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Print Server Appliance
Version 2.2
Easily manage your organization’s network
printing with the Canon Print Server Appliance.
The Canon Print Server Appliance (PSA) is a Windows®2003
turnkey server appliance designed to easily manage any
organization’s network printing. Not only does the PSA provide
the option to offload the print traffic from the main backbone of
the network, but it also makes print queue creation and driver
management incredibly simple. Once the PSA is plugged into
a network, it automatically discovers network print devices
and creates the appropriate print queues. Driver installation
becomes a breeze by allowing clients to download preconfig-
ured drivers to their desktop PC from the appliance’s Web
page through a single click. The new release of the PSA
is based on the Windows 2003 platform and contains helpful
features for any enterprise IT Manager such as basic click
counts, factory reset, automatic failover, import print share,
and many more.
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Reduce Your Total Cost of Ownership
Most enterprise Information Technology (IT) groups rely on
general purpose servers for their printing needs. General
purpose servers have a higher Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
than the Canon Print Server Appliance (PSA). TCO refers to the
cost of capital expenditure plus the operating expense for a
product over a given period of time.
The Canon PSA has a much lower TCO since it requires less
time to manage, virtually eliminating printer-related calls to
the IT help desk and reducing the amount of time required for
new installations. Based on our research, over a five-year
period the Canon PSA’s TCO is approximately half that of a
general purpose server because the PSA is easier to maintain.
For a new installation, an IT Manager using a general purpose
server must set up the server by manually installing each
printer driver, creating a port and a print queue, entering
a location, and configuring it for each client supported
operating system.
All these steps must be repeated for every print device in
the enterprise. Following the print queue configuration,
the IT Manager must figure out a way to distribute the
drivers to clients’ computers. These additional steps
significantly increase the time to set up the printing
environment in an enterprise.
With the Canon PSA, the IT Manager simply plugs the
appliance into the network. The PSA then discovers all the
print devices and automatically publishes the shares for
®
Canon imageRUNNER
systems. Once published, clients can
download the desired print share from an easy-to-use
intranet Web page with a single click. Based on internal cost
estimates, the Canon PSA may save days in deployment time
for the IT Manager and thousands of dollars for the
company.
Auto Appliance Setup
Simply plug the PSA into your
server rack. Setup is automatic so it’s ready to use.
Standard Configuration
Auto Discovery/Print Share Management for IT Managers
1U
The PSA will discover all print devices on
your network and automatically create the
print queues. For most Canon imageRUNNER
devices, the PSA will even detect the device
configuration and automatically enable the
appropriate finishing features on that printer
prior to download to client computers. The
easy-to-use Web interface provides “ready
access” to all clients, as well as IT staff.
Client 1
Canon Print Server Appliance
IT Manager
Client 2
Single-Click Driver Download for Clients
NIC1
Public
Intranet
Client n
imageRUNNER
Third-Party Printer
Fax
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Highlights
Auto Appliance Setup
Simply plug the PSA into your network. That’s it—setup
is automatically done and the device is ready for use.
Auto Printer Queue Creation and Sharing
The PSA automatically discovers network printing devices, creates associated print shares, and then makes them available to
end-users within an enterprise by publishing them to an
intranet Web page. Furthermore, the PSA provides automatic
detection of all finishing options for Canon devices.
Single-Click Driver Download
Client users can easily download their preconfigured
driver with one simple click. The IT manager simply enables
the available drivers for download from the PSA’s intranet
Web page.
Support for Non-Canon Printers
Though the Canon PSA comes preloaded with imageRUNNER
drivers, that doesn’t mean its benefits are limited only to Canon
devices.
print manufacturers. The
printer supporting the standard printer
IT Managers can easily upload drivers for other
PSA will automatically recognize any
MIB during discovery.
Basic Click Count
The PSA reports basic click count usage on a per device
basis. For each device (Canon or third-party), the PSA
reports the total click counts (copies and prints) within a
specified period as well as on a monthly basis. This report
is available for download to a .csv file or via e-mail.
Based on Microsoft®Standards
By incorporating a Windows 2003 server as its internal
operating system, the PSA ensures users of true
Windows printing. Additionally, customers who have
standardized Microsoft networking products are assured
easy integration and ongoing support.
Import Print Shares and Drivers
IT Managers can easily import print shares and drivers
from existing general purpose servers to the PSA, thus
saving them plenty of time during the initial setup phase.
Automatic Failover (N + 1 Redundancy)
In order to ensure that clients are always able to print,
the PSA has an N + 1 Redundancy scheme. In an environment where many PSAs are used, one PSA can be
Private LAN Configuration
Auto Discovery/Print Share Management for IT Managers
Clients can install their driver
by simply clicking on the
appropriate printer share
from the PSA’s Web page.
IT Manager
Client 1
Canon Print Server Appliance
NIC1
Public
Intranet
Client 2
Client n
NIC2
imageRUNNER
Private
Intranet
Third-Party Printer
Fax
Single-Click Driver Download for Clients
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designated as the failover unit. The failover unit will
automatically monitor the health of the other PSA
units. Should a PSA become inactive, the failover unit will
assume the identity of the other unit, without requiring
any intervention from the IT Manager. Having automatic
failover capability averts a crisis by allowing the IT
Manager to address the situation at their convenience.
