The FreeBSD Diary

Well I am no article writer, but I decided to write down the steps I took to setup up a usb printer (HP DeskJet 640C) to a FreeBSD Server, and to be able to print from another FreeBSD workstation running KDE or Windows 2k/XP workstation from within my LAN. At first I tried an apsfilter/LPRng combo, but couldn't get past the test page. So I turned to CUPS. Their online manual, seemed pretty complete, so if you run into any problems, check out the manual first. I am going to assume Samba is installed and working.

1. Build a new kernel with usb/printer support on both server and workstation. Note: GENERIC kernel config files should already have these options.

       # USB Stuff
       device          usb
       device          uhci
       device          ulpt

   Note: To determine whether you need device uhci or device ohci try checking dmesg:

       hivemind# dmesg | grep uhub
       uhub0: Intel UHCI root hub, class 9/0, rev 1.00/1.00, addr 1

2. Edit /etc/rc.conf and add if its not already there ->

       usbd_enable="YES"

   Make sure the device node ulpt0 exists under /dev. If not, create it.

       cd /dev && ./MAKEDEV ulpt0

3. Reboot for the new kernel and rc.conf changes to take effect.
4. ON SERVER: Edit /etc/make.conf and add

       WITHOUT_X11=yes

5. Install ghostscript

       cd /usr/ports/print/ghostscript-gnu && make install distclean

   Note: During my setup, I didn't modify /etc/make.conf. I just installed /usr/ports/print/ghostscript-gnu-nox11. I was told that setting WITHOUT_X11=yes would be an alternative if x11 isn't desired on the server, which /usr/ports/print/ghostscript-gnu tries to install.
6. ON WORKSTATION: Install ghostscript

       cd /usr/ports/print/ghostscript-gnu && make install distclean

7. Install CUPS

       cd /usr/ports/print/cups && make install distclean

8. Move /usr/local/bin *before* /usr/bin in all user's path that will be using CUPS. It depends on what shell each particular user is using. For example. On the server, I edited root's path in /root/.profile On my workstation, I edited my shell (tcsh) ~/.tcshrc You will have to log out and log back in for the changes to take effect.
9. Copy cupsd.sh.sample to cupsd.sh

       cp /usr/local/etc/rc.d/cups.sh.sample /usr/local/etc/rc.d/cups.sh

10. CUPS can be administered via a web browser. By default, CUPS is looking for web admin requests from localhost. So on the server, I edited /usr/local/etc/cups/cupsd.conf and changed 127.0.0.1 to the ip address for my workstation in 2 places.
11. Uncomment application/octet-stream in /usr/local/etc/cups/mime.types and /usr/local/etc/cups/mime.convs
12. Uncomment BrowseAddress @LOCAL in /usr/local/etc/cups/cupsd.conf
13. Start CUPS

        /usr/local/etc/rc.d/cupsd.sh start

14. Check for running CUPS
    
        hivemind# ps aux | grep cupsd
    root  183 0.0 0.8 3852 3048 ?? Ss Mon04PM  0:15.05 /usr/local/sbin/cupsd
    root 9838 0.0 0.1 1068  540 p0 S+  7:29PM  0:00.00 grep cupsd
15. Browse to your server's web admin, Add Printer, and follow the directions. http://your_server_name_or_ip:631/admin/ I used USB Printer #1 in my case.
16. Browse to your workstation, Manage Printers. If all went well in the preceding steps, the printer on the server should be automatically configured on the workstation. http://localhost:631/admin/ If there are no printers setup, click Add Printer and use Internet Printing Protocol. ipp://server_hostname_or_ip/ipp/
17. Print a test page. If all went well, you should be able to print from your FreeBSD server via the command line and workstation via the command line and/or KDE/mozilla/etc without any problems now.

        gladiator# echo This is a test > ~/test_page.txt
        gladiator# lpr ~/test_page.txt

1. Add to the [global] section:

       printcap name = cups
       printing = cups

2. Add a printer section

       [Printer]
           comment = Network Printer
           path = /var/spool/samba
           guest ok = Yes
           printable = Yes