Need HELP Transferring Print Servers PLEASE!

[Guest DJone]

Hoping this is the right area of this board... since I do some times use

Terminal Services to manage/add printers. Anyway, on to the meat and potatoes:

 

Ok basically just looking for the best route to switch users (About 300-400)

who are using printers on a current print server (Windows Server 2003 box),

we'll call print-serv1. So all the printers they use are currently on that

server and they are printing through that server as well.

 

We have made a new server, we'll call print-serv2, and have installed and

tested all the printers that the users are currently using on the network

through print-serv1, still keeping the share names and drivers the exact same

(FYI: This is also a Windows Server 2003 box).

 

What is the quickest, easiest and least painful way to switch everyone over

to print-serv2 and set up with the same printers they are using now, except

for changing the server the printer goes through to print-serv2 instead of

the current print-serv1 they are using? (Ideally without going to 300-400

users desk, some out of state too).

 

Like I said, same printers, everything will be the same on their end, just

need to switch so the printers are now going through print-serv2 instead of

print-serv1.

 

I have checked Microsoft and Google and am now resorting to message boards

hoping for help from someone who has knowledge in this area (Maybe even

someone who has performed the same task) or would be able to help me figure

out a good way to do this.

 

Any help at all is very much appreciated, so thank you all in advance!

 

I will be checking this regularly, as we would like to do this switch

immediately since everything else is in line for it to be completed and this

is a rather large company, (well we'll say small-medium business haha). I

wish you all a great day and once again, thanks in advance!

 

Mike.

[Guest Jeff]

RE: Need HELP Transferring Print Servers PLEASE!

 

One odd way to consider is to change the DNS entry for the old print server's

name to point to the new print server. But...

 

1. Printers must be mapped like \\printserver1\printershare

2. Old printserver and all other possible servers can't use the old ip

address

3 Printer names and printer shares must be identical between the two print

servers or the users mappings will fail.

 

Basically if in DNS printserver1 is 192.168.1.110 and printserver2 is

192.168.1.111 you can go into DNS and point printserver1 to 192.168.1.111.

In this way both printserver names will resolve to the same IP address. You

will have to make sure that the old printserver name doesn't hit the network

again with the same ip address. Just an idea, but this would be only a temp

fix until you was able to change end users properly. You could also use GPO

to delete old printers and add the printer back under the new print server.

hehe just ideas I have used for app and iis servers, but if the printer ports

AND PRINTER NAMES are identical on both it should work.

 

"DJone" wrote:

> Hoping this is the right area of this board... since I do some times use

> Terminal Services to manage/add printers. Anyway, on to the meat and potatoes:

>

> Ok basically just looking for the best route to switch users (About 300-400)

> who are using printers on a current print server (Windows Server 2003 box),

> we'll call print-serv1. So all the printers they use are currently on that

> server and they are printing through that server as well.

>

> We have made a new server, we'll call print-serv2, and have installed and

> tested all the printers that the users are currently using on the network

> through print-serv1, still keeping the share names and drivers the exact same

> (FYI: This is also a Windows Server 2003 box).

>

> What is the quickest, easiest and least painful way to switch everyone over

> to print-serv2 and set up with the same printers they are using now, except

> for changing the server the printer goes through to print-serv2 instead of

> the current print-serv1 they are using? (Ideally without going to 300-400

> users desk, some out of state too).

>

> Like I said, same printers, everything will be the same on their end, just

> need to switch so the printers are now going through print-serv2 instead of

> print-serv1.

>

> I have checked Microsoft and Google and am now resorting to message boards

> hoping for help from someone who has knowledge in this area (Maybe even

> someone who has performed the same task) or would be able to help me figure

> out a good way to do this.

>

> Any help at all is very much appreciated, so thank you all in advance!

>

> I will be checking this regularly, as we would like to do this switch

> immediately since everything else is in line for it to be completed and this

> is a rather large company, (well we'll say small-medium business haha). I

> wish you all a great day and once again, thanks in advance!

>

> Mike.