Large Scale Parallel Print Service Ivan Deloose – David Foster – Ignacio Reguero CHEP 2000 – 8 February 2000 – Padova (I) Presented by Ivan Deloose - CERN IT Division European Organization for Nuclear Research Geneva - Switzerland TCPIP Novell PC UNIX Mac Appletalk

Ivan Deloose – CERN – CHEP Padova Agenda  Some Figures  The Previous Situation  Problems  Project Requirements and Implementations  Server Backend  DNS & Clustering mechanism  CERN Windows Printing Package  Unix Clients  Conclusions

Ivan Deloose – CERN – CHEP Padova Some Figures  1200 Printers  HP, Apple, QMS, Tektronix, Xerox…  Netports, remote,...  Protocols  Appletalk, IPX, TCP…  5000 PCs running Windows 95 and NT  2500 Unix boxes  1700 X-terminals

Ivan Deloose – CERN – CHEP Padova Situation before 6/98 Mac PC IPX TCP/IP Appletalk TCP/IP IPX Appletalk Appletalk TCP/IP Springer Novell

Ivan Deloose – CERN – CHEP Padova Major problems  Reliability poor for PC users  connections to the print server lost (mostly IPX)  Multiple servers accessing the same printer creates conflicts  Multiple queues for the same printer (UNIX, PC) makes for unpredictable time estimation  Complex job paths make problem determination difficult  Single Points of Failure  Performance issues

Ivan Deloose – CERN – CHEP Padova Requirements - Implementations  Support both Windows and Unix clients with single protocol  Unique RFC1179 (LPR) protocol chosen  Unify server back-end for Windows and Unix  Single server type : Standard commodity PCs running Linux  No single points of failure  Array of identical back-end servers  Scalable  DNS for dynamic naming resolution  Automated driver + printer installation on Windows clients  CERN Windows Printing Package

Ivan Deloose – CERN – CHEP Padova Initial proposal with intermediate NT servers

Ivan Deloose – CERN – CHEP Padova Final implementation: Single server architecture

Ivan Deloose – CERN – CHEP Padova Server back-end  Array of PC servers  Each server running the Linux OS  LPRng spooler  CAP V198 + DDP Linux module for Appletalk + CERN patches  Powerful set of filters for UNIX clients: papif, CTI-ifhp, qfilter… modified for integration and device support  Accounting, banner programs  Automated kickstart + SUE server installation  Configuration management

Ivan Deloose – CERN – CHEP Padova Server Clustering and DNS

Ivan Deloose – CERN – CHEP Padova Clustering: Recovery

Ivan Deloose – CERN – CHEP Padova CERN Windows Printing Package Printer Database & Driver Repository UNIX queue server cluster Printer Management Tools Windows Client Components Network Printers Applications Printer Wizard Job Information LPR Client Service

Ivan Deloose – CERN – CHEP Padova Package Components  Central Database  Defines all centrally maintained network printers  List of available printer drivers, linked to printer driver repository  Single driver repository  Single entry point for all W9x, WNT4 & 2000 printer drivers (no OS installation CDs needed).  Printer Manager  Printer object creation and configuration  Add third party drivers

Ivan Deloose – CERN – CHEP Padova Package Components  Printer Wizard : The main application for client printer installation and configuration.  Simple drag & drop to install any centrally supported network printer  Unique version (9x,NT4-5)  Uses local DB copy + automated version update  Dynamic driver & port update from database at startup  Loads printer drivers from repository on the server

Ivan Deloose – CERN – CHEP Padova Package Components  Job Info : Printer job information tool.  Returns status about all network and local queues & jobs  Scans ports redirected to Novell, NT & UNIX (LPQ) printer servers  Printer job handling : job(s) deletion  Includes printer setup capabilities : document default settings  Multi-threaded job scanning : UI never blocked

Ivan Deloose – CERN – CHEP Padova Package Components  LPRSERV (LPR client Service)  Gateway between applications and UNIX print servers  Apps jobs to local file  filename = queuename  Job detected & renamed  queuename -> hostname using DNS  Job sent to UNIX server using LPR protocol  Job History  Appears as single icon during job transmission

Ivan Deloose – CERN – CHEP Padova Installation and Updates  Installation from  Distribution folder (network share)  FTP Server via Web page  Updates and maintenance  Program package  Automated version check and updated if needed at every logon  Manual update possible via About dialog  Local database  Automated version check and updated if needed at every startup of the Printer Wizard.  Non-availability of database server  Package runs using current program and database version  Taskbar icon indication

Ivan Deloose – CERN – CHEP Padova Unix print Clients  From LPRng  Modified to support DNS resolution for print server addressing  -P printername => -P  Lightweight  no spooling configuration  Backwards compatibility implemented  CERN’s XPRINT adapted

Ivan Deloose – CERN – CHEP Padova Conclusions  Server back-end based on cheap commodity hardware and ‘Open Source’ software (LPRng)  User benefits  No specific CERN configuration required, any visitor can run it  Runs on any Windows PC having TCP/IP installed  No Netware or NT client required  Stability : runs from the local hard disc  Reliability : database server not required to run the package  Supports other preinstalled printer objects (Novell, NT)  Maintenance benefits  Same binary on W9x, NT4 and Windows 2000 (MSI package)  Centralized management for all Windows platforms  Complete package can easily deployed at other laboratories   General user satisfaction at CERN.

Ivan Deloose – CERN – CHEP Padova Contacts   Windows Printing Package  Download and information:   Print Server backend and UNIX clients