Fleet Manager
Fleet Manager is a separate software utility bundled
with the PSA designed to give the IT Manager the
capability to manage all the PSAs within the enterprise
from one console. Fleet Manager lets the IT Manager
configure and clone multiple PSAs across the enterprise. For example, with Fleet Manager, the IT Manager
only needs to download a driver once for a specific
device that’s not a Canon device, and push the driver
out to all PSAs that have the same device. In this example, Fleet Manager reduces the time it will take the
IT Manager to manually download the driver for
every PSA in the enterprise.
Auto Update
The Canon PSA will always be up-to-date with the
latest system software releases through the automatic
update function. The PSA monitors a dedicated Canon
software portal. When it discovers a new release, the
appliance automatically downloads and records it in the
events log. The IT Manager can set the appliance for
manual updates if desired. Updates are available for
one year at no additional cost and can be extended for
up to three years through an optional maintenance
agreement.
Device Alerting
In addition to having self reporting and alerting capabilities, the PSA also reports the status of devices within
its discovered device list. For example, the PSA provides
the following alerts per device: key operator, supplies
related error conditions, and break/fix dispatch.
Custom Community Strings
The PSA supports the use of custom SNMP community
strings within an enterprise, in addition to supporting
the default string, “public.” The use of additional SNMP
custom community strings increases network security
for enterprises.
Factory Reset
This feature allows the IT Manager to go to a physical
PSA unit and, through a series of special key
sequences, restore the unit back to the original software shipped from the factory. Factory Reset saves the
IT Manager the time and effort required to restore a
PSA unit to proper functionality, without the delay of
shipping the appliance to a repair center.
Anti-Virus Protection
Canon recognizes that security is a key aspect of any
software-based product. Therefore, the PSA allows the
IT Manager to install their corporate edition of any standard anti-virus software on the PSA. IT Managers can
easily standardize the anti-virus platform of the
PSA with the rest of the computers and servers in
the enterprise.
Convenient Device Management
IT Managers can easily access and configure the
appliance settings through the administrator’s view
on the
PSA’s intranet Web page. Additionally, the IT
Manager can also view the network printing devices and
drill down to modify the settings as needed. The page can
be accessed from anywhere on the corporate network.
Easy Access to Additional ESP-Based Applications
Because the PSA is based on Canon’s Enterprise
Services Platform (ESP), customers can easily take
advantage of follow-up applications that Canon will
be launching under the ESP umbrella.
Audience
IT Managers who utilize network printing
will benefit from the Canon Print Server
Appliance’s ability to optimally manage
those printing
resources and increase
overall efficiency.
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Specifications
Operating System Windows 2003 SAK 3.0 Version
Additional Services Automatic device discovery, automatic print queue creation and share, Web-based device
management, Web-based preconfigured driver download for clients, Web-based update
services via dedicated software portal, customizable alerts/event logs
Form Factor 1U Rack-mount appliance with front panel
CPU 1.2GHz Intel®Celeron
®
Hard Drive 40GB
Memory 512MB RAM
Network Interface Two (2) 10/100Base-TX Ethernet Connections
User-interface Web-based through browser (Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or later)
Front-panel display and key input
Discovery Method SNMP (broadcast or ping, configurable)
Discovers imageRUNNER and standard printer MIB device
Preloaded Drivers Canon imageRUNNER drivers preloaded. Other device drivers can be added via print
server management tab.
Updates Configurable for manual or automated updates from software portal
Alerts Send alerts to designated recipients for specified services and events
Events Log Log of all pertinent events and services running on PSA
Number of Print Devices Supported No limit. Approximately 100 are recommended based on enterprise network topology
and configuration.
Client S/W Requirements* Windows 98/Me/2000/XP/Windows NT®4.0, Windows Internet Explorer 6.0**
Dimensions (H x W x D)
Weight
1.72" x 19" x 19.5" (4.4cm x 48cm x 50cm)
18 lb. (8.16kg)
Power Requirements 250W; 90 ~ 250V, 47- 63Hz
Support One-year hardware exchange included; Two- and three-year extended support agreements available
*The Canon PSA’s administration functions are not accessible from Windows 98/Me.
**May also work with higher versions of Windows Internet Explorer.
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The Canon Enterprise Services Platform (ESP)
represents a family of products and services
designed to dramatically improve the way an
organization manages and utilizes its network
printing. As a market leader in connecting
multifunction devices to enterprise environments, Canon fully understands the importance of not only seamlessly linking those
environments, but actually integrating into
them and taking advantage of any existing
applications.
For more information, please visit
www.cusa.canon.com/psa
ESP is based on a modular open systems
technology developed by Canon. This system
is highly scalable and can grow along with
the enterprise. It was designed in such a way
that both hardware and software components
can plug into the underlying architecture.
Once the core technology is placed into an
organization—as in the case of the Canon
Print Server Appliance—additional ESP-based
software applications can easily be added.
Each of these software applications can provide valuable, time-saving benefits.
Microsoft, Windows, and Windows NT are registered trademarks of Microsoft
Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Intel and Celeron
are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation. CANON and IMAGERUNNER are
registered trademarks of Canon Inc. in the United States and may also be
registered trademarks or trademarks in other countries. IMAGEANYWARE is a
trademark of Canon. Allreferenced product names and other marks are trademarks
of their respective owners.
Specifications subject to change without notice.
©2005 Canon U.S.A., Inc. All rights reserved.
0058W122
1205-PSAv2.2-5M-CLV
printed on recycled
E
paper in the u.s.a.
1-800-OK-CANON
www.usa.canon.com
Canon U.S.A., Inc.
One Canon Plaza
Lake Success, NY 11042
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