I am on vacation this week and decided I wanted to figure out how to make my server (Ubuntu Server 13.04) a print server. I had installed CUPS, found a right-proper ppd for my HP Deskjet, adjusted and fiddled and googled all day long. I just couldn't get the damned thing to work. I could print from the server. The client machines could see and install the printer (three linux, one windows). The client machines couldn't print. I tried ipp, appsockets, samba, raw printing. No dice. After about 8hrs of frustration, I ran into a solution that worked. I install linux onto my router (dd-wrt). I followed a really nicely written but complicated instruction page and ssh'ed into my router, downloaded and installed print and usb drivers, connected the printer and *BAM*, I have a network printer that can be seen and used by everything but the windows machine. Since the windows machine (Win7) is my daughters machine, it's no really "biggie", but I'm still on vacation and I can probably try to get it working today. If not, no big loss. She can still copy what she wants printed to her usb thumb drive and print from either her moms or my linux machines.
If you ever want to play with your router, I would recommend you go to the dd-wrt forums and read everything you can. They have a couple of very long and overly complicated "READ ME FIRST" threads that may be dry reading, but very, very informative. They give you the idea that what you're getting ready to do is not for the faint of heart. I went into this knowing I had a very good chance of bricking my router. For me, it turned out well. I now have a lot more control over my router, I've been able to tweak both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz bands, and I can even download and install a torrent client if I so choose (I don't choose, I prefer to be able to control that from my personal desktop). They are currently using 2.6 linux kernels, with 3.x in development.
If you ever want to play with your router, I would recommend you go to the dd-wrt forums and read everything you can. They have a couple of very long and overly complicated "READ ME FIRST" threads that may be dry reading, but very, very informative. They give you the idea that what you're getting ready to do is not for the faint of heart. I went into this knowing I had a very good chance of bricking my router. For me, it turned out well. I now have a lot more control over my router, I've been able to tweak both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz bands, and I can even download and install a torrent client if I so choose (I don't choose, I prefer to be able to control that from my personal desktop). They are currently using 2.6 linux kernels, with 3.x in development.
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