Virtual LPT Port for an IP Address

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elguapo

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 6, 2004
Messages
317
Alright, I have this problem sharing printers. I'm on a school (college) network and they somehow block every concievable port they can find and have disabled standard windows file and printer sharing, even when just within the same room/floor/subnet. I have ways around the file sharing problems, but what I need is a way to share the printer without buying a printserver.

I have 1 desktop running Win2k, a laptop with Xp and a sever with Server 2k3. Is there a program that would let me map or redirect an ip address to an LPT port? I have additional NICs that I can toss in the server if I need too, though most people know that windows can hold several IP's at the same time. Other than that, Thanks for the help!
 
I think a post like this might be walking the line of trying to get past limitations on a private network you don't own, so I will try not to take it down that path.

If you are in a dorm you should think about just getting a small hub or switch (if that is legal at your school) and then running your own personal network in which you could just have one of the computers share the printer using normal old Windows sharing. Other than that...plug the USB cable in whenever you need to print from that box? You probably have quite a few options. Another would be to set up a small FTP server to just transfer the files to your one computer that can print and print from that machine.
 
well thats kinda the problem though, the plain old windows file sharing is blocked. You are correct in that i could circumvent this by setting up my own private network, with a router or whatever, but this would create problems accessing the school's netware server for programs and whatnot.

there is nothing illegal, nor even remotely questionable. it is perfectly legal to own a print server and connect to it to this network with my printer and other computers. I wish to avoid haing to purchase a printserver, and use the same principle by using a computer as a printserver instead. I just need a way to get windows sharing off of the port it is set on default.

thanks for the help though!
 
Its their network, they set the rules, and attempting to "move" anything from one port to another IS attempting to bypass whatever restrictions they have set on THEIR network.

Have you even talked to the IT admins there to see what help they can offer? :rolleyes:
 
SJConsultant said:
Its their network, they set the rules, and attempting to "move" anything from one port to another IS attempting to bypass whatever restrictions they have set on THEIR network.
Click to expand...

I agree that attempting to violate their rules is a bad idea, but I don't think that's the case here. He has told us that having a print server is allowed on the network, he just wants to know how to use Windows to set up an IP based printing service, something I think most people would view as legitamite.

I agree though, check with your admins, they may be able to help you out.
 
Deadlierchair said:
I agree that attempting to violate their rules is a bad idea, but I don't think that's the case here. He has told us that having a print server is allowed on the network, he just wants to know how to use Windows to set up an IP based printing service, something I think most people would view as legitamite.

I agree though, check with your admins, they may be able to help you out.
Click to expand...

We can go back and forth all day about the merits of what he wants to accomplish, but if the college doesn't allow the necessary ports for file/print sharing via Windows then they must have a reason for doing so and bypassing such restrictions is against their rules period.

Print servers are not that expensive anymore, he can get a cheap Netgear for $55.

However he still needs to check with the admins since any print server will require an IP address.
 
i guess that the point that i am trying to make is that it seems like they blocked the windows file/printersharing port, and the primary function was to get rid of the filesharing: printersharing was a side effect. the purpose was to remove bandwidth usage that is typiclly associated with lan windows filesharing. i made a mistake earlier when i said that all ports are bocked. locally, only port 20,21,22,80, 8080 and the windows file/printer sharing ports are blocked locally. almost all ports are blocked from the outside. my point here is that they do not explicitly block some of the ports used for printer sharing in printservers.

anf finally, yes i know that i can set up a private network and share the printer that way, but thats not really what i want to accomplish. i want to be able to print from anywhere on campus and have it sent to my room. this is another problem with the default m$ sharing. it is only avalible locally, in one subnet. with an ip address, it can be much more expansive.

and yeah a talk with the admins is in the works

thanks guys
 
elguapo said:
anf finally, yes i know that i can set up a private network and share the printer that way, but thats not really what i want to accomplish. i want to be able to print from anywhere on campus and have it sent to my room. this is another problem with the default m$ sharing. it is only avalible locally, in one subnet. with an ip address, it can be much more expansive.

and yeah a talk with the admins is in the works

thanks guys
Click to expand...

Most likely they don't block print servers because they (college) use them in their network.

Your wrong about file/print sharing on Windows systems, as long as your using TCP/IP it can be routed over multiple subnets. Whether the college your at allows it is a whole different story.
 
well i know for a fact that they keep port 6100 open locally for all the hp jet direct printers, and thas the port that i intend on using if i can find somehting to do this for me.
 
Has anyone clicked the warning button and asked a mod if this is a foul question?


I did, when i recieven the answer (they will probably lock or say its ok in the thread) I will post my answer, not until then or ever if they say no.
 
I don't view this as going around the network's policies because he's not trying to do someting that they've prohibited, which is prevent windows filesharing, probably via CIFS/SMB and Netbeui. You still have the ability to print to your room from any computer if you map via the IP address. Where you're going to run into roadblocks is with local permissions on any workstation the school owns that you don't have admin access to in that you will still need to have the printer (and its drivers) added to the workstations to be able to print to your specific printer. And another issue that you're going to be facing is that your local accounts on yoru machine won't be the same as the schools. So unless you're found a way to add user account on the schools workstations that have the same name and password as local accounts on your machines, you'll need to enable the guest account, which is a HUGE risk to system integrity.
 
Thanks for the input:

First of all, my school issues (leases) laptops to all students, and therefore, there are relatively few terminals. Most of the classrooms are wired or wireless. All I really want to be able to do is print (from my laptop which I have compleye control over) from any of those classrooms to my dorm room.
 
If you want to print from your laptop to your computer in your room, try a VPN as long as the two computer are connected, you can do this. If they are not allowing netbios traffic to move around, Look into openVPN, it runs over one port and its changeable and runs over many oses and NAT (a server behind nat will require a port to befowarded) The only thing is that you'll need to know your computer's address
 
There are so many things you could do but it sounds to me like you need to think about setting up a private network in your room with a router...

If you configure the router properly (i'm not sure if the SOHO routers have all the neccessary configuration to do it or not) you should be able to access anything on the college backbone with no problem... Your router will need one IP address which you either know (has been assigned to you and you have it configured on your computer) or is assigned by DHCP.

What the router does basically is this:
1. Any request to a computer that is on the private network (SOHO routers use the class C address 192.168.1.0 with a default subnet mask of 255.255.255.0) it simply keeps the packets on that network.
2. If there is a request for communication with a computer outside of your personal network the router will send that data out of it's WAN port (which has been assigned an IP address on the backbone) and the packet is then sent out of that interface and will then reach the destination machine in the normal fassion.

I'm sorry if that doesn't sound too clear, this stuff is a bit new to me (taking a Cisco networking course right now). I see no reason why that wouldn't allow you to do exactly what you need to do and also I can't see why there would be any problem with it.

I know at my college a ton of people even have Wireless Access Point Routers and there hasn't been a problem with that. If you want to play things safe you'd better ask your IT department if you are allowed to do this.
 
setup a printer behind a router in your room, forward ports and what not to shared printer. then when you want to print, point it to your ip address that is your router, which then forward it to the computer that the printer is shared on
 
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