On today's networks it's common to have users running Windows, Apple, Novell, and many versions of Unix. Each operating system has its own printing facility and there is little or nothing in common between them--there is no single system for print spooling. Yet all users want to be able to print, and most of the time they have to share the same printers. The network administrator has to solve this problem as efficiently as possible.
O'Reilly's Network Printing shows network administrators a way out of this problem. It details how to set up a network printing system that's based on Linux, but can handle printing from Windows, Novell, Apple, and any version of Unix. To this end, it offers thorough discussions of the Unix printing facility (both LPR and LPRng); Samba's printer sharing; Netatalk, a free implementation of the AppleTalk protocol; and ncpfs, a Linux implementation of the Netware protocols. The book also shows how to get printers to boot correctly on a network, using solutions like bootp and DHCP; how to manage printers remotely using SNMP; and how to set up a network-wide printer configuration repository with LDAP.
Matthew Gast currently works for an advanced wireless network systems company in the Bay Area. Prior to that, he spent several years as an engineer for a series of network security companies. He is the author of 802.11 Wireless Networks: The Definitive Guide, Network Printing, and T1: A Survival Guide.
Todd Radermacher has been working with computer and network technology for the past 15 years, starting with Systems Programmer and Technologist positions at EG & G, and working with the Sandia, Livermore, and Los Alamos Laboratories. Todd moved into the commercial sector in 1994, and since then has held various technical and managerial positions with Silicon Valley start-up companies, primarily focusing on data security.
Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. The animal on the cover of Network Printing is a steer. The steer is a gelded male cow, a domesticated farm animal of the bovine species that is an important part of the agricultural industry. The term "steer" refers to the young male cow; after it is a few years old, it is called an ox, which is frequently used as a draft animal.
The steer plays a central role in rodeos, which are an exhibition of riding and roping contests. Steer wrestling, also known as "bulldogging," involves a mounted cowboy chasing down a steer, then diving from the horse's back and wrestling the steer to the ground. In a steer roping contest, the cowboy lassos the steer by the horns, bringing it to the ground. Then the cowboy dismounts and ties the steer's feet as quickly as possible. The contests are judged by speed, and the fastest cowboy is the winner. Colleen Gorman was the production editor and proofreader, and Catherine Morris was the copyeditor for Network Printing. Mary Sheehan and Nancy Kotary provided quality control. Rachel Wheeler provided production support. Ellen Troutman-Zaig wrote the index.
Edie Freedman designed the cover of this book. The cover image is a 19th-century engraving from the Dover Pictorial Archive. Emma Colby produced the cover layout with QuarkXPress 4.1 using Adobe's ITC Garamond font.
Alicia Cech and David Futato designed the interior layout based on a series design by Nancy Priest. Mike Sierra implemented the design in FrameMaker 5.5.6. The text and heading fonts are ITC Garamond Light and Garamond Book; the code font is Constant Willison. The illustrations that appear in the book were produced by Robert Romano using Macromedia FreeHand 8 and Adobe Photoshop 5. This colophon was written by Colleen Gorman.
