Printer sites
About printer sites
You must add a site and activate it in order to print labels using EPP 10.x.
Printer sites and the EPP Bridge Application
When operating EPP 10.x on a VM in the cloud, you must add a printer site where the physical printers are located, and then use EPP's Bridge Application to activate the site, allowing EPP to remotely communicate with the printers. Refer to Enterprise Printing Platform 10.x Setup Guide (Windows version; Linux version) for the full process.
A printer can actually be local to any machine, whether that machine is geographically removed from your main organization or is the same machine you use to log on to the EPP VM. However, the EPP instance itself is "remote," so even if the printer is nearby, you must still install the Bridge Application.
The Bridge Application is installed on the machine that sees your printers locally; in other words, the machine must have an O/S print queue for non-monitored printing, or a network path to the IPv4 IP address.
You cannot delete an active site. If you want to delete a site, you must inactivate it first by stopping the Bridge Application service. When you delete the site, EPP removes all printers associated with that site.
Important:For best results, it is recommended that you install the bridge application in the same geographical area where your printers are located.
Printer sites and locations
A printer's site and a printer's location become associated with each other during printer setup. In EPP, the site contains the location. Assigning a site and location for each printer allows EPP to use these designations for actions such as filtering and sorting your printers in a search, or for media replenishment.
You can name both sites and locations in a manner that works best for your operation, but keep in mind that locations exist within the larger framework of a site. A single location name can be associated with multiple site names. And multiple location names can be associated with one site.
Example
Your organization's main office is in Austin. You need to print labels in a multi-story retail distribution center in Kansas City and in another center in St. Louis.
Your EPP 10.x instance runs in the cloud. You add two sites to EPP, one called KCSite and one called StLouisSite. You install the EPP Bridge Application twice - once in the Kansas City center and once in the St. Louis center. After you verify each of the sites is active in EPP, you see and set up in EPP all of the printers on which you want to print labels.
When setting up the printers, you add the following locations associated with KCSite - basement, first floor, and second floor.
Your center in St. Louis has basement printers, and so you can also choose the basement location for StLouisSite.
Add a printer site
In EPP, you add and activate a printer site as part of the application set up process.
To add a printer site, complete the following steps in EPP.
Important:For best results, it is recommended that you install the bridge application in the same geographical area where your printers are located.
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Go to Admin > Site Setup.
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Select Add.
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Enter a name for the printer site.
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Select Save and then Close.
Copy a printer site name
After a printer site has been added to EPP, you can copy the site name to reuse the settings for another site.
To copy a printer site name, complete the following steps in EPP.
Important:For best results, it is recommended that you install the bridge application in the same geographical area where your printers are located.
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Go to Admin > Site Setup.
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Select the site from the list.
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Select Copy.
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Select Save and then Close.
Delete a printer site
You can delete a printer site if the site is not active and not currently referenced by any printers.
To delete an inactive printer site, complete the following steps in EPP.
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Go to Admin > Site Setup.
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Select the site from the list.
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Select Delete.
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Select Yes.
Result: If the site is not active, the site is deleted. If the site is active or referred to by one or more printers, you are notified that the site will not be deleted.
Prepare to install the EPP Bridge Application
Preparing to install the Bridge Application at a remote site first requires completing steps in EPP and in the Microsoft Azure Marketplace VM on which EPP resides.
To prepare for the EPP Bridge Application installation, complete the following steps.
Important:For best results, it is recommended that you install the bridge application in the same geographical area where your printers are located.
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In EPP, go to Admin > Site Setup.
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Select Add.
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Enter a Name for the site.
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Select Save, and then Close.Expected ResultResult: The site has been added, but it is inactive.
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In the Azure VM's file system, go to
C:\Program Files\DSI\DSIPrint\remoteInstallerFiles, and then choose one of the following actions.-
If the Bridge Application will be installed on a Windows machine, copy the Windows folder.
