[cups.general] local printer and client.conf

[Johannes Meixner]

Hello,

On Feb 2 07:48 Ivan Degtyarenko wrote initially (shortened):

> Background: on our Linux stations ... all the jobs go through
> the remote server. But also have a few workers with their
> own USB connected printers. Though we still would like
> to provide them with the access to the central ones
> through the remote server.

If I understand this correctly, you do not like that
the USB connected printers are accessible from other workers
i.e. from workers where the USB printer is not connected.

In this case you should neither publish the USB printer queue
via "BrowseAddress @LOCAL" nor should you allow access
via "Allow from @LOCAL" in cupsd.conf on the worker
where the USB printer is connected.


If your remote server broadcasts its print queues via
"BrowseAddress @LOCAL" in cupsd.conf on the remote server,
then you do not need to actively query the remote server
for its queues via "BrowsePoll remote.CUPS.server.IP:631"
in cupsd.conf on the workers.

If your remote server broadcasts its queues and you only want
to accept the broadcasted queue information from this server,
you should have "BrowseAllow from remote.CUPS.server.IP"
in cupsd.conf on the workers.


In contrast if you like that other workers without USB printer
can use the USB printers, you need at least "Allow from @LOCAL"
in cupsd.conf on the worker where the USB printer is connected
so that access is allowed.

Additionally you should have "BrowseAddress @LOCAL" in cupsd.conf
on the worker where the USB printer is connected so that this
worker broadcasts its particular USB printer queue so that
the other workers can pick up this broadcasted queue information
but then you need "BrowseAllow from @LOCAL" in cupsd.conf
on all workers because "BrowseAllow from remote.CUPS.server.IP"
would let the workers not accept the USB print queue broadcasts.


Only on workers without USB printer which should not use
an USB printer connected to another worker, you do not need
a local cupsd running so that you can use a client.conf
with "ServerName remote.CUPS.server.IP" to use only
the remote server directly.


Puh!
It looks very complicated as I described it but I hope
actually it is not as complicated as it looks here.


> Another question, what is the best practice for local Linux
> workstations in general, having a local cupsd with the config
> shown above, and empty client.conf, or forget about local
> config and just send everything to a remote print server
> configured through client.conf? How it is from the
> performance/accounting point of view?

I think in general the best practice is what CUPS does by default
(i.e. a local cupsd which listens to incomming browsing info).
But I am afraid, I do not have sufficient experience reagarding
performance/accounting so that I cannot make a sound statement here.


Kind Regards
Johannes Meixner
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