The setup described previously was for the common case where the PaperCut application is installed
on a single server. The secondary server, as explained in Chapter 15, Configuring Secondary Print Servers and Locally Attached Printers, is
responsible for managing the contents of the print jobs printed via a server other than the primary server. If
Print Archiving is enabled, the secondary server must also participate and facilitate archiving.
In larger print environments it is common to have multiple PaperCut secondary servers located on
various machines across the network. In this case Print Archiving can still be used, however this is an
advanced setup procedure and will require additional planning and implementation time.
To support the central tracking and viewing of print archives, all spool files need to be transferred across
to the primary application server's central archive directory. Each secondary server needs to be correctly
configured with write access to this central archive directory. This will require running the
PaperCut Print Provider service under an account with write access to this
directory.
One consequence of this approach, designed to simplify the management of archives, is that it increases
bandwidth requirements because all print archives are transferred across the network to the application
server. The impact of this will depend on your specific environment, e.g. number of print jobs, network setup,
PDL used, etc. As such you may need to monitor and experiment before a large scale deployment of this feature.
The process to set up a secondary server under Print Archiving involves four key phases. Before undertaking
this process you should ensure that the secondary print server is operating correctly for standard print
tracking. The following section documents configuring secondary servers on the Windows operating system.
Phase 1: Creating domain service account
By default the PaperCut Print Provider service running on the secondary
server(s) operates under a limited rights account called SYSTEM. This account does not have access to
network resources and hence can't access the file system on the primary PaperCut server. You'll
need to create a new service account and set the service to Log On as this account:
Create a new domain account with access to the share on the primary server and full management rights
of print spooler on the local machine. An appropriate name may be
svc-papercut.
Set the new account's password to never expire.
Phase 2: Sharing the central archive directory
The secondary server needs the ability to copy print jobs into the central archive. You must first share the
central archive folder. On Windows, assuming the archive directory is the default, the procedure would be:
Open Explorer and navigate to [app-path]/server/data/.
Right-click on the archive directory and select
→ .
Share the directory with a name print-archive.
Ensure the service account created in Phase 1 has full read/write access.
Ensure all other non-Administrator users do not have any access.
Click OK.
Phase 3: Change the configured archive path on the secondary server
The secondary server needs to know the location of the recently shared central archive directory.
To set this location:
Log on to the secondary print server as an administrator.
Open Notepad (or your preferred text editor) with Administrator rights.
Open the file located at[app-path]/providers/print/win/print-provider.conf.
Locate the line:
ArchiveDir=
and change the value to point to the UNC share name set up in Phase 2.For example:
ArchiveDir=\\my-primary-server\print-archive
Note: If you have upgraded from a previous version you will need to add the
ArchiveDir=option to theprint-provider.conf.
Save the file.
Phase 4: Assigning rights to the service account
The PaperCut Print Provider service (service responsible for monitoring the
print queues and transferring print job spool files to the central archive) needs to be able to access the
directory shared in Phase 3. Assign the service account set up in Phase 1 to the
PaperCut Print Provider service as follows:
Open
→ →
Double-click on the PaperCut Print Provider service.
Select the Log On tab.
Click This account.
Enter the username and password for the service account set up in Phase 1.
Click OK.
Restart the service and manually check the file
[app-path]/providers/print/print-provider.log for any error messages at end.
Take some time now to perform some testing and ensure any jobs printed on a print queue on this secondary
server are correctly archived.
Important
Archived files are partitioned based on the date and time of the print job. In order for the print
archives to appear in a consistent manner it is important that all secondary print servers share a common
time synchronization. An inconsistent time between servers of more than one hour may cause an error.
Troubleshooting Secondary Server Setup
Here is a list of common issues leading to problems with Print Archiving and secondary server setups:
Incorrect paths: It's important that all secondary servers are configured to point to the shared
central archive directory. Double-check the value entered in ArchiveDir. See
the section called “Phase 2: Changing Print Provider Configuration:”.
System Services can't access user mapped drives. On Windows it's important that you use a UNC path
rather than a mapped drive letter.
You'll need to ensure that all secondary servers have full write access to the central archive. Take
time to double-check permissions.