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If the Bridge Application will be installed on a Linux machine, copy the Linux folder.
Step InformationNote:Both folders contain an installer executable file and a store.ks file. -
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Send the copied folder to the machine where you want to install the Bridge Application.
Postrequisite: Install the EPP Bridge Application on a Windows machine.
Install the EPP Bridge Application on a Windows machine
The Enterprise Printing Platform ™ Bridge Application allows EPP to communicate with remote printers.
Prerequisite: Prepare to install the EPP Bridge Application.
To install the EPP Bridge Application, complete the following steps on the remote Windows machine that sees the printers locally.
Important:For best results, it is recommended that you install the bridge application in the same geographical area where your printers are located.
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Go to the directory where you placed the Windows folder with the remote installer executable file and the store.ks file.
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Run the executable installation file.
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In the EPP Bridge Application wizard, ensure that Install a new instance of DSI EPP Bridge Application 10.x is enabled, and then select Next.
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Accept the license agreement, and then select Next.
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Accept the default destination directory or select a new one, and then select Next.
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On the Service Installation Options page, complete the following steps.
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For Service Name, keep the default name or enter a new one.
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Keep or disable Start the service automatically when the computer starts.
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Leave disabled or enable Use a special user account for running the service.
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Disable Start the service after the install completes.Step InformationNote:The name you enter here must exactly match the name you entered in EPP.
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For URL, enter the Azure VM server TCP/IP address from Web Server Settings in your EPP instance. In Web Server Settings, it's called Server TCP/IP Address. In the Azure VM, on the virtual machine overview screen, it's called the DNS name.
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For Port, enter the HTTPS port from Web Server Settings in your EPP instance.
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To finish the installation and exit the wizard, select Finish.
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In Windows Services, restart the Bridge Application service.
Postrequisite: Verify the site is active.
Install the EPP Bridge Application on a Linux machine
The Enterprise Printing Platform ™ Bridge Application allows EPP to communicate with remote printers.
Prerequisites:
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Install must be done as root.
To install the EPP Bridge Application, complete the following steps on the remote Linux machine that sees the printers locally.
Important:For best results, it is recommended that you install the bridge application in the same geographical area where your printers are located.
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Go to the directory where you placed the Linux folder with the remote installer executable file and the store.ks file.
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Give the installer script execute permissions.
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Execute the script.
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In the EPP Bridge Application wizard, ensure that Install a new instance of DSI EPP Bridge Application 10.x is enabled, and then select Next.
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Accept the license agreement, and then select Next.
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Accept the default destination directory or select a new one, and then select Next.
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On the Service Installation Options page, complete the following steps.
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For Service Name, keep the default name or enter a new one.
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Keep or disable Start the service automatically when the computer starts.
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Leave disabled or enable Use a special user account for running the service.
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Disable Start the service after the install completes.Step InformationNote:The name you enter here must exactly match the name you entered in EPP.
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For URL, enter the Azure VM server TCP/IP address from Web Server Settings in your EPP instance. In Web Server Settings, it's called Server TCP/IP Address. In the Azure VM, on the virtual machine overview screen, it's called the DNS name.
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For Port, enter the HTTPS port from Web Server Settings in
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To finish the installation and exit the wizard, select Finish.
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Start the eppRemoteSite process using /DSI/DSIBridgeApp/bin/startRemote.sh
Postrequisite: Verify the site is active.
Verify the site is active
After you have installed the EPP Bridge Application, verify in EPP that the remote site you added is active.
To verify the site is active, complete the following steps in EPP.
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Go to Admin > Site Setup.
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Under Site Setup, verify that the site you added in Prepare to install the EPP Bridge Application displays a green check mark in the Status column.
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Go to Admin > Printer Admin > Printer Setup.
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Select Add.
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For Site, select the site you added from the list.
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For Connection Type, select Local.
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In the System Printer list, you should see all printers known locally to the machine on which the Bridge Application is installed.
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