effectively manage the growing number of network printers, and introduced the industry's first network printing management software utilities in April, 1993. Originally developed for DOS and Windows client workstations on Novell NetWare networks, these utilities made it easier than ever before for administrators and users to configure, monitor, manage, view, select and print to all HP JetDirect-connected printers. Since then, three generations of HP's JetAdmin and JetPrint utilities have continually raised the standard for network printing.

HP has developed versions of JetAdmin for the following network operating systems:

HP also has created utilities providing similar network printing management functionality for other major network operating systems, including: HP has developed this family of network printing management utilities to provide administrators and users with familiar tools providing similar ease of management functionality across multiple platforms and environments. In this way, HP is able to provide network printing management solutions to the broadest range of customers.

HP's Vision for Network Printing Management -- The Second Phase

Today, as others are just starting to offer stand-alone network printing management utilities on only one platform and for only a limited number of their printers, HP is well into the second phase of its vision for managing network printing -- integrating printer management functions into the operating system itself. The HP JetAdmin Utility for Windows 95 is a fourth-generation product that combines all the functionality of HP's current JetAdmin and JetPrint utilities, and more, into a single printer management tool that actually becomes a part of the operating system. Building on HP's previous experience in integrating printing management functionality into Windows NT, LAN Server and IBM AIX, HP JetAdmin for Windows 95 is the most highly integrated and easy-to-use solution for sophisticated network printing management available anywhere.

JetAdmin for Windows 95

HP JetAdmin for Windows 95 redefines easy network printing. Its tight integration with Windows 95, simple network management protocol (SNMP) support and intuitive, highly graphical presentation and ease-of-use features provide administrators and users with unprecedented control of HP JetDirect-attached printers on Novell NetWare networks with Windows 95 clients, as well as Windows 95 peer-to-peer networks.

HP has worked closely with Microsoft during the development of Windows 95. Together they determined the best way to integrate all the features of HP's JetAdmin and JetPrint utilities into the Windows 95 operating system itself, as well as add new functionality and even greater ease of use. HP JetAdmin for Windows 95 installs into Windows 95 as a system resource, and appears as part of the Windows Control Panel. More importantly, however, all the functionality previously found in the stand-alone JetPrint utility has been woven into the fabric of Windows 95, immediately available to all users without launching a separate application.

The result of this cooperative effort is a new paradigm for using and managing network printers -- "point-and-print" network printing. Administrators have a powerful tool that makes their network much easier to manage. HP JetAdmin for Windows 95 provides network administrators with easy printer configuration and set up, complete remote printer management, "anytime printer status," automatic distribution of printer drivers to network clients and in-depth printer and network diagnostics. For users, HP JetAdmin introduces "point-and-print" printer selection and printing and "anytime printer status," making printing to HP JetDirect-attached network printers even easier than personal printing. At any time, users can easily view all network printers available to them, simply point to the one they want, see its operating status before they print to it, and know when the printed document is ready.

Set Up and Configuration Setting up and configuring a network printer used to be a complex, time-consuming task that required a working knowledge of NetWare. After physically attaching the printer to the network, the administrator would embark on an installation process, using NetWare's PCONSOLE or other third-party utilities to establish print queues, print servers and printer names as well as the interrelationships between them, a convoluted process that could take up to 45 minutes to complete.

JetAdmin's Interview mode provides an easy, step-by-step "spiral-bound" guide to the set-up and configuration process, and requires no knowledge of NetWare. Helpful tips and illustrations, fill-in-the-blank fields, point-and-click selection and easy navigation controls accomplish this once tedious task in about two minutes. Just choose an operating mode, name the printer, select the print queue and JetAdmin does the rest.

To get the most out of a particular printer, each PC on the network requires a software module created specifically for that printer, called a printer driver, to be installed. Without JetAdmin, a network administrator would have to either install the new driver individually on every user's PC, store the driver on the file server and hope the users could retrieve and install the driver themselves, or just file it away and continue to use an existing, but less capable driver that cannot take advantage of new printer features, such as duplex, color or 600 dpi printing. While the first choice is optimal, many network administrators have succumbed to the last choice for sheer lack of time.

With HP JetAdmin for Windows 95, printer drivers are automatically distributed to every user's PC in seconds instead of hours. A new or updated driver is uploaded once to the file server, and the JetAdmin client built into every Windows 95 system will automatically retrieve and install it on every user's PC as needed when the user selects the associated printer.

Point-and-Print Network Printing Users want to be able to select a particular printer easily and unambiguously, know if there's a problem before they try to print to it, and track the progress of their print jobs. Without HP's network printing utilities, installing, selecting and using a network printer meant installing the driver, assigning the driver to an LPT port and the LPT port to a print queue, executing several commands from a separate NetWare utility to launch the print job and then hoping everything goes OK. Because of the cumbersome, non-intuitive nature of these tasks, something invariably goes wrong, and users wind up calling the network administrator for help. What's more, once installed, there may be little consistency in selecting the same printer from one workstation to the next depending on how LPT ports and print queues have been assigned by the administrator, creating more difficulty for users and a management nightmare.

HP JetAdmin for Windows 95 turns "print-and-pray" into "point-and-print." HP worked closely with Microsoft to develop JetAdmin for Windows 95, and has established "point-and-print" as the new way to make network printing even easier than personal printing. Now, selecting a network printer and using it is one less thing a network administrator has to worry about.

