Subject: IPP> ADM - yet another press article

From: Carl-Uno Manros <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 2 May 1997 09:07:45 PDT

NetworkWorld ran an article in their 4/21 issue regarding Internet Printing
that highlights Microsoft's NT printing activities and the IETF IPP work.
See below.

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Microsoft explores Web-enabled printing for NT 
By Christine Burns

04/21:/97 
     Redmond, Wash.
     Microsoft Corp. has got feelers out for the best way to implement 
Web-enabled printing in future versions of  Windows NT. 
     At the same time, the company is working with Internet Engineering 
Task Force (IETF) partners on a common protocol for sending print jobs 
across the Internet.
     It is unclear whether Microsoft will ship the new NT feature before 
the standard is finalized.
     Given the ease with which users can share files across the Internet, 
vendors have begun looking at ways to let individuals send print jobs from 
any desktop to any printer using standard World-Wide Web technologies. This 
same technology could eventually simplify management of remote printers 
using the Internet, as well.
     Novell, Inc. and IBM - two leaders in the IETF effort - have committed 
to supporting the emerging standard in all of their operating systems. 
Microsoft acknowledged its involvement in the standards work and general 
plans to implement Web-enabled printing in NT. 
     'However we decide to implement Internet printing in NT, we will also 
support the IETF standards,' said Enzo Schiano, group product manager for 
Windows NT Server. Schiano would not say whether this printing feature 
would appear in the upcoming NT 5.0 release or a later version. 
     While Schiano declined to comment on implementation, documents 
submitted to the IETF by Microsoft do offer insights on Web-enabled 
printing for NT.
     A slide presentation shows an NT client sending a print job over the 
Internet to an NT server.
     The client machine employs a 32-bit Internet/HTTP print provider, 
which sends the print job to an NT print server running Microsoft's 
Internet Information Server and integrated HTTP print server software. This 
HTTP print server receives the raw HTTP command from the client and 
forwards it to the appropriate networked printer.
     The slides also show a browser getting an HTML view of printer status 
and job information that was generated automatically by the NT print server.
     While Microsoft weighs its options, the standards effort moves ahead.
     The IETF working group two weeks ago produced a preliminary draft of 
the Internet Printing Protocol. IPP defines client and server functions for 
Internet printing.
     A formal draft of the IPP specification is expected in December. 
Products based on IPP will not appear until 1998.
     Industry analysts were skeptical about Microsoft maintaining 
compatibility with IPP products. 
     'They forced the printer vendors into their proprietary camp 
before,' said Angele Boyd, vice president of peripheral research with 
International Data Corp in Framingham, Mass. 'It's a tough call to choose 
between Microsoft's market and that of Novell, Netscape [Communications 
Corp.] and IBM combined. They might have to support multiple protocols.' 
     The first version of IPP defines a common interface by which computers 
locate printers across the Web, submit jobs to them, query the status of 
the printers and jobs, and cancel previously submitted jobs. 
     This version will give administrators some ability to monitor Web 
printers, but future versions will support advanced printer management 
features, said Scott Isaacson, a print services architect at Novell. 
     Isaacson said Novell will support IPP in future versions of its 
yet-to-be-released Novell Distributed Printing Service. Additionally, 
Novell will build extensions that address management and usability functions
not included in the IPP specification.

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Carl-Uno Manros
Principal Engineer - Advanced Printing Standards - Xerox Corporation
701 S. Aviation Blvd., El Segundo, CA, M/S: ESAE-231
Phone +1-310-333 8273, Fax +1-310-333 5514
Email: [email-masked]