How To Configure Internet Printing in Windows 2000

This article describes how to configure Internet printing in Windows 2000 and how to manage and connect to printers by using a Web browser.

When you use Internet printing, you can print or manage documents from a Web browser. Internet printing is enabled automatically on a Windows 2000 Server-based computer when you install Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS). Printing is implemented by way of the Internet Print Protocol (IPP), which is encapsulated in the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

With Internet printing, you can manage any shared printer on the print server from your browser. If you are using a computer that is running Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01 and later, you can print to a printer over an intranet or over the Internet by typing the address of the print server in the Address box, for example, http://myprintserver/printers/.

When you click Connect on the printers Web page, the server generates a .cab file that contains the appropriate printer driver files and downloads it to the client computer. The printer that is installed is displayed in the Printers folder on the client.

How to Configure Internet Printing on a Windows 2000 Print Server

The following sections describe how to configure Internet printing on a Windows 2000-based print server.

Install IIS

Because Internet printing depends on IIS, you must install IIS on the print server. IIS is installed by default when you install Windows 2000 Server. However, if you chose not to install IIS during Windows Setup, follow these steps to install IIS:

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. In Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs.
3. Click Add/Remove Windows Components.
4. In the Windows Components Wizard, click to select the Internet Information Services (IIS) check box, and then click OK.
5. Click Next, and then click Finish.
6. In the Add/Remove Programs dialog box, click Close.

Configure Security for Internet Printing

To configure print server security, use either Internet Services Manager or the IIS snap-in. To configure the authentication method for Internet printing, follow these steps:

1. Start Internet Services Manager or start the IIS snap-in.
2. Click to expand * server_name, where server_name is the name of the server.
3. Click to expand Default Web Site, right-click Printers, and then click Properties.
4. Click the Directory Security tab, and then click Edit under Anonymous access and authentication.
5. Click any of the following authentication methods that you want to use, and then click OK:
   • Anonymous access: When you use anonymous access, IIS automatically logs you on by using the anonymous user account (this account is IUSR_computer_name, by default). You do not require a user name and password. To change the user account that is used for anonymous access, click Edit under Anonymous access.
   • Basic authentication: When you use Basic authentication, you are prompted for your logon information, and your user name and password are sent across the network in clear text. This authentication method provides a low level of security because it is possible for someone who is equipped with network monitoring tools to intercept user names and passwords. However, this type of authentication is supported by most Web clients. Use this authentication method if you want to be able to manage printers from any browser. Click Edit under Basic authentication to specify the default domain for user accounts.
   • Digest authentication: When you use Digest authentication, user credentials are sent securely across the network. Digest authentication is only available for Internet Explorer 5.0 and later and for Web servers that belong to a Windows 2000 domain.
   • Integrated Windows authentication: Integrated Windows authentication can use both the Kerberos v5 authentication protocols and its own challenge/response authentication protocol. This authentication method is more secure. However, this method is only supported in Internet Explorer 2.0 or later, and it does not work over HTTP proxy connections.
6. You can also control access to Internet printers based on the requesting host rather than on user credentials. To grant or deny access to specific computers, groups of computers, or domains, click Edit under IP Address and Domain Name Restrictions.
7. In the IP Address and Domain Name Restrictions dialog box that is displayed, complete one of the following procedures:
   • To grant access, click Denied Access, and then click Add.
     
     In the Grant Access On dialog box that is displayed, select the option that you want, and then click OK twice. The computer, group of computers, or domain that you selected is added to the Granted list.
     
     -or-
   • To deny access, click Granted Access, and then click Add.
     
     In the Deny Access On dialog box that is displayed, specify the option that you want, and then click OK twice. The computer, group of computers, or domain that you specified is added to the Denied list.
8. Click OK, and then quit Internet Services Manager or quit the IIS snap-in.

How to Manage Printers Using a Web Browser

To manage printers using a Web browser, follow these steps:

1. From Internet Explorer or any other browser, complete any of the following procedures:
   • To view a list of printers that are located on the print server, type the following address, where print_server is the name of the print server:
     http://print_server/printers/
     For example, to view a list of all the printers that are located on a print server that is named "MyPrintServer," type the following address:
     http://myprintserver/printers/
     A list of all the printers on the print server is displayed in your browser window. In the list of available printers, click the name of the printer that you want to manage.
     
     -or-
   • To view a specific printer's Web page, type the address of the printer using the following format, where print_server is the name of the print server and printer is the name the printer:
     http://print_server/printer/
     For example, if you want to go directly the page of a printer that is named "Laser" that is shared from a server that is named "MyPrintServer," type the following address:
     http://myprintserver/laser/
2. On the Printer on Print_server page, click the links that are displayed in the left pane to view more information about the printer or to perform a printer or a document action.

How to Connect to a Printer Using a Web Browser

To connect to a printer using a Web browser, follow these steps:

1. Start Internet Explorer.
2. In the Address box, type the address of the printer:
   • If you do not know the name of the printer to which you want to connect, type the following address, where print_server is the name of the print server:
     http://print_server/printers/
     For example, to view a list of all of the printers that are located on a print server that is named "MyPrintServer," type the following address:
     http://myprintserver/printers/
     A list of all of the printers on the print server is displayed in your browser window. In the list of available printers, click the name of the printer to which you want to connect.
     
     -or-
   • If you know the name of the printer to which you want to connect, type the address of the printer using the following format, where print_server is the name of the print server and printer is the name of the printer:
     http://print_server/printer/
     For example, if you want to go directly to the page of a printer that is named "Laser" that is shared from a server that is named "MyPrintServer," type the following address:
     http://MyPrintServer/Laser/
3. To connect to the printer, click Connect under Printer Actions.

When you connect to the printer, the print server downloads the appropriate printer driver to your computer. After the installation is complete, the printer's icon is added to the Printers folder on your computer. You can use, monitor, and administer the printer as if it were attached to your computer.

Troubleshooting

For additional information about how to troubleshoot specific Internet printing-related issues, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

For additional information about Internet printing in Windows 2000, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For more information about printing features in Windows 2000, visit the following Microsoft Web site to view the following Microsoft Support WebCast: For additional information about working with the authentication features of IIS, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For additional information about how to control access to Web content, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For more information about IIS security, refer to the "Security" section of the IIS 5.0 Online Documentation. To view the documentation, start Internet Explorer, and then type the following address in the Address box: