Equitrac 4.2.1 Office/Express Planning Guide

Below you will find brief information for Equitrac Office/Express 4.2.1. Equitrac Office/Express 4.2.1 offers several features that can be used for secure printing and tracking of print and copy transactions. The service can be used to track costs on network printers and multi-function devices such as copiers and scanners. The service can be installed on either Windows or Linux servers and supports a variety of popular multi-function devices. It provides an interface for users to view and release print jobs.

PDF

Document

Equitrac Office/Express

4.2.1

Planning Guide

Equitrac Office/Express 4.2.1 Planning Guide

Document History

Revision Date

February 10, 2011

August 10, 2010

June 30, 2009

July 30 , 2008

Revision List

Updated for Equitrac Office/Express 4.2.1

Updated for Equitrac Office/Express 4.2.0

Updated for Equitrac Office/Express 4.1.1

Document created for Equitrac Office/Express 4.1.0

All rights to this document, domestic and international, are reserved by Equitrac Corporation. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without prior written permission of Equitrac.

Trademarks

Equitrac is a registered trademark of Equitrac Corporation.

Equitrac

®,

Equitrac Office

, Equitrac Express

, Follow-You Printing

, PageCounter

, and PageControl Station

are trademarks of Equitrac

Corporation.

All other brands and their products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders, and should be noted as such.

Symbols used in this guide:

The following symbols are used in the margins of this guide:

Caution

The accompanying text provides key information about a step or action that might produce unexpected results if not followed precisely.

Note

Warning

The accompanying text provides cross-reference links, tips, or general information that can add to your understanding of the topic.

Read the accompanying text carefully. This text can help you avoid making errors that might adversely affect program behavior.

2 Equitrac Office/Express Planning Guide

1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Why Plan for an Equitrac Office/Express Deployment? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Database Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Additional Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

2 About Equitrac Office/Express . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Product Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Core Server Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Copy & Print Control Mechanisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Establishing a Secure Print Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Client Workstation Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

3 Deployment Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Enterprise Geography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Deploying in a Clustered Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Network Interconnection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Single vs. Multiple Core Accounting Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Print Server Platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Print Server Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Client Workstations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Network Bandwidth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

CAS Offline Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Network Outage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

4 User Account Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Creating User Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Preparing the User Base for Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Account Administration Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Implementing PINs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

5 Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Establishing Access Permissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Securing Print Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Auditing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Equitrac Office/Express Administration Guide

Contents

Port Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Encryption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

6 Backup and Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Database Backups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Print Server Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Disaster Recovery through Virtual Computing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Equitrac Office/Express Administration Guide

Introduction

Topics

Why Plan for an Equitrac Office/Express

Deployment?

Database Requirements

System Requirements

Additional Documentation

Why Plan for an Equitrac Office/Express Deployment?

Equitrac Office/Express is a highly customizable solution that can help your organization reduce costs and improve efficiencies related to document output. As with any software solution, there are many different installation and configuration variables that can affect how you deploy, license, and use the product.

Creating a deployment plan is essential for a scalable, well-executed installation of Equitrac Office/Express. This guide will help you plan:

• the features and components you will license

• the physical installation location (topology) of the Equitrac services across servers

• the number of print servers you need

• the environment variables that will affect product configuration

• security requirements strategies for integrating and maintaining user accounts

This guide does not provide a comprehensive requirements checklist. Instead, this guide thoroughly examines the variables you should consider before you install the product. Use this guide to select the appropriate combination of variables to support the needs of your organization.

While this guide provides summary information and general details that will affect the installation plan, it does not

provide specific configuration details. For further information, refer to

Backup and Recovery

on page 49 for a

comprehensive list of further information and material that can help you deploy Equitrac Office/Express.

This guide is intended to help customers design and plan an Equitrac Office/Express deployment strategy. It can also assist Network Administrators and IT personnel who are responsible for specific installation and configuration tasks.

Some sections this guide assume substantial knowledge of networking, database management, and print servers. If you do not possess skills and knowledge comparable with an MCSE designation, consult an MCSE regarding your deployment plan prior to performing the installation.

Equitrac Express Planning Guide 5

Chapter 1: Introduction

Database Requirements

All Equitrac Office/Express installations require at least one Core Accounting Server (CAS) that connects to a preinstalled database. Equitrac Office/Express 4.x supports Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle databases (versions are listed under Server Requirements)

Microsoft indicates that the maximum size of a SQL Server 2005 Express Edition database is 4 GB. If you are deploying Equitrac Office/Express to support a large number of users (>1000) and anticipate a large volume print and copy jobs (>10 million pages per year) considering implementing a Microsoft SQL Server or Oracle database only.

NOTE: Each Equitrac Office/Express transaction (such as a print job or a copy session) logged to the database requires approximately 1.25 kb of database space.

System Requirements

All servers running Equitrac Office/Express services (CAS, DRE, DCE, DME), require the following hardware and software. Note that this table provides minimum hardware requirements only; high printing volumes and/or large installations may require substantially higher performance hardware

Server Requirements

The following table lists minimum operating requirements only. To maximize performance in high-volume print environments, you require additional disk space and memory, and a faster processor.

