Understanding Printer Agents
Before a printer can be incorporated into a NDPS printing environment,
it must be represented by a Printer Agent. No Printer Agent can represent more
than one printer, however, a printer can be represented by multiple printer
agents.
The Printer Agent lies at the heart of NDPS, combining the functions previously performed by a printer, print queue, print server, and spooler into one intelligent and simplified entity.
The Printer Agent can be any of the following:
- A software entity running on a server that represents a printer attached to a server or workstation.
- A software entity running on a server that represents a network-attached printer.
- An entity embedded within a network-attached printer.
A Printer Agent provides the following services:
- It manages the processing of print jobs and many operations performed by the printer itself.
- It answers queries from network clients about a print job or document, or about the attributes of the printer.
- It generates event notification so that interested parties can be notified of job completion, printing problems, errors, or changes in the status of a print job, document, or printer.
For information about other major NDPS components, see the following:
