Managing Caching

By setting up caching, end users are able to download printer drivers, printer profiles and Printer Installer Client updates from locations other than the Printer Installer web server, allowing customers with many thousands of end users spread across hundreds of sites, connected with slow WAN links, to quickly download and install printers or client updates without overloading WAN connections.

There are two parts to the cache feature.

• Cache Manager

  Specify the cache manger in the Tools > Settings > General page. The cache manager can be any computer on your network with the Printer Installer Client installed.

• Cache location

  The cache location value (UNC path to a share) is set on an IP Address Range object's General tab and only applies to members of that IP address object.

What files are included in the cache:

• Printer drivers
• Printer profiles
• Printer Installer Client updates and install files

How it works.

Once a computer is designated as the cache manager (most often it is the computer hosting the Printer Installer web server) it will copy the cache files to it's local file system, then copy the cache to all of the cache locations specified in all of the IP Address Range objects.   When end users make a request to the Printer Installer web server for a file that is in the cache, the web server will redirect the client to the cache location specified in the IP Address range object the client is a member of.  The client will then obtain the file from the cache location.

How to setup caching

To setup caching do the following:

1. Log in to the Administrator.
2. Select Tools > Settings > General.
3. In the Caching section, Cache Manager field, enter a computer name and click OK.
4. Click Save.
5. Log in to the specified cache manager and right click the Printer Installer system tray, and then click Refresh.

The computer will now behave as a cache manager.  To specify locations for the cache manager to copy files to, do the following:

1. Create a share on a file server.
2. Assign modify security permissions to enable the cache manager to copy files to the share.
   Right click the folder being shared and select properties, and then click on the Security tab, click edit, and then click add. Select the Object Types button and enable Computers, and then click OK. Enter the cache manager computer name followed by a $ (computer$), and then click OK. Click the Modify permission and click OK.
3. Assign read security permissions to enable end user computer objects to access files in the cache location by right clicking the folder being shared and select properties, clicking on the Security tab, click edit, and then click add. Enter "Everyone", and then click OK. Click the Read permission and click OK.
4. In the Printer Installer Administrator browse the tree and select an IP Address Range object.
5. Select the General tab.
6. Specify a cache location.  Example:  \\Server1\Share1
7. Click Save.

FAQ's

Question: 
Does the cache manager log errors to a log file?

Answer: 
Yes. C:\Program Files (x86)\Printer Properties Pro\Printer Installer Client\PrinterInstallerCacheManager.log

Question: 
Does the cache manager distribute the files to the cache locations at the same time or does it process each cache location one at a time?
Answer: 
The cache locations that have the "Synchronize data files to the specified cache location" option enabled all get updated simultaneously by the cache manager.

Question:
Does the cache manager copy all cache files to the cache locations as soon as they are created in Printer Installer Administrator?
Answer:
Yes. As long as the IP Address Range's "Synchronize data files to the specified cache location" option is enabled.

Question:
Does the cache manager copy the cache files to a local folder before copying them to the cache locations?
Answer: 
Yes, the files are copied to the cache manager's "C:\Program Files (x86)\Printer Properties Pro\Printer Installer Client\cache" folder before being distributed to the cache locations.

Question:
What files are copied to the cache locations?
Answer:

• Driver files
• Driver profile files
• PrinterInstallerClient.msi
• PrinterInstallerClientUpdater.exe (program that updates the client)

Question:
What if a printer file has not been copied to the cache location and a user tries to install the printer.
Answer: 
If the needed file is not found in the cache location the user will be shown an error stating that the printer could not be installed.