Server Components

Software Platforms

Recommended Hardware Platforms

Core Accounting Server (CAS)

Device Control Engine (DCE)

Device Monitoring Engine (DME)

Core Accounting Server (CAS)



Database

• Windows Server

2003, 2003 R2

(x86, x64)

, 2008 (x86, x64)



2008 R2 (x64)

• Microsoft SQL Server

Express

2005 & 2008

• Microsoft SQL Server

2005 & 2008

• Oracle®

10g, 11g, 11g R2

• Intel® Pentium® III or AMD Athlon™ CPU

• 1 GB of system memory

• 1 GB of available disk space

• 1-2 GB of available disk space for database

Core Accounting Server (CAS)

Device Control Engine (DCE)

Device Monitoring Engine (DME)



Cluster Server

• Windows, 2003, 2008 cluster

• Intel Pentium III or AMD Athlon CPU

• 1 GB of system memory

• 1 GB of available disk space

Equitrac Express Planning Guide

Chapter 1: Introduction

Server Components

Print Server (DRE)



with Rules and Routing or



Secure Document Release

Print Server (DRE)



Cluster server

Software Platforms

• Windows Server

2003, 2003 R2

(x86, x64)

, 2008 (x86, x64)



2008 R2 (x64)

• Red Hat Fedora Core 3 to 7

• Red Hat Enterprise for Linux Servers

4 or 5

• HO - UX IA64 11.23

• Solaris

™

SPARC 9

• Solaris 10 (SPARC, x64)

• Open SUSE Linux 9, or 10

• SUSE Linux Enterprise 9 or 10

• SUSE Linux 10 SP3 OES2 SP2 iPrint

(x86, x64)

• Intel Pentium III or AMD Athlon CPU

• 1 GB of system memory

• 1 GB of available disk space

• Windows 2003, 2008 cluster

Recommended Hardware Platforms

• Intel Pentium III or AMD Athlon CPU

• 1 GB of system memory

• 1 GB of available disk space

Management Tools Requirements

Management Tools

System Manager

Accounts Manager

Department Manager

Reports Manager

Release Station

Device Monitoring Console

Software Platforms

Recommended Hardware Platforms

• Windows Server

2003, 2003 R2

(x86, x64)

, 2008 (x86, x64)



2008 R2 (x64)

• Windows XP Professional

• Windows Vista Business/ Enterprise/

Ultimate (x86, x64)

• Windows 7 Professional/ Enterprise/

Ultimate (x86, x64)

• Intel Pentium III or AMD Athlon CPU

• 512 MB of system memory

• 5 MB of application disk space

Equitrac Express Planning Guide 7

Chapter 1: Introduction

Client Workstation Requirements

Client Tools

Workstation Client

Print Assistant

Software Platforms

Recommended Hardware Platforms

• Windows XP Professional (x86, x64)

• Windows Vista Business/Enterprise/

Ultimate (x86, x64)

• Windows 7 Professional/Enterprise/

Ultimate (x86, x64)

• Citrix/Terminal Server

• Macintosh OS 10.4 to 10.6

• Intel Pentium III or AMD Athlon CPU

• 512 MB of system memory

• 20 MB of application disk space

For all software platforms, ensure that the latest service packs are applied.

This column indicates minimum hardware requirements only; high printing volumes and/or large installations may require substantially higher performance hardware.

Users/Site Network Administrators are responsible for securing Microsoft Client Access Licenses (CAL) as required.

4 x86 refers to 32-bit architecture; x64 refers to 64-bit architecture (IA64 chip set is not supported).

Supported with LPR and CUPS.

Tracking Direct IP Printing via DRC is not supported on Citrix/Terminal Server.

For requirements when deploying Equitrac Office/Express in a clustered environment, see

Deploying in a

Clustered Environment

on page 27.

If you plan to install client features on a Macintosh platform, note the following:

• Each Macintosh workstation must have the Macintosh Client component installed.

• All Macintosh network printing must use printers created using the Equitrac Administration Tools, or DRC must be installed to track Direct IP Printing.

• Desktop printing is not supported on Macintosh clients.

8 Equitrac Express Planning Guide

Chapter 1: Introduction

Additional Documentation

To learn more about the advanced features and functionality of Equitrac Office/Express, refer to the table below for an outline of the product guides.

Resource

Description/Location

Equitrac Office Installation Guide or

Equitrac Express Installation Guide

• Use this guide to perform an initial installation or upgrade of all Equitrac services.

• Includes information to install Equitrac Office/Express on a Windows print server

Cluster Deployment Guide

Print Server Module Guides

• Linux iPrint

• UNIX

• Use this guide if you are deploying Equitrac Office/Express in an existing cluster environment.

• If your deployment utilizes a Linux or UNIX print server, use these guides to configure the print server after the installation is complete.

Equitrac Office Administration Guide or

Equitrac Express Administration Guide

• After installing Equitrac Office/Express, use this guide to configure Equitrac

Office/Express for use in your organization or campus.

Equitrac Express Planning Guide 9

Chapter 1: Introduction

10 Equitrac Express Planning Guide

About Equitrac Office/Express

Topics

Product Overview

Core Server Components

Copy & Print Control Mechanisms

Establishing a Secure Print Environment

Client Workstation Support

Product Overview

Equitrac Office is an integrated software solution that controls access to printers, copiers, scanners, and multifunction devices, and manages cost allocation for the purpose of reporting, budgeting, and usage pattern analyses.

Equitrac Office/Express is designed to create a secure document output environment that helps your organization gather usage data to control costs and minimize waste.

Equitrac Express is an integrated educational solution that controls student and staff access to networked output devices such as printers, copiers, scanners, and multi-function devices. The solution manages payment methods, tracks usage, and provides a secure document output environment across the entire campus.

