Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I print from Solaris to shared Windows printers?

 One or more printers are configured on a Windows machine; the printers are shared. A user wants to print from a Solaris box to one of the shared printers.
Solaris  > Windows  > printer (shared)

How do I print from Windows to Solaris shared printers?

 One or more printers are configured on a Solaris machine; the printers are shared using IPP and/or SMB (samba). A user wants to print from a Windows box to one of the shared printers.
Windows  > Solaris  > printer (shared)

How do I print from Solaris to Linux shared printers?

 One or more printers are configured on a Linux machine. A user wants to print from a Solaris box to one of the shared printers.
Solaris  > Linux  > printer (shared)

How do I print from Linux to Solaris shared printers?

 One or more printers are configured on a Solaris machine. A user wants to print from a Linux box to one of the shared printers.
Linux  > Solaris  > printer (shared)

How do I print from Solaris to Mac OS X shared printers?

 One or more printers are configured on a Mac OS X machine. A user wants to print from a Solaris box to one of the shared printers.
Solaris  > Mac OS X  > printer (shared)

How do I print from Mac OS X to Solaris shared printers?

 One or more printers are configured on a Solaris machine. A user wants to print from a Mac OS X box to one of the shared printers.
Mac OS X  > Solaris  > printer (shared)

How do I customize Firefox and Thunderbird for printing on OpenSolaris?

 Firefox and Thunderbird do not display a list of printers; only PostScript/default. Additionally, the lpr command is used without the pathname which can lead to silent failure if /usr/ucb is not in $PATH.
Firefox & Printing
Thunderbird & Printing

How do I set default values for print queues?

 print queues often have default behaviour that is not desired, but can be overridden.

How do I share printers using the Internet Print Protocol (IPP) service?

 As Solaris installs, the IPP listening service will be automatically enabled on a print server when the first print queue has been added.  It is also disabled when the last print queue has been removed.  The default configuration in Solaris 9u6+ and Solaris 10 is fairly permissive.  If you are concerned about preventing mischief, you might want to modify the default configuration to make it more restrictive.
More detail on configuring the IPP listening service.

How do I share printers with a "Network Neighborhood"/SMB service?

 Often, a Solaris system will be installed to provide file and print services to a variety of systems on a network. Microsoft Windows systems are generally part of that mix. In a network of purely Windows systems, it's common to see the SMB protocol used for printer sharing. On Solaris, this service can be provided with Samba.

 Samba has shipped on Solaris since Solaris 8, and been available for Solaris much longer. The SMB service is controlled through the contents of the /etc/sfw/smb.conf file. The most important piece of information to customize for your environment is probably the "workgroup" name.
More detail on configuring the Samba service.