Setting Up Remote Print Queue/Directory [SOLVED]

[MandM]

Hey... I've got a project I'm working on and wanted to set something up for testing purposes.

My dilemma is this. I want to create a print queue on a centralized host that will accept print jobs from clients (text only if needed) and post the waiting jobs in a directory until they can be printed later (or never).

So... for instance if I had set up a group of new servers, I can send jobs to this directory (which I will make available via apache). So, with very little fuss on a server install, i can print to this directory, pull it up in apache, and move on to the next job.

Am I making any sense?

If this sounds feasible, let me know how to go about it!

Thanks up front!
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Mr. M

[heikole]

[MandM]

Thanks for the reply!

I eventually want to be able to hook up a printer to this server's queue. There are times when our dba's want printouts and the printer will be phyically located in the server room once it's installed. Until then, I'd like to know that a printer has been set up correctly by seeing its jobs sitting happily in a queue.
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Mr. M

[heikole]

Is your main concern to write your jobs (files) to a directory first instead of sending them to a print queue directly? Do you want these files to be sent from the directory to a print queue automatically by a script then?

CUPS or those command line tools like lpq and lpstat provide you with print queues as well as access to them. You'd have to configure at least one queue (printer), of course, if not done so already. Would that be a great fuss to you?
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42

[timeBandit]

There's nothing to invent here: just set up a CUPS printer at your central server, set it to hold all jobs and have clients send jobs to the remote printer via IPP at queue-name@print-server. When you want to print, release the queue.

The web administration interface built into CUPS provides all you need to review and control printer status and queued jobs.

Edit: fixed remote printer URL.
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[MandM]