From owner-freebsd-hackers Wed Jun 25 15:18:32 1997 Return-Path: Received: (from root@localhost) by hub.freebsd.org (8.8.5/8.8.5) id PAA17297 for hackers-outgoing; Wed, 25 Jun 1997 15:18:32 -0700 (PDT) Received: from emout12.mail.aol.com (emout12.mx.aol.com [198.81.11.38]) by hub.freebsd.org (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id PAA17289 for ; Wed, 25 Jun 1997 15:18:16 -0700 (PDT) From: StevenR362@aol.com Received: (from root@localhost) by emout12.mail.aol.com (8.7.6/8.7.3/AOL-2.0.0) id SAA21455; Wed, 25 Jun 1997 18:17:41 -0400 (EDT) Date: Wed, 25 Jun 1997 18:17:41 -0400 (EDT) Message-ID: <970625181551_-1428725356@emout12.mail.aol.com> To: imp@village.org, hackers@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Printer sharing Sender: owner-hackers@freebsd.org X-Loop: FreeBSD.org Precedence: bulk In a message dated 97-06-25 17:27:41 EDT, imp@village.org (Warner Losh) writes: > OK. I wanna share my two printers between my two systems. Once is a > nice laser printer and the other is a color inkjet printer. Both are > HP printers. The *STUPID* hp driver *REQUIRES* that the printer be > connected to the computer and seems to go to great lengths to detect > and defeat printer share boxes. > You have at least two options that should work. Option one is to buy a high quality automatic printer switch that is bidirectional I.E.E. 1280? (can't remember the exact number) compatible. It has to fully mimic a straight through bidirectional cable. Solectek makes some nice ones that run about $35.00. I am succesfully using one myself. It is totally transparent printing from both machines. The switch even does the right thing when you try to print simultaneously from both machines. One machine gets a printer busy signal. You might possibly have to play games with windows plug&pray crap by installing your drivers with a straight cable and then attaching the switch afterwards. With the new printers, EPP bidirectionality is mandatory. Option two is to run Samba on your FreeBSD box with both printers attached and network mount them on your windows machine. I would have done this except I already had the switch. This also gives you the added benefit of being able to mount disk space from your FreeBSD box on your windows machine. Two $19.00 NE2000 clones will set you right up for less than the printer switches. Also take a look at apsfilter in ports. It is about as transparent as you can get for printing from Unix. Steve