Named Devices (Printer) and VPN Tunnels

[owensit]

Hi

We have a DNS/print server at our HQ which monitors printing, etc.  All our sites currently have printers with fixed IPs.  This causes challenges as the printers move about from site to site.  At HQ we tried naming a printer, setting it to DHCP and setting DNS on the printer to the HQ DNS/print server.  This printer can now be added to any PC/laptop and anyone can print to it.

We have then tried to name a printer at a remote site and do the same.  All remote sites can see the DNS/print server.  However HQ cannot resolve the name printer at the remote site so cannot add it into the printers.   Is there anything we are missing here?   

Thank you

[icecream-guy]

only think I could think of is setting DHCP reservation for each printer at each site, and setup a queue for each.
that way when printer moved, it will get same IP at each site and have queue already assigned.


either that or don't move printers between sites.

[deanwebb]

Set your DNS so that it updates automatically from DHCP - does it have that capability?

[Dieselboy]

Setting static dns might turn off dynamic dns update.

I suggest you set the printer back to dhcp for dns as well and then re-test. Assuming you use Active Directory dns/dhcp. You might find that if the printer is moved often, that you end up with multuple dns entries for the same printer because the previous entries are not scavenged quickly enough. I cant offer much advice on that but it's to do with dhcp lease time and scavenging time / age. Scavenging is not turned on by default in Windows 2012 I found.