Windows Tip Sheet
Print...Er...Mismanagement
The new Print Management MMC snap-in is free, but not really.
You're probably aware that Win2003 R2 introduced this hot new Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in called Print Management, which is designed to let you manage print servers more effectively.
Some confusion arose when the tool was made available for general download (see the URL below) as part of the Win2003 R2 Admin Tools. Folks began to think that you could run the console against any Win2003 server -- why buy R2?
Sadly, it ain't so. The console needs to target a server running R2 in order to work. In fact, all the new features of R2 are, as you might suspect, only available in R2. In other words, there are server-side elements that make the Print Management console work, and those elements don't exist on machines prior to R2. So pony up and upgrade -- Uncle Bill needs a new house.
Oh, and if you noticed that the Print Management console doesn't populate the Drivers node -- yeah, Microsoft knows. Oops.
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About the Author
Don Jones is a multiple-year recipient of Microsoft’s MVP Award, and is Curriculum Director for IT Pro Content for video training company Pluralsight. Don is also a co-founder and President of PowerShell.org, a community dedicated to Microsoft’s Windows PowerShell technology. Don has more than two decades of experience in the IT industry, and specializes in the Microsoft business technology platform. He’s the author of more than 50 technology books, an accomplished IT journalist, and a sought-after speaker and instructor at conferences worldwide. Reach Don on Twitter at @concentratedDon, or on Facebook at Facebook.com/ConcentratedDon.