Equitrac Office/Express integrates with networked multi-function devices, printers, copiers, and plotters. In addition, Equitrac Office/Express provides vendor-neutral support for multiple print workflows, database types, and operating systems.

Integrating Equitrac Office/Express into your document output environment offers the following benefits to your organization:

Benefit

Ensure Document

Security

Description

• devices are accessible to authorized users only for all print/fax/copy/scan functionality

• secure print queues hold documents in a virtual queue until the user releases the documents via a control mechanism (Release Station, PageCounter, Embedded software)

• the user is on-hand at the output device to retrieve their document as it is printed, ensuring privacy of document content

• each user can see only their own documents in the secure queue; other users documents are not visible

• Provides a comprehensive audit trail of all document input and output activities, whether printing, copying or scanning.

Equitrac Express Planning Guide 11

Chapter 2: About Equitrac Office/Express

Benefit

Reduce Expenses

Improve Workflow

Description

• reduce waste and uncollected prints

• set up rules to limit the type and amount of printing each user is granted; control access to color devices

• establish least-cost routing rules to proactively route print jobs to the most appropriate output device, based on certain criteria such as the group membership of the originating user, the size and other attributes of the job

• silent print tracking to assess printer usage by user, or department

• secure print queues eliminate cases where jobs are sent to a printer and never retrieved and eliminates the need to print banner pages as a means to identify personal output

• analyze usage patterns to determine the correct purchasing solution to support user needs

• establish a color quota system to set allowable limits for color output on a per-user basis

• set limits on the amount of document output per user; once a user reaches their limit, they are unable to produce documents (Equitrac Express only)

• allow the user to pull their job to a specific output device (Follow-You Printing)

• configure Multi-server Follow-You Printing to support retrieval of jobs securely queued on any print server in the organization without imposing heavy network traffic; enables users to release their print job on any printer within the organization, regardless of where it was originally destined, enhancing the print workflow throughout the enterprise

• use DME-based routing to eliminate user frustration – and reduce IT helpdesk calls – when devices go offline due to paper jams, low toner, or insufficient paper. Automatic routing allows users to (be informed where to) get their jobs quickly from an alternate printer without impeding their workflow

• users can preview their print job attributes (including cost, number of pages and more) before they release a job to a printer

• single sign-on delivers non-repudiation for the scan to e-mail function of certain supported

MFPs and operates in conjunction with certain scan and fax server providers to personalize workflows

• use the Send To printing feature to let authorized users distribute print jobs to another user or a distribution list. The distributed print job is held in a secure print queue on the server, and can be released by the recipient. For example, the HR department may send pay slips to employees.

Or a teacher may send a workbook to all students in its class and choose to accept or pass on the costs

• students can self-replenish their printing accounts at any time with the Pay Station Deposit

Centre feature (Equitrac Express only)

12 Equitrac Express Planning Guide

Chapter 2: About Equitrac Office/Express

Core Server Components

Equitrac Office/Express is comprised of a set of four core services that reside on one or more network servers. Each component communicates with the other services on a designated port.

The following diagram illustrates the key function of each service:

• The Core Accounting Server (CAS) communicates with the central database containing all Equitrac Office/

Express accounts, transaction tracking and device information. Considered the central core of all print and copy tracking activity, CAS handles user authentication requests and tracks activity forwarded by DRE and DCE.

• The Document Routing Engine (DRE) tracks print jobs originating from network printers.

• The Device Control Engine (DCE) manages and tracks walk-up copy, scan, and fax jobs.

• The Device Monitoring Engine (DME) is an optional service that continually monitors the status of MFPs, print, or copy devices to proactively alert Administrators of potential problems.

Equitrac Component and Services Overview

Network Print

Requests

Embedded on MFP

DRE Print

Server

CAS

DME

PageCounter

Terminal

DCE

Release

Station

Copy/Scan/Fax

Requests

Equitrac Express Planning Guide 13

Chapter 2: About Equitrac Office/Express

Core Accounting Server

The Core Accounting Server (CAS) verifies users, calculates transaction charges, and assigns those charges to an appropriate user or group account. CAS calculates charges using page count and job attribute information received from the Port Monitor, along with printer costs defined by the administrator.

CAS primarily handles user authentication requests for network print jobs (forwarded by DRE) and for copy/scan/ fax jobs (forwarded by DCE). The CAS server is the only component with access to the database. All other component/services must communicate with the CAS server to send data to or receive data from the database.

Every Equitrac Express installation requires a pre-installed database. CAS uses the database instance to create an accounts database that contains all printer, user, department, billing code, transaction, and balance information.

The database can reside on the same machine as CAS, or on a separate server if needed. See

Database

Requirements

on page 6 for information about supported databases

• user verification



• print charge calculations



• output tracking



• account balance management

14 Equitrac Express Planning Guide

Chapter 2: About Equitrac Office/Express

Document Routing Engine

The Document Routing Engine (DRE) is the print server. If you plan to enable document flow from user workstations to networked output devices and capture the document characteristics of all output, you need to implement one or more DRE print servers. DRE integrates with the print server, and manages all communication with physical printing devices. Each time a user releases a print job, DRE communicates the job characteristics to

CAS.

The Equitrac Port Monitor is installed with each DRE. The Port Monitor integrates with the Windows printing subsystem and functions as part of the spooler service, allowing the Port Monitor to receive and route print jobs to parallel network-connected printers.

For installations that require secure document printing, you can configure DRE to hold documents in a print queue until the user releases them from a release device (such as PageCounter, Release Station, or embedded device).

