Question about Network Bridging and Printers

[beer]

Here is a problem that I have run into and which I cannot find a solution for. I have talked to just about everyone that is working on this project and they claim it can't be done. I really want this to succeed, so I'm going to ask the folks here if there is any help they can provide. I'm not really a networking guy, so I can't quite fill in all the holes, maybe you guys can. I will start with what we are trying to accomplish, what we want to do, and the problems with it working.

GOAL:
We are implementing a project that requires a completely freestanding system. It features a printer conencted to a laptop via parallel, and the laptop talks to the network via access points secured with PEAP.

The laptop runs terminal emulation software. When a job needs to be sent to the printer, the commands go from the laptop to the access point, from the access points to the router and over the WAN to the mainframe, and then the mainframe sends the print job back to the laptop. The laptop is configured such that any print job is forwarded to the local connection.

We want to install another printer on the cart. I can't figure out how to do so given our security requirements.

Proposed Solution:
The laptop has one parallel port, and using a switchbox is out of the question. The mainframe software in question can't address serial ports even though one of the printers has a DB9 connection.

We will purchase the other printer with built-in ethernet connectivity. We will leave the printer connected via parallel now untouched and will attach the second printer directly to the laptop via a crossover RJ45 cable.

PROBLEMS:
Ideally, the easiest solution would be to connect the second printer through it's own wireless connection, with one of the print server offerings by Lexmark. However, it doesn't meet the corporate security requirements, PEAP, so it cannot be done. Cisco would have to make a print server, since they are pushing PEAP, but they haven't, so any connection must be straight into the laptop. Not using PEAP and restricting access by MAC address has been ruled out by higher powers too.

The problem is that I need to make the second printer addressable from the WAN at large. The mainframe has to be able to resolve the IP address of the second printer. I have to be able to make the laptop act as a bridge between the overhead 802.11 access points and the printer tethered to the laptop by RJ45.

How can I configure this solution such that the printer IP address can be resolved from anywhere on the network, namely by the mainframe? The laptop is running Windows 2000.

I appreciate any and all help anyone can provide. I am also open to accepting that this may not be possible, but I think it has to be somehow....

 

[gutharius]

Perhaps getting a PCMCIA USB Card and a USB Compatible printer would be the best solution. Connect the PCMCIA card to the laptop and the printer to the USB card. And this also give you the ability to connect as many printers to the laptop as you would want up to usb spec of course.

 

[beer]

Originally posted by: gutharius
Perhaps getting a PCMCIA USB Card and a USB Compatible printer would be the best solution. Connect the PCMCIA card to the laptop and the printer to the USB card. And this also give you the ability to connect as many printers to the laptop as you would want up to usb spec of course.

Not possible. The mainframe can only print to IP addresses. Every setup to a local printer, such as what I described originally, is masking this difficulty, but the mainframe has no support for USB, Bluetooth, or even local connections directly. Remember, the print job isn't being sent from the laptop, its being sent from the mainframe a few states away.

 

[ToeJam13]

There are two options:

[*]Add a Parallel Port

Since your mainframe works with parallel printers, but your laptop has only one port, try adding an extra parallel port. Belkin makes a USB->Parallel adapter that works with Win95se/98/Me/2K/XP and should work for your setup. Belkin will milk you for only $70 for such a solution. Ask for Part# F5U002.

[*]Use Internet Connection Sharing

Windows 2000 comes with built-in support for IP masquerading. With this, you can make devices on one side of the laptop look like the laptop's own address on the other side.

You'll need to use either the onboard Ethernet port, or purchase a USB/PCMCIA adapter.

1) Select Start > Settings > Control Panel and double-click Network and Dial-up.
2) Right-click on an active WiFi connection and select the Sharing tab.
3) Verify that the Enable Internet Connection Sharing for this connection option is ENABLED. (If the option is unselected, check it and click OK.)
4) Click the Settings button and create a forwarder for your network printer's print port. It's usuallt going to be 515 (LPD), 631 (IPP), or 9100 (PDL). Check your printer's manual for more information.

 

[beer]

Originally posted by: ToeJam13
There are two options:

[*]Add a Parallel Port

Since your mainframe works with parallel printers, but your laptop has only one port, try adding an extra parallel port. Belkin makes a USB->Parallel adapter that works with Win95se/98/Me/2K/XP and should work for your setup. Belkin will milk you for only $70 for such a solution. Ask for Part# F5U002.

[*]Use Internet Connection Sharing

Windows 2000 comes with built-in support for IP masquerading. With this, you can make devices on one side of the laptop look like the laptop's own address on the other side.

You'll need to use either the onboard Ethernet port, or purchase a USB/PCMCIA adapter.

1) Select Start > Settings > Control Panel and double-click Network and Dial-up.
2) Right-click on an active WiFi connection and select the Sharing tab.
3) Verify that the Enable Internet Connection Sharing for this connection option is ENABLED. (If the option is unselected, check it and click OK.)
4) Click the Settings button and create a forwarder for your network printer's print port. It's usuallt going to be 515 (LPD), 631 (IPP), or 9100 (PDL). Check your printer's manual for more information.

Adding another parallel port won't work because the ToughBook right now is configured to forward any printer jobs sent to it to the parallel connection. Even if we had two parallel ports, it wouldn't work because the laptop wouldn't be able to discern print jobs - it wouldn't know which printer to forward them to.

Thanks, The ICS seems like it might work. I definitely didn't consider it, I'll play with it and get back to you. Thanks for the consideration!