Member Avatar for gn0m3

Hi folks,

Have just finished setting up a linux box running SuSe v10. I managed to configure SQL, PHP and Apache with no problems but cant get the printing to work the way i want/need to. I want to print to a printer which is installed on a Windows box, i see from some articles the way to do this is to use the SMB protocol, however for that it needs a username and password and my sys admin doesnt want to give me more permissions so i need another way!

My question is - can i print to a windows shared printer from SuSe without using SMB??

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Dani AI

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Short answer: printing to a Windows-shared printer from SuSE normally uses the SMB (Samba) backend under CUPS, or else a protocol the printer itself supports (socket/JetDirect, IPP, LPD). That is why was able to succeed via YaST even though the Printing Manager looked like it would require credentials. As noted, a printer with its own network interface can be addressed without SMB, and 's CUPS pointer is the right high-level direction.

A concise checklist and useful commands for SuSE 10 setups:

  • CUPS plus Samba client utilities should be present on the machine.
  • Add the printer in YaST (Hardware -> Printers) or via the CUPS web UI; use an appropriate device URI.
  • Guest access to a Windows share can be verified and shares enumerated.

Example device URIs:

smb://WINDOWS_HOST/PrinterShare
socket://192.168.1.45        # raw JetDirect on port 9100
ipp://printer-host/ipp/print
lpd://windows-host/printer

Quick diagnostic commands:

smbclient -L //WINDOWS_HOST -N         # list shares (test guest access)
lpstat -p                             # list CUPS queues
lp -d PrinterName testfile.pdf        # send a test job
tail -f /var/log/cups/error_log       # follow CUPS log for errors

Why YaST worked without auth: the Windows share likely allowed anonymous/Everyone printing, so the smb backend did not need credentials. If authentication becomes required later, options include: request the admin to permit guest/Everyone access for that share; enable an alternate printing protocol on the printer or Windows host (LPD/IPP/JetDirect) so CUPS can connect without SMB; or supply credentials to the CUPS/YaST setup (avoid embedding passwords in URIs whenever possible).

Additional practical notes: enable debug logging in CUPS for detailed errors, check firewall rules for SMB (139/445), LPD (515) and JetDirect (9100), and be mindful of driver mismatches—using a PostScript/IPP-capable driver on the client or a raw queue on the Windows side often avoids Windows-only driver problems.

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Member Avatar for xlulux

If there is a network printer available purely through the network and not shared out through a computer then there is a possibility, otherwise i see no easy way of doing what you need to, unless you can write up the document on your computer, email it to yourself, and print from the windows computer.

Member Avatar for jbennet

Cups?

Member Avatar for gn0m3

Thanks for the advice guys. Got it working using SMB after all. Instead of adding the printer through the Printing Manager under utilities, i added it via Yast under the Hardware --> Printers setting and it worked without authentication!

once again, thanks for the reply's

gn0m3

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