Printing IX

Troubleshooting Printing Issues


Ask any system administrator what type of user complaints they receive
most often and I’ll bet 90 percent of them will list two main issues:



• I can’t log in.
• I can’t print.



To manage Linux systems, you need to be able to troubleshoot a wide
variety of printing issues. Obviously, we don’t have the time or space
to cover all possible printing problems here. Instead, I’m going to
give you some key insights that I have gained over the years
supporting users and their print jobs. My experience is that these
insights will cover 80 to 90 percent of the issues you will encounter.
Let’s take a look:



• Always use the standardized troubleshooting model presented in the
previous chapter. Yes, it applies to printing as well as to
networking. Don’t go off half-cocked trying multiple resolutions
before you have a solid understanding of what is wrong and what the
scope of the problem is. Recall that the model I suggested you use
consists of the following steps:




1. Gather information. This is a critical step. You need to determine
   exactly what has happened. What are the symptoms? Were any error
   messages displayed? What did they say? How extensive is the problem?
   Is it isolated to a single system, or are many systems experiencing
   the same problem?



2. Identify what has changed. In this step, you should identify what
   has changed in the system. Has new software been installed? Has new
   hardware been installed? Did a user change something? Did you change
   something?



3. Create a hypothesis. With the information gathered in the preceding
   steps, develop several hypotheses that could explain the problem. To
   do this, you may need to do some research. You should check FAQs and
   knowledgebases available on the Internet. You should also consult with
   peers to validate your hypotheses. Using the information you gain,
   narrow your results down to the one or two most likely causes.



4. Determine the appropriate fix. The next step is to use peers, FAQs,
   knowledgebases, and your own experience to identify the steps needed
   to fix the problem. As you do this, be sure to identify the possible
   ramifications of implementing the fix and account for them. Many
   times, the fix may have side effects that are as bad as or worse than
   the original problem.



5. Implement the fix. At this point, you’re ready to implement the
   fix. Notice that in this troubleshooting model, we did a ton of
   research before implementing a fix! Doing so greatly increases the
   likelihood of success. After implementing the fix, be sure to verify
   that the fix has actually repaired the problem and that the issue
   doesn’t reappear.



6. Ensure user satisfaction.You need to communicate the nature of the problem with users
   and make sure they are aware that it has been fixed. You should also
   educate them as to how to keep the problem from occurring in the
   future. In addition, communicate with your users’ supervisors and
   ensure they know that the problem has been fixed.



7. Document the solution. Finally,you need to document thesolution to your problem.
   That way, when it occurs again a year or two down the road, you or
   other system administrators can quickly identify the problem and how
   to fix it.



- Document the flow of print jobs. Where do they originate from? Are
  they sent over a network connection, or are they sent locally? How do
  they eventually arrive at the printer?



- Check the obvious first:

     - Is the printer out of paper? (Yes, this happens all of the time!)

     - Is the printer turned on?

     - If it’s a networked printer, is it connected to the network?


Is the network up?

      - Can you ping the printer from the user’s workstation?


      - Did the user select the correct printer when sending the print
        job? 

        This is actually the number-one cause of user printing
        problems in my experience. If a user has multiple printers configured,
        they may not understand the difference between them or simply not pay
        attention to which printer they are sending the job to. When the job
        doesn’t show up on their printer, they call you. You’ll likely
        discover that they just sent 80 duplicate copies of a 100-page document to
        someone else’s printer.


     - Has the correct printer driver been configured for the printer?

       Using the wrong driver will result in hundreds of pages of gibberish
       being sent to the printer.




LX0-104 Exam Objectives (Q)