Setup

CUPS is a standards-based open-source printing system for Unix-like operating systems. You can read more about CUPS at its Wikipdia page. The Arch Wiki also has a good article about it.

Installation

To setup a CUPS server, it is necessary to create a VM server. Follow the instructions found in the QEMU pages of these docs to create a VM server. It should be on the 1600 VLAN with DHCP and DNS configured.

You should run the Ansible play cups.yml to create the base VM config, install the CUPS server, and install appropriate drivers.

Configuration on VM

After accessing the VM over SSH, you should add any users you wish to allow to administer the CUPS server to the lpadmin group with usermod -aG lpadmin <USERNAME> (as root).

You should edit the CUPS conf(/etc/cups/cupsd.conf) to allow access to the CUPS remote administration website for Sysadmin VPN IPs. This can be done by adding Allow from <IP ADDRESS> directives underneath <Location /> and <Location /admin>.

You should also add Listen <ADDRESS> directives near the top of cupsd.conf to specify where the CUPS server should listen. In general, the CUPS server should listen on port 631.

You must always restart the CUPS server after editing cupsd.conf. You can restart the server with systemctl restart cups.

Web Configuration

To access the web interface, you should head over to the address of your CUPS server (with :631 specified at the end). Once you reach the web interface, you should see a screen similar to the one below.

Click on the Administration tab at the top to view the main administrative interface. Most administrative actions can be performed here. On the screen, you can see various buttons and their functions are self-explanatory.

Add Printer

To add a printer through the web interface, you should click on the Add Printer button.

You will most likely get prompted for your credentials. Enter either your root credentials or the credentials of any user in the lpadmin group. You will then proceed through a series of prompts that will ask for information about the printer.

• Under network printers, most likely you will select App Socket/HP Jet Direct. You should obtain this information from the printer manual.

• An example URI is socket://printer202.csl.tjhsst.edu:9100. You should obtain this information from the manual.

  • Note: The printers should be on the workstation VLAN and connected to a port configured for that VLAN.

• For name, fill in a descriptive name for the printer.

• For description, fill in a description of the printer.

• For location, fill in the location of the printer.

• You should generally allow connection sharing.

• For Manufacturer and Model, select the appropriate ones for your printer.

Once your printer has been added, select the drop down menu and click Print Test Page to test if your connection is working. Repeat these steps for any other printers.