See

Establishing a Secure Print Environment

on page 20 for details

The following diagram shows a typical DRE workflow. First, a user generates a print request. The DRE Port

Monitor intercepts the request before it gets to the printer and “holds” the print job while it waits for a user validation response from CAS. CAS checks its database and either validates the user, or denies the request. The response is sent back to DRE, and the print job is forwarded to the printer if the user was validated. If denied, the user receives a notification message on their desktop (if configured). After the job is printed, the page count and job attributes are forwarded to the CAS database for tracking.

Print Request

Validate Print Request

Port

Monitor

Job is Printed

Update Job Attributes

DRE

Basic DRE workflow used to measure print usage

Database

CAS

Although DRE is a core component, it is not required in all deployments. DRE manages communications with physical printing devices. If you are only tracking photocopy transaction on devices with embedded devices (rather than tracking printing), you do not need to install the DRE component.

The number of DREs you require depends upon the number of devices you need to control, and the anticipated

print volume. See

Print Server Platform

on page 30 for details.

Equitrac Express Planning Guide 15

Chapter 2: About Equitrac Office/Express

Device Control Engine

The Device Control Engine (DCE) provides communication with copy, scan, and fax devices and with multifunction devices that provide scan and fax features. If you plan to control access to copy, scan, and fax functionality, you require at least one DCE. DCE communicates with control mechanisms such as PageCounter terminals or

Equitrac embedded software, to authorize access to and track document output on devices that provide copy, fax and scan features.

DCE communicates with CAS to verify user credentials, and forwards the copy, scan, fax information generated by these devices for tracking in the accounting database.

The following diagram shows a basic DCE workflow. First, a user requests access to a multi-function device via a

PageCounter terminal or a terminal keypad. The request is handled by DCE, which then forwards a user validation request to CAS. CAS checks its database and either validates the request, or denies it. After the user completes their photocopy, fax, or scan, the job attributes are forwarded to CAS for tracking.

Validate Login Request

Update Job Attributes

DCE

Basic DCE workflow used to measure multi-function device usage

Database

CAS

Although DCE is a core component, it is not required in all deployments. If you intend to track printing from workstations only, and do not need to track photocopy, scan, or fax jobs, you do not need to install the DCE component. Instead, you need the DRE component only.

The number of DCEs you require depends upon the number of devices you need to control, and the number of transactions per day that you anticipate. For more information, see

Deploying in a Clustered Environment

on page 27.

16 Equitrac Express Planning Guide

Chapter 2: About Equitrac Office/Express

Device Monitoring Engine

The Device Monitoring Engine (DME) is an optional component that monitors physical device status and faults.

Installed on a server station, DME monitors selected devices for SNMP status changes and logs the status changes.

You can view the current status of any monitored device in the Device Monitoring Console. If you want to monitor a device for a particular type of fault (e.g. offline status or paper jams), you can create Alert Rules that send notifications when the fault occurs.

IT Managers can run standard or custom device status reports to proactively identify devices requiring service or replacement. These reports track the historical status of a device over time, allowing you to understand the performance history of the device.

Database

CAS

Request Monitored Device List

Load Monitored Device List

DME

Console

DME

SNMP

Status Changes

DME listens for SNMP status changes on monitored devices

SNMP-enabled

Devices

Equitrac Express Planning Guide 17

Chapter 2: About Equitrac Office/Express

Copy & Print Control Mechanisms

There are several ways to track copies and network print jobs when using Equitrac Office/Express. The following section outlines each method and describes the benefits to consider when selecting one method or electing to combine methods.

Control Terminals

A control terminal is a physical piece of hardware that is installed on or near the printer, copier, or multi-function device that you want to control and connected via copy control cable. Each terminal can control a single device.

Equitrac Office/Express supports the following copy control terminals:

• Equitrac PageCounter

• Equitrac PageCounter with keyboard

NOTE: XCP NTS support is limited to legacy devices only. If Equitrac detects an invalid version, DCE allows the boot process to complete, but it does not function correctly.

Users must authenticate at the terminal before they can access the device to perform scan, copy, or fax or secure document release jobs. The terminal communicates with a specified DCE server to perform user authentication.

The terminal can optionally collect job attribute information, which it forwards to the DCE server (which in turn forwards the information to CAS for inclusion in the database).

Terminals can be configured to allow authentication while the CAS is offline. See

CAS Offline Planning

on page 36

for more information.

Embedded Devices

Embedded devices are manufacturer-specific software bridges that eliminate the need for a central print server, since the MFP devices themselves track and report activity. Embedded devices handle the transfer of user authentication and transaction details between these devices and your accounting server database. Embedded solutions offer streamlined workflow for the user because the interface is accessed via the familiar device panel, eliminating the need for an external keyboard.

Equitrac has developed embedded solutions to support select Canon, Fuji Xerox, HP, Konica Minolta, Kyocera

Mita, Oce, Ricoh, Sharp, and Xerox devices, as well as HP devices that use a SecureJet interface. With embedded functionality installed, these devices prompt users for valid user and account ID information for walk-up copy, scan, and fax jobs. Users can also release jobs from secure print queues directly from the MFP front panel.

NOTE: A manufacturer-specific Embedded Device license is required to enable communication between the MFP and CAS.