The HP JetAdmin functionality built into Windows 95 hides the complexity of selecting an HP JetDirect-attached network printer from users in a way that is completely intuitive and integrated into the operating system. A user simply opens the Windows Explorer, expands the Network Neighborhood section, and double clicks on any network printer shown to select it. The appropriate driver, if needed, is installed automatically, and all the linkages to LPT ports and print queues are handled automatically. All HP JetDirect-attached network printers a user can access appear in the Network Neighborhood by printer name, not print queue name, just like any other network resource.

Users can easily navigate their own way around printing problems because they can view a printer's operational status and capabilities before trying to print. Improving upon the traffic light indicator HP developed for HP JetPrint for NetWare, HP JetAdmin for Windows 95 gives users a color-coded printer icon that's always visible on the Windows 95 status bar. Green means a printer is online and ready to print; yellow indicates a potential printer problem such as toner low; and red indicates a problem that halts printing altogether, such as paper out. HP JetAdmin also tracks user print jobs, letting them know where they are in the print queue and when their job is done.

Managing and Troubleshooting Network Printers Monitoring network printers and tracking down problems can be a hit or miss affair for many network administrators and users. Typically, problems don't show up until after someone has tried sending a job to a printer, only to discover later that it is out of paper, or toner, or clogged by a paper jam, or that some other problem has prevented the job from being printed. And that's assuming the job was sent to the correct printer in the first place. Who gets another angry call from a frustrated user? The network administrator. The same printer location flexibility made possible by direct network attachment and cheered by users is causing the network administrator to run down the hall, or to another floor or another building when problems occur. Often, it's the only way to determine the nature of the problem.

With HP JetAdmin for Windows 95, any HP JetDirect-attached printer can notify the administrator when a problem occurs, before the angry user calls begin and before it interferes with productivity. Through the use of SNMP, HP JetAdmin puts real-time printer status messages, such as paper out, toner low or paper jam and status information, such as printer name, operating status and I/O connection, right on the administrator's desktop, including a graphical representation of the printer's front control panel.

JetAdmin's configurable alarms provide video and audio notification of problems, and can be set up on a printer-by-printer basis. Alarms for simple problems, such as paper out and toner low, can be set to also alert an administrative assistant near the affected printer for correction. When a problem occurs, the printer name and its status pop up on the screen, including a view of the printer's front control panel display and a graphic depicting the specific problem, from paper out and toner low, to paper jams and disconnected cables. More technical problems, however, such as a disconnected printer cable, may be set to alert only the network administrator. Any alarm also can be set to alert the user whose print job is affected by the alarm.

JetAdmin also provides valuable network statistics and diagnostic information, including printer and JetDirect interface information, print job status, NetWare statistics and frame counts, and protocol statistics. This information helps network administrators take inventory and track network printing resources by determining what printers or plotters are experiencing frequent paper outs and toner lows, and how much each is being used. User-definable filters simplify management by enabling specific groups of printers -- all color printers, or all printers with a certain name, for example -- to be viewed quickly and easily. JetAdmin for Windows 95 even lets administrators perform common NetWare management functions without having to leave Windows, including setting up groups and users, adding print queues and print servers, and also provides enhanced queue, job and print server management, allowing administrators to remotely view, delete and hold jobs in NetWare queues.

Easy Management of All Network Printers HP JetAdmin for Windows 95 is provided with every CD-ROM version of Windows 95, and installs itself into the operating system as a part of the normal Windows installation process, making it immediately available on every Windows 95 workstation. HP JetAdmin for Windows 95, as well as upgrades and updates, are also available from HP and Microsoft distribution channels, as well as by downloading from CompuServe.

JetAdmin for Windows 95 delivers simplified installation and set-up, primary status and diagnostic information, automatic driver distribution and installation and point-and-print network printing with any printer attached to a network via an HP JetDirect card or HP JetDirect EX print server. HP printers using an HP JetDirect card installed in an MIO slot to connect to the network will benefit the most from HP JetAdmin for Windows 95, while non-HP printers using an HP JetDirect EX print server to connect to the network will still achieve a high degree of management functionality. Other combinations of printers and HP JetDirect products will achieve varying degrees of management functionality. An HP LaserJet Series II printer attached to an HP JetDirect EX print server, for example, can provide HP JetAdmin with basic printer status information but not front-panel messages because of the one-way limitation of the printer's parallel port. An HP LaserJet Series 4 printer, on the other hand, uses a bi-directional Bi-Tronics parallel port, and is, therefore, able to communicate front-panel messages back to the JetDirect EX print server which then relays them across the network to HP JetAdmin for display.

Making Network Printing Easy

From small workgroups to enterprise-wide multiprotocol networks, HP is dedicated to making network printing as easy as personal printing. HP's broad family of printers, print servers and network printing utilities are unmatched in the industry, offering the highest levels of performance, flexibility, reliability and ease of use. By working with its strategic partners, HP's network printing products will continue to be the easiest to use, install and support.

HP JetAdmin for Windows 95 continues this tradition, providing the easiest, most intuitive, most highly integrated solution yet for installing, configuring managing and troubleshooting network printers. And it simplifies the network administrator's job even further by making network printing for users as easy as point and print.

As others follow HP's lead and begin introducing their first-generation network printing management tools, HP will continue to raise the bar, expanding its solutions to more platforms with more highly integrated products and providing greater ease of use. Its support for SNMP-based printer management and involvement with standards-setting organizations such as the Printer Working Group underscore HP's commitment to meeting the diverse needs of all network users. Now and in the future, HP is committed to taking the complexity out of network printing by offering the best network printing solutions.

# # #