Branch Office Direct Printing not working on Server 2016 or Server 2019 or modern Windows 10 / Windows 11

Simon 21 Reputation points
2022-07-22T16:27:04.047+00:00

I have found that Branch Office Direct Printing is not working for modern Windows 10/11 clients and Windows Server 2016 / 2019.

Here are the combinations I have tested:

223913-image.png

In each case, the printer has been added to the remote print server, shared out, and then the BODP option is enabled, and then we stop and start the Print Spooler service. In each case, we can see in the registry that the EnableBranchOfficePrinting is set to 1 in the registry, as per the Microsoft documentation (here jj134152(v=ws.11))

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Printers\<printername>\PrinterDriverData

For the Win2012 / Win10 1703 combination, the feature works correctly, the print job goes directly from client to the printer, and we see in the event log the Event ID 307
223902-image.png

For the other cases, we see no indication of any errors in the event log, no mention of reverting to SSR for example, but the print job simply spools via the remote print server, before printing (often causing delay and errors). So it seems that the BODP setting is ignored.

My question to the community, does anyone know how to make this work on a modern Server / Client combination?

Windows Server 2019
Windows Server 2019
A Microsoft server operating system that supports enterprise-level management updated to data storage.
3,448 questions
Windows 10
Windows 10
A Microsoft operating system that runs on personal computers and tablets.
10,593 questions
Windows Server 2016
Windows Server 2016
A Microsoft server operating system that supports enterprise-level management updated to data storage.
2,368 questions
Windows Server Printing
Windows Server Printing
Windows Server: A family of Microsoft server operating systems that support enterprise-level management, data storage, applications, and communications.Printing: Printer centralized deployment and management, scan and fax resources management, and document services
640 questions
Windows 11
Windows 11
A Microsoft operating system designed for productivity, creativity, and ease of use.
8,125 questions

3 answers

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  1. Philippe Levesque 5,681 Reputation points MVP
    2022-07-22T17:42:00.58+00:00

    Good question, I will ask on my private channel if it's something a know problem or not. On my side I finished up to do a workaround to achieve a similar goal as it wasnt working as expected. (but probably because it's a bug like you found). I finished by pushing by GPP the printer but in a way that it create a local port's one, which take the printqueue as a base for the settings.

    The end goal is almost the same, as it direct print on the printer, but way more long to do.

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  2. Alan Morris 1,156 Reputation points
    2022-07-23T14:19:06.51+00:00

    Interesting,

    I'll give it a spin.

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  3. Alan Morris 1,156 Reputation points
    2022-08-02T01:22:33.523+00:00

    I have Win 10, this version and BODP is working with Server 2012r2 sharing the printer. The decision for Branch support is always on the client spooler.

    226870-image.png

    Windows 11 as you stated D.O.A.

    The print service debug logs show invalid printer name for the GUID printer which seemed odd. There was also an invalid parameter error.

    Windows 11 as the print server works for BODP from my Windows 10 client. Since BODP is decided by the client then this makes sense.

    Yes, I know the setting is on the server but when the server is turned off, the client has to make the call.

    I do not work at Microsoft anymore but I know a bit about this functionality even though it was never patented. https://patents.google.com/patent/US20120127512A1/en

    I will ask around.

    Thanks

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