18 Equitrac Express Planning Guide

Chapter 2: About Equitrac Office/Express

Release Station Terminals

Release Station is a software application that resides on a client workstation and control virtual print queues. When the user prints to a controlled device, the print job is held in a secure queue until the user walks to the client workstation and release their print job. A simple user interface provides an easy way to view and access documents held in the secure queues. Release Station can be located near the printers and accessible to the public, or located in a secure area accessible only to authorized users, such as print desk staff.

Release Station software controls network print jobs only, and is not used for copy/scan/or fax control. A Release

Station license is required to enable this communication.

Pay Station Deposit Center

Pay Station Deposit Center is an Equitrac-supplied hardware unit that enables Equitrac Express users to add value to their network accounts to pay for print and copy transactions.

NOTE: Pay Station Deposit Center is not supported if the Equitrac DCE service is installed on any Windows x64 server.

The Pay Station Deposit Center requires users to enter an account number and, if configured in Accounts Manager, a password. When a user inputs this account information, the Pay Station Deposit Center contacts Equitrac Office to verify the account and obtain an account balance. Upon successful verification, the terminal accepts currency until the user either ends the transaction or reaches the maximum value for the account. Equitrac Office then credits the user’s account by the appropriate amount, and makes the additional funds available to the user for performing print or copy transactions within the Equitrac Office/Express environment.

NOTE: The Pay Station Deposit Center unit requires a dedicated External Data Connector license. Equitrac Express does not recognize unlicensed terminals.

Equitrac Express Planning Guide 19

Chapter 2: About Equitrac Office/Express

Establishing a Secure Print Environment

In environments where users print proprietary or confidential documents, secure printing gives users the power to control the timing of their output. Equitrac Office/Express holds documents sent to registered devices in DRE’s secure print queue. Through a client application or control terminal, users can view documents in the queue, then select, delete, or release documents for printing.

Depending on the needs of your organization, you can set up basic secure printing only or extend the functionality to use Follow-You Printing and/or Send To printing. In a basic setup (illustrated in the diagram below), the print job is held in a secure queue until released to the destination printer. Secure printing prevents private or sensitive materials from sitting unattended and unclaimed at remote printers.

Control Mechanisms

Release Station

Job Attributes

Destination

Printer

Secure

Queue

DRE

Job held in queue

User Workstation

Embedded on panel

User releases job

Destination Printer

Control Terminal

In an advanced Follow-You Printing setup, the user can choose a different destination printer at the Release Station or control terminal—they do not have to release the job to the printer originally selected at the user workstation. In a Send To printing setup, the user can release a job to the secure queue on behalf of other users, and the print job appears in the secure queue for each user selected.

20 Equitrac Express Planning Guide

Chapter 2: About Equitrac Office/Express

Follow-You Printing

Follow-You Printing extends the basic secure printing setup by allowing users to release print jobs to compatible printers from any Release Station or control terminal. The administrator creates custom pull groups, which are logical groups of printers that share output capabilities. When a user submits a print job to a printer within a pull group, the job is held in a secure print queue. The user can walk to a Release Station or control terminal, authenticate, then select any printer within the pull group to produce the job. If your organization is spread across multiple buildings, Follow-You Printing offers the flexibility to release documents at networked devices whenever convenient, and ultimately improves productivity because users can avoid out-of-service printers, or submitting jobs to a busy printer.

Pull Group

Release Station

User

Workstation

Job Attributes

Destination

Printer

Secure

Queue

DRE

Job held in queue

Embedded on panel

User releases job to any compatible printer in Pull

Group

Control Terminal

Follow-You Printing extends the basic secure printing setup

Equitrac Office/Express also offers multi-server Follow-You Printing, which allows users direct print jobs across print servers.

Equitrac Express Planning Guide 21

Chapter 2: About Equitrac Office/Express

Send To Printing

In a Send To printing setup, the user can submit a job to the secure queue on behalf of other users, and the print job appears in the secure queue for each user selected.The user who submits the print job (called the originating user), can select any combination of User Accounts, Departments, or Windows Active Directory Groups as the recipients.

Alternatively, in Equitrac Express, the user can set an arbitrary identifier (called a release key) for the job that must be entered before the job can be released from the secure queue. The originating user can also assign charges or accept costs for the print job.

User

Workstation

User notified of invalid recipients

User submits print job

Choose: recipient(s)

 release key (Express)

 charges

User selects recipients in Client popup

DRE

Jobs for valid recipients added to secure queue

DRE

invalid valid

Secure

Queue

DRE Validates recipients list against CAS.

CAS

Database

Send To printing workflow

NOTE: Send To printing is not supported in Macintosh environments.

22 Equitrac Express Planning Guide

Chapter 2: About Equitrac Office/Express

Client Workstation Support

The Client Workstation provides four distinct features: Client Billing, Desktop Printing, Cost Preview, and User

Authentication. These features provide job information or prompts to the user when they request a print job from a networked workstation. -

• Client Billing prompts users to assign billing codes when they print their documents.

• Desktop Printing tracks print jobs sent to a locally-connected printer or generic TCP/IP printer. Desktop

Printing records user ID, page count, document title, and workstation information. Desktop Printing supports simple pricing on a per-page basis, and advanced price lists tracking, but does not enforce account limits.

Charging for color attributes is also possible but depends on the properties of the printing application and the printer driver. Desktop Printing does not support charging for attributes such as duplexing or page size.

Desktop Printing is not supported on Macintosh workstations.

