Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Administration Unleashed

Printer Configuration 69CAUTIONIf administering the system remotely, it is better to use service network restart ifyou need to restart the network since stopping the network will prevent you fromaccessing your system remotely to bring the network back up.Printer ConfigurationOne common task not covered by the installation program or the Setup Agent is configuringa printer. Red Hat Enterprise Linux uses the Common UNIX Printing System, alsoknown as CUPS. CUPS uses the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) to allow local printing andprint sharing. The /etc/cups/ directory stores all the configuration files for printing.However, these files can be easily managed with the Printer Configuration Tool in RedHat Enterprise Linux.2NOTEIf you need to share the printer with other computers on the network, use this sectionto configure the printer and then refer to the “Creating a Network Printer with CUPS”section of Chapter 19, “Explaining Other Common Network Services,” for details.To start the Printer Configuration Tool, go to the System menu on the top panel andselect Administration, Printing or execute the command system-config-printer. If youare not root, you will be prompted for the root password.If no printers are available for the system, only the Server Settings view is available forselection. If local printers are configured, a Local Printers menu is available.CUPS is the default printing system used by Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and one of itsmany advantages is that it uses IPP to broadcast shared printers on the network so thatother systems can browse for them, select one as the default printer, and print to itwithout any further configuration. If any printers are broadcast on your network, theywill appear in a Remote Printers menu. Figure 2.11 shows a system with both local andremote printers. If a list isn’t already expanded, click on the triangle icon to the left of it.TIPThe log files for the CUPS printing system are located in the /var/log/cups/ directory.Refer to this directory for access and error logs.Adding a PrinterIf the printer you want to connect to is in the list of remote printers, select it from thelist, click Make Default Printer from the Settings tab, and click Apply. The selectedprinter becomes the default printer for the system, and all print jobs are sent to it bydefault.