Migrating Print Servers from One System to Another

Often you'll find that you must replace an existing print server with a new machine. Sometimes this happens because the current hardware doesn't perform well enough to handle the current load. Other times this happens because you are moving from one operating system to another.

When you deploy a new print server to replace an existing server, you can use the migration techniques discussed in Part 3, to do the following:

  • Reduce the amount of time it takes to configure the new server

  • Ensure the configuration of the new server is the same as the old server

  • Consolidate print servers by moving printers from multiple print servers to a single print server

As with standard operating system migration, you can migrate print servers manually, automatically, or using a combination of the techniques.

Manually Migrating Print Servers

The manual migration process starts with documentation. Document the print server's configuration. Note the printers that are set up on the server and write down the details of their configuration, making sure to include the following information:

  • Printer names and models

  • Printer drivers and the additional types of drivers made available to clients

  • Printer ports and the configuration used

  • Advanced printer settings, such as priority and availability schedule

  • Printer security settings and the users and groups with access

After you thoroughly document the existing print server configuration, you can install the new print server and configure its print services in the same way as the server you are replacing. By migrating a print server by hand, you can ensure that the latest drivers are used and can use the opportunity to standardize the printer information. The obvious disadvantage is that manual migration can take a lot of time and is prone to errors.

Automating Print Server Migration

Microsoft provides a utility for migrating print services called Printer Migrator. Using Printer Migrator version 3.1 or later, you can

  • Migrate print services from a print server running Windows NT 4, Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003 to a print server running Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003

  • Migrate print services from a stand-alone Windows NT 4 or Windows 2000 printer server to a clustered print server running Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003

Printer Migrator is available as a download from the Microsoft Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/printserver/. After you obtain and install the Printer Migrator, don't run it until you consider how you want to handle printer drivers. Printer Migrator migrates the current print environment from an existing source server to a target server exactly as the environment exists on the source server, which includes printers, printer drivers, printer ports, print processors, and print monitors that are configured, as well as the associated Registry settings and files. It won't, however, update driver versions. Because of this, if you are migrating from Windows NT 4, you might first want to upgrade printer drivers using FixPrnSv as discussed in the section entitled "Upgrading Windows NT 4 Print Servers to Windows Server 2003" earlier in this chapter.

When you work with Printer Migrator, you use it to back up the print services configuration of a target server and restore it on another target server. This allows you to migrate print services to and from multiple systems from a central location, which can be your desktop system. To allow you to consolidate the print services of multiple servers to a single server, Printer Migrator doesn't delete the existing printer configurations when you perform restore operations. Instead, it performs a merge operation, which replaces any existing settings with this defined in the configuration you backed up and adding any additional configuration settings.

When you are ready to migrate print services, follow these steps:

  1. Log on to the print server that you want to migrate using an account that is a member of the Administrators or Print Operators group. Then start Printer Migrator by double-clicking the executable you obtained. This should be PrintMig.exe.

  2. When Printer Migrator starts, it will examine the current print environment. As shown in Figure 29-5, this means Printer Migrator enumerates all printers, printer drivers, printer ports, print processors, and print monitors and stores their configuration information. You can examine this information by expanding the related entries.

    Printer Migrator examines the print server.

    Figure 29-5. Printer Migrator examines the print server.

  3. Create a backup of the print server's configuration. Select Backup from the Actions menu. In the Printer Configuration Backup dialog box, shown in Figure 29-6, you can now select a save location for the printer configuration using the Look In selection list. Once you find a save location, type a name for the backup file.

    Backup the configuration.

    Figure 29-6. Backup the configuration.

  4. When you click Open, Printer Migrator will save the printer configuration to the named file as a compressed .cab file. This process can take a few minutes, depending on the number of printers configured, and each step in the backup operation is displayed, as shown in Figure 29-7. Scroll back through the logged text and check for any critical error, such as the inability to save a configuration file in the cabinet. If there are no substantive errors, continue with the migration process.

    Each step in the backup operation is recorded.

    Figure 29-7. Each step in the backup operation is recorded.

    Note

    Typically, errors occur if you don't have appropriate permissions to perform the backup operation. In this case, use Run As to run the Printer Migrator using an account with the appropriate permissions or log off and then log back on using an account with appropriate permissions.

  5. When the .cab file creation process is completed, select Restore from the Actions menu. In the Printer Configuration Restore dialog box, shown in Figure 29-8, select the previously saved .cab file.

    Restore the configuration on the destination server.

    Figure 29-8. Restore the configuration on the destination server.

  6. In the Target Server field, type the name or IP address of the print server to which you want to migrate the print services.

  7. If you don't want to see popups showing errors, select Suppress Warning Popups. Errors will still be recorded in the logged text.

  8. Printer Migrator can attempt to convert legacy Line Printer Remote (LPR) printer ports to Standard TCP/IP Port Monitor ports. If you want to do this, select Attempt LPR To SPM Conversion.

    Note

    With LPR, a port is used in conjunction with a line printer daemon (LPD) print queue. Most current printers use Standard TCP/IP Port Monitor ports and the RAW protocol. With RAW, data is sent unmodified over the port to the printer using a designated port number. In most cases, this is port 9100.

  9. When you are ready to begin the restore, click Open. Printer Migration will then use the .cab file to configure print services on the target server. Again this process can take a few minutes, depending on the number of printers configured. Each step in the restore operation is displayed and you can scroll back through the logged text to check for any critical errors.

    Note

    As part of the restore process, Printer Migrator will stop the Print Spooler service on the target system so it can replace driver files. Once the driver files are copied from the .cab file to the target system, Printer Migrator will restart the Print Spooler service.

  10. If you are consolidating print servers, repeat steps 1 through 9 to migrate other print services to the print server.

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