Printing Infrastructure

Applies To: Windows Server 2008

The printing infrastructure for a print server enables local and remote users to print to the server and to manage printers and all aspects of printing.

Hierarchy of Managed Entities

Managed Entities

Name	Description
Print Server	A print server is a computer that shares printers on a network. Client computers connect to the print server to print to its shared printers.
Print Queue	A print queue is a representation of a print device (physical printer) in Microsoft Windows. Opening a print queue displays active print jobs and their status.
Print Spooler Service	Each print server has a single print spooler service, which manages all the print jobs and print queues on that server.
Print Server Failover Cluster	A cluster is a group of independent computers that work together to increase the availability of print services or other services. If one of the clustered servers fails, another server begins to provide service, a process known as failover.
Printer Driver	To print to a physical print device (a printer), each print queue requires a printer driver.
Network Printer Ports	Network printer ports are what the printer driver uses to communicate with the physical device across a network. These ports may be standard TCP/IP printer ports, Line Printer Remote (LPR) ports, or other kinds of ports.
Print Migration Tool	You can use the Printer Migration Wizard or the Printbrm.exe command-line tool to export print queues, printer settings, printer ports, and language monitors, and then import them on another print server that is running a Windows operating system. This is an efficient way to consolidate multiple print servers or replace an older print server.