Date Last Reviewed:
09/25/2008
The Printer Agent Setup Request form will require specific pieces of information. This information must be accurate for the agent to be set up properly. If (after reading these instructions), you have any further questions, please contact your LAN Administrator or the ITS Helpdesk at 815-753-8100.
Printer agents cannot be set up until the printer is on site and connected to the NIU network via a live network connection. If there is not a suitable live network connection in place already, please submit a work order to request a new network connection before proceeding. Once a connection has been installed, connect the printer and proceed with processing the form.
The Hardware (MAC) addresses is usually on the printer test page. Addresses are composed of twelve hexadecimal digits (hexadecimal digits are the digits "0" through "9" and the letters"a" through "f"). They are often formatted with dashes ("-") or colons (":") separating pairs of digits (example: "0a-56-f7-2b-01-8c" or "0a:56:f7:2b:01:8c"). These formatting marks are not required.
If your printer is manufactured by Hewlett Packard (HP), information regarding printing a test configuration page is available from the HP website.
For further assistance regarding printers from other manufacturers, please consult the printer's documentation or manufacturer's website.
The manufacturer and model for a printer is usually displayed on the printer itself. It may also be displayed on the placard where the printer's serial number is displayed or on the printer test or configuration page.
This information should be as complete as possible and will usually be composed of two parts:
If the printer is not manufactured by Hewlett-Packard (HP), expect delays for additional preparation work.
Canon printers may require different processing. Before proceeding contact ITS Document Services by email: itsdocuments@niu.edu or phone 815-753-1692.
The Subnet is the portion of the network where the printer will reside. In most cases, it will be the same portion of the network as the computers located near the printer. Provide the subnet for the computer connected to a network jack closest to where the printer is installed.
If this is a Windows XP/2000 system, perform the following steps in order to find the subnet:
If you experience difficulties locating this information, contact your primary support technician or the ITS Helpdesk at 815-753-8100.
In most cases, the printer agent will reside in the same network container as the primary users of the printer. The context for the primary user is probably the context that the printer agent will require (unless the LAN Admin has reason to process the printer differently). Students and student employees are automatically stored in a separate network container than employees. Therefore, do not use the context for students or student employees when determining printer agent context.
To find the context for a primary user:
Take a small sampling of the primary users for the printer. If the samples all result in the same context, then it is usually the same for the printer agent. If sampling results vary, contact your LAN Administrator or the ITS Helpdesk at 815-753-8100 for further assistance.