Virtualized Printing Spooler for Networked Device Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Installing and updating printing hardware in networked computing environments is complex and prone to conflicts and namespace issues due to the need for software and driver installations on individual devices.
Innovation Solution
Virtualized printing solutions, where a spooler and printer driver are associated with a virtual environment, allowing virtual applications to access and use printer resources without being installed on the device, using a native spooler aware of the virtual environment or a virtualized spooler within the namespace.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If printer drivers and software are installed on each individual computing device, then each device can access and use printer resources, but installation and updating becomes complex and prone to conflicts and namespace issues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a server as an intermediary between computing devices and printers. The server hosts virtualized printer drivers and software, mediating access between devices and printing resources. This eliminates the need to install printer software on each device, reducing installation complexity while maintaining accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates virtual copies of printer drivers and software on a centralized server. Instead of installing physical copies on each device, the server maintains virtualized versions that can be accessed by multiple devices simultaneously, simplifying deployment and updates.
2Reliability
If printer software is updated on each individual device, then each device receives the latest updates, but the update process becomes time-consuming and error-prone
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the software update process from multiple distributed devices into a single centralized location. Updates are applied once on the server where virtualized printer drivers reside, and all devices automatically receive the updates through the server, eliminating redundant update operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The server acts as an intermediary that manages software updates centrally. It receives, validates, and distributes updates to all connected devices, ensuring consistent and reliable updates without requiring manual intervention on each device.
3Reliability
If virtualized applications run in isolated containers, then namespace collisions and conflicts are prevented, but access to external printer resources becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The server acts as an intermediary that bridges the isolated virtualized application containers and external printer resources. It handles the complexity of resource access by managing virtualized printer drivers and translating between the isolated container environment and external hardware, maintaining both isolation and accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The server provides universal access to printer resources for multiple virtualized applications simultaneously. It implements a multi-functional interface that can service different virtualized environments while maintaining their isolation, simplifying resource access complexity through a unified management point.
Data Source
AI summary
Procedures for printing virtualized applications are discussed. In implementations, a spooler is associated with an established virtual environment including a virtualized application. The spooler may be associated by making a native spooler, installed on a computing system aware of the virtual environment. In other implementations, the spooler may be virtualized such as by including an instance of a spooler in the virtual environment. A printer driver may be virtualized for use in print virtual application output. Virtualizing printer drivers may allow virtual applications to access and use printer and/or software resources without installing the resource on the device.