CUPS: configuring server and clients for remote printing/Slackware-14.1
 

The Ethernet LAN has two printers as nodes: the LaserJet 5 has IP address 192.168.55.192 (JetDirect card) and the Color LaserJet 2550C has IP address 192.168.55.194 (external print server).

Network hosts on the Ethernet connect to the LJ5 as: socket://192.168.55.192:9100; the color printer is similar.

There is a wireless sub-net, 192.168.2.* with a couple of portable computers accessing the 'Net through the WAP and I have not been able to configure the CUPS server on the Ethernet LAN properly to accept jobs from the laptops.

On the CUPS admin page on the server, under Administration, the boxes for 'share printers connected to this system' and 'allow printing from the internet' are checked.

In /etc/cups/cupsd.conf are the lines (among others):
ServerName host.domain.com # with the actual host.domain.tld entered
ServerAlias *
# Allow remote access
Port 631
Listen /var/run/cups/cups.sock
Browsing On
BrowseOrder allow,deny
BrowseAllow all
BrowseRemoteProtocols CUPS
BrowseAddress @LOCAL
BrowseLocalProtocols cups
BrowseAllow 192.168.55.*
BrowseAllow 192.168.2.*
<Location />
# Allow remote access...
Order deny, allow
Deny all
Allow from 127.0.0.1
Allow from 192.168.55.*
Allow from 192.168.2.*
</Location>

On the laptop clients the connections to the remote printers are the same as on the wired LAN: socket://192.168.55.192:9100. Should the laptops specify IPP rather than socket?

No jobs appear in the print queue and I suspect it's the client side that's mis-configured. Ideas needed.

How is your network configured? How are you routing the two networks together? Can your wireless laptops connect/ping to devices on your LAN?

The posted cups directives allow other computers to see printers connected to the server and access the cups administration pages. It does not have anything to do with network printers.

> How is your network configured? How are you routing the two networks together? Can your wireless laptops > connect/ping to devices on your LAN?

The wireless access point connects directly to the firewall router and then to the DSL bridge (modem). It is not part of the LAN. That, I agree, is the problem. Laptops not on the Ethernet cannot access the LAN server or printers off of it.

> The posted cups directives allow other computers to see printers connected to the server and access the cups > administration pages. It does not have anything to do with network printers.

I wondered about that. The server is set to allow printing from the 'Net; the question is how do I configure the laptops to access the printers as though they were at a coffee shop or a hotel?

Thanks,

Rich

What is the firewall router and WAP you are using? Can you post their make/models?

The WAP is a Belkin N900GB configured as a WAP rather than as a router. The firewall appliance/router is a Netgear FVS318.

Because the WAP is on a non-world addressable IP address, and so are the printers (but a different group of 192.168/16 addresses), is there a way to configure the laptops so CUPS can find the latter addresses without going outside the firewall/router?

Thanks.

The simplest method would be to put the laptops on the same sub-net as everything else. What do mean by configured as a WAP, how is the router configured?

The laptops originally were on the same sub-net. but then would not connect to WiFi access points elsewhere. After much anguished efforts with help from local linux network admins the laptops were put on a separate subnet. Now they work externally, too.

The laptop I use works everywhere because I have root access and can re-set /etc/resolv when I return to the office. Other users do not have root access so when some other server changes /etc/resolv the user cannot copy the local verstion to it.

The Belkin N900 can function as just an access point, passing packets straight through, or as a router.

The Netgear is the router between the LAN and the DSL modem. All Ethernet hosts (including the two printers) are connected via the Netgear. It's firewall rules are in firmware with limited ability to be user tweaked. In the almost-20 years its been in use my network has never been penetrated. (Or course, moving ssh to a high number port helps, too).