• Cost Preview provides a summary of the print request cost prior to sending the job to the printer and prior to recording the transaction in CAS. Users can accept or cancel transactions before printing. Cost preview only works with DRE- and DRC-based print tracking (printers tracked via Desktop Printing will not display the cost preview popup).

• User Authentication displays a prompt for Windows login credentials any time a user tries to print to a device monitored by Equitrac Office/Express. Users must enter a valid windows username and password to complete the print request.

• Workstation direct IP printing (DRC) enables Follow-You Printing and provides print tracking on par with

DRE server-based print tracking. This is for direct IP printing only.

• Interactive print rules enables users to interact with rules providing multiple options. This does not apply to desktop printing rules or copy rules.

NOTE: The Equitrac Office Small Business and Equitrac Express Small Campus Editions includes Client Workstation licenses for up to 10 workstations. You can purchase additional workstation licenses (available only in packs of 10) to support more client workstations. The Equitrac Office/Express Suite does not include Client Workstation licenses.

Equitrac Express Planning Guide 23

Chapter 2: About Equitrac Office/Express

24 Equitrac Express Planning Guide

Deployment Variables

Topics

Enterprise Geography

Deploying in a Clustered Environment

Network Interconnection

Single vs. Multiple Core Accounting Servers

Print Server Platform

Print Server Calculation

Client Workstations

Network Bandwidth

CAS Offline Planning

Network Outage

How you deploy Equitrac Office/Express depends upon the specific needs of your site. Will you need a single Core

Accounting Server? Multiple Document Routing Engines? Do you need to manage only a small number of users operating within a LAN, or do you have a large number of users spread across multiple sites and operating on a

WAN? Can you rely upon your network to provide a constant connection to CAS?

This chapter provides information on the variables that can affect how you deploy Equitrac Office/Express, and how you can adjust the configuration to suit your specific needs. Not all of these variables may apply to your site, however, read this section in its entirety to ensure that you understand all of the factors that must be addressed—or ruled out—before you create your deployment plan.

Equitrac Express Planning Guide 25

Chapter 3: Deployment Variables

Enterprise Geography

Physical geography primarily determines how you will deploy the Equitrac Office/Express services.

Your enterprise falls into one of two categories:

• Single office or campus only (LAN)

• Corporate office with remote offices or a central campus (WAN)

A single office or campus offers the simplest deployment possibilities. If supporting a relatively small number of users and transactions, you can install all Equitrac services on a single server. If your user base and anticipated number of transactions is very large, also read

Single vs. Multiple Core Accounting Servers

on page 29.

Local Area Network

Workstations

CAS Server

Controlled Devices

Single CAS Server per LAN

A corporate office with remote offices or a central campus operating across a Wide Area Network poses a slightly more complicated deployment. To ensure availability of each CAS server to accommodate user authentication requests originating from within the LAN, you may need to install one CAS on each branch of your WAN (one per

LAN). However, there are a number of factors to consider before determining the most effective CAS deployment for your site. For complete details on determining the number of CAS servers you will need, see

Single vs. Multiple

Core Accounting Servers

on page 29.

When deploying across a WAN, it is important to keep the Document Routing Engine (DRE), the Document

Control Engine (DCE), and the Device Management Engine (DME) locally within the same network branch to

keep the intra-server communication local and thereby optimize performance. See

Network Interconnection

on page 28 for further information about Equitrac component deployment.

You can also install one or more Equitrac service within an existing clustered environment. For details, see

Deploying in a Clustered Environment

on page 27.

26 Equitrac Express Planning Guide

Chapter 3: Deployment Variables

Deploying in a Clustered Environment

If you are considering deploying Equitrac Office/Express within an existing clustered environment, you can elect to cluster a single Equitrac service, or all services.

Clustering is the ability to group two or more computers together such that one computer can serve as a backup to the others in the cluster. If one computer in a cluster becomes unavailable, another computer in the cluster handles the functions of the first one. Print servers provide the highest level of printer availability in a cluster by transparently shifting print server functions from one computer to another in the cluster when a computer is taken offline.

Clustering print servers allows system and printer maintenance to be performed on an individual print server computer without interrupting the availability of the print server to the end user. When deploying Equitrac Office/

Express, many Administrators choose to place only the DRE print server component in a cluster node. However, you can also install CAS on a node for failover purposes.

NOTE: You require a Cluster Enabler license for each cluster and a DRE license per print server.

Even if you install CAS on a cluster, you do not necessarily need to cluster the database. Microsoft and Oracle both offer other well-documented methods to ensure high-availability of the database. Refer to the Microsoft or Oracle documentation for specific details.

When installed in a cluster, CAS can utilize a Microsoft SQL Server or Oracle database only.

If you plan to deploy Equitrac Office/Express in a clustered environment, read the Cluster Deployment Guide first

and ensure that the minimum hardware and software requirements listed under

System Requirements

on page 6

are met.

Equitrac Express Planning Guide 27

Chapter 3: Deployment Variables

Network Interconnection

Careful consideration should be given to the location of the servers used for the DRE and DCE components on the network. In general, these rules apply:

Install DCE on the same server as CAS only if the following criteria are met:

• the WAN/LAN is slow or unreliable

• DCE will control 150 terminals or less

• CAS is on the same side of the switch/router as the control terminals and output devices

The DCE server should always be placed locally to the output devices it controls (as illustrated in the diagram below). Each time a user authenticates, or job details are uploaded from a terminal to the CAS database, the request is intercepted and handled by DCE. DCE then communicates with CAS on a private port to forward job attributes for inclusion in the database. Direct communication from DCE to the controlled devices maximizes performance.

Controlled Devices

DCE #1

Control

Terminal

Internal Network 192.168.2.0/24

Switch/Router

Internal Network 192.168.1.0/8

Control

Terminal

Controlled Devices

DCE #2

DCE installed on the same side of the switch/router as the devices it controls

If deploying within a single LAN, consider deploying DREs and DCEs according to department. Identify similar usage groups and then segment them from one another so you do not disrupt network traffic flow.

NOTE: DME is an optional component that can be installed on any server but is most often deployed on the same server as DRE. In the event that there is no DRE in the system, DME is most often on the CAS server.

28 Equitrac Express Planning Guide

Chapter 3: Deployment Variables

Single vs. Multiple Core Accounting Servers

This section presents a number of factors to consider when determining the number of CAS servers that would best serve the needs of your site.

Network Reliability and Setup

It is very important to understand that user authentication requests usually require a connection to CAS before the user is allowed to proceed with their print or copy/scan/fax job (the exception is when offline caching is enabled –

see

Network Bandwidth

on page 35). If the connection is impeded in any way (network traffic, network reliability,

etc.), the user will be unable to proceed with their job until CAS can verify their login credentials. A reliable connection to the CAS server is important when deciding on a single or multiple CAS server setup.

In deployments across sites, you should deploy a single CAS only in situations where you can guarantee network uptime, and can provide enough bandwidth for Equitrac Office/Express at all times. If your WAN is unreliable or if you have limited bandwidth, you should install multiple CAS servers.

Ease of Administration

Each CAS requires its own pre-installed database, and these databases are managed separately. Therefore, multiple

CAS servers requires separate administration of devices and user accounts.

If you are managing completely separate user populations and the networks within each LAN are also managed separately, multiple accounting servers offers the ability to maintain each server independently.

Consolidated Reporting

If you deploy more than one CAS, you will have two or more distinct databases. To generate consolidated reports and analyze system-wide print tracking or copy data, you must configure the Uplink feature to upload transaction data from subsidiary CAS servers to a main server at a pre-set interval. When Uplink is configured, you can view transaction and account data reports from all CAS servers, or you can report on individual servers only. The Uplink feature operates independently of the WAN speed and will not inhibit the flow of network traffic. See Running

Consolidated Reports in the Equitrac Office or Equitrac Express Administration Guide.

Equitrac Express Planning Guide 29

Chapter 3: Deployment Variables

The following diagram illustrates a multiple server scenario. Each CAS requires it’s own unique database that you administer separately, including account, device, and pricing information. When the Uplink is configured, the data from the Subsidiary CAS is uploaded to the Master CAS. However, the data on each CAS is maintained separately, even when Uplink has occurred. The Uplink feature consolidates report generation, but not consolidate the databases themselves.

Master CAS Subsidiary CAS

Admin

Applications

Database

Uplink data for reporting purposes

Admin

Applications

Database

NOTE: The Uplink feature is not available with the Equitrac Office Small Business or Equitrac Express Small Campus

Editions.

Print Server Platform

Equitrac DREs can be installed on a Windows or UNIX platform. See

System Requirements

on page 6 for a

complete list of DRE software platforms. See

Print Server Platform Feature Comparison Chart

on page 31 for a

charted comparison of Equitrac features across all three platforms.

DRE should be deployed on a server that is local to the printers and clients it will control. This optimizes print traffic speed and handling. To calculate the number of DREs you need to implement, see

Print Server Calculation

on page 32. The Equitrac Office/Express Suite includes one DRE license to support up to 100 network printers. The

Equitrac Express Small Campus Edition also includes one DRE license to support up to 10 devices. The DRE license is not platform-specific.

Windows Print Server

Equitrac Office/Express DRE installed on a Windows print server supports the following:

• Network print-tracking and charging

• Rules and routing

• User notification via email and/or notification pop-up

• Use of pop-up billing codes

• Secure Document Release (SDR), including Follow-You Printing

• PJL and Data Stream Interpreter Page Counting

30 Equitrac Express Planning Guide

Chapter 3: Deployment Variables

UNIX Print Servers

The Equitrac Office/Express UNIX print server enables accounting on UNIX print servers by monitoring printing and reporting printer usage on the standard UNIX printing subsystem to an Equitrac Office/Express accounting server.

NOTE: Equitrac Office/Express is not supported on Linux running on non-Intel platforms, or on HP-UX on the PA-

RISC platform.

See the UNIX Print Server Installation Guide if deploying a UNIX DRE server. This document is located on the product CD in the /Documentation folder.

Print Server Platform Feature Comparison Chart

Network print tracking and charging

Pop-up billing codes

Email user notifications

Popup user notifications

User authentication for Macintosh clients

Secure document release

Follow-You Printing

DataStream Interpreter page counting

PJL page counting

CUPS and LPRng printing systems

Print rule sets

Windows













UNIX







*

Equitrac Express Planning Guide 31

Chapter 3: Deployment Variables

Print Server Calculation

Calculating the approximate number of dedicated print servers you will need requires a three-part calculation.

Part 1: Peak pages per minute calculation

The first part of the calculation accounts for the estimate peak pages per minute, then factors in color and

PostScript adjustments to derive the Total PPM.

1) Estimated PPM peak rating

Requirements Example

Enter the number of output devices within the deployment that will be controlled

a 400

What is the average required speed out of output (PPM)?

b 45

Multiply (a) and (b) to determine the theoretical peak

PPM rating d

Calculate 50% of the theoretical peak PPM rating (c)  to determine the estimated peak PPM rating

a * b = c c * 0.5 = d

400 * 45 = 18000

18000 * 0.5 = 9000

2) Color-adjusted peak PPM

Enter the average% of color output you anticipate 

(as a percentage of the total amount of output) f

Add the color percentage to the estimated peak PPM rating (d)

Requirements d * e = f

Example

9000 * 1.10 = 9900

3) PostScript adjustment

Requirements Example

Enter the % of PostScript (as a percentage of the total amount of output)

g 25%

Multiple the PostScript percentage (g) by a factor of 4 and add 100 to include black and white printing.

g * 4 + 100 = h (4 * 25) + 100 = 200

32 Equitrac Express Planning Guide

Chapter 3: Deployment Variables

Part 2A: PDL adjusted peak calculation

4) PDL adjusted peak

Requirements

Multiply the PostScript adjustment value (h) by the Color

Adjusted peak PPM (f)

h * f = i

Divide the result of (i) by 100 to calculate the PDL

Adjusted Peak

i ÷ 100 = j

Example

200 * 9900 =1980000

1980000 ÷ 100 = 19800

Part 2B: Safe capacity calculation

The second part of the calculation gives you the opportunity to add a safety margin into the calculation, ensuring that the print server is capable of continuously processing all print requests.

1) Server capacity

Enter the Server CPU size in MHz l

Enter the number of CPU cores m

Multiply (k) and (l) n

Multiply (m) by 100 to calculate the total desired  server capacity

Requirements Example k 3,000 l 2 k * l = m 3000 * 2 = 6000 m * 100 = n 6000 * 100 = 600000

2) Safety margin

Requirements

Enter the margin that you want to add to the total  server capacity to ensure that the print server continues to

function p

Divide (n) by (o) to calculate the safe capacity rating

(MHz).

n ÷ o = p

Example

600000 ÷ 50 = 12000

Part 3: Print Server calculation

Estimate the number of print servers by diving the PDL Adjusted peak value by the Safe Capacity Rating.

2) Print server calculation

Divide the PDL adjusted peak (j) by the Safe capacity rating (p) to estimate the number of dedicated print servers.

Requirements Example j ÷ p = q 19800 ÷ 12000 = 1.65

Equitrac Express Planning Guide 33

Chapter 3: Deployment Variables

Client Workstations

If you plan to control network and/or desktop printing, you need to deploy the Equitrac Office/Express Client software to any client workstation from which a print request may be generated.

For Equitrac Express users, each time they submit a print job to a controlled printer, the Print Assistant features appears on the workstation desktop. The user must enter valid data (user authentication details, billing code, as configured), before the print job proceeds.

Equitrac Office/Express can track printing sent to networked printers or locally connected printers (i.e. USB, LPT:1,

Bluetooth, Firewire). To fully track workstation printing (including job detail attributes such as color, binding, stapling, and punching), server-based printing is normally required. However, the workstation direct IP printing feature with Equitrac Workstation client provides the same tracking detail without using a print server.

Deploying Client Software

Depending on the number of clients you must track, you can deploy in one of three ways:

• Manual – Run the installer local to each client workstation.

• Automatic – Use distribution software such as SMS or other MSI-capable management systems.

• Silent Install – Push the client installation software from a central shared folder on a network server to target clients.

Client Workstation Caching

Equitrac Office/Express is capable of tracking printing that occurs even when CAS is offline.

While CAS is offline, all print tracking information generated from the workstation is logged locally until a direct connection with CAS is re-established. The details are automatically uploaded to CAS, and after confirmation of successful upload (transparent to the user), the cache is flushed.

34 Equitrac Express Planning Guide

Chapter 3: Deployment Variables

Network Bandwidth

In general, a single communication between Equitrac components is approximately 1.5kb. However, depending on the configuration and the activities generated by the user, the network traffic increases accordingly.

The following table is provided to help you estimate the transaction bandwidth you must anticipate when deploying

Equitrac Office/Express to track network printing and/or copying. The numbers shown below reflect the network traffic generated by Equitrac components only, and do not include Ethernet or TCP/IP packet headers, nor print job traffic.

Equitrac event traffic

DCE start

DRE start

Estimated Bytes

19kb

7kb

9kb

7kb

When event occurs

Copy job requires DCE start.

A print job is sent to DRE and secure document release is configured.

User logs in to PageCounter.

User logs in to PageCounter and makes copies.

PageCounter start

PageCounter login and copy

PageCounter login and release all

PageCounter login and select print jobs

Print job (no secure document release)

13kb

14kb

5kb

A print job is released from the Secure queue via a

PageCounter that is configured for release all at login.

A print job is released from the secure queue via a

PageCounter that is configured for prompt. The user manually selects the job to release from the terminal.

A print job is sent to DRE and secure document release is not configured.

Equitrac Express Planning Guide 35

Chapter 3: Deployment Variables

CAS Offline Planning

Equitrac Office/Express can be configured to continue print and copy tracking when CAS is unreachable.

Network and direct IP print tracking can continue in the absence of a connection to CAS if you configure DRE or

DCE to print and charge later. Data can be stored until the drive space on the DRE server or DRC workstation is completely utilized. DRE and DCE automatically upload cached information to CAS when the connection is restored.

All print tracking except client billing validation is supported when the print device is configured in System

Manager to print and charge later. Client billing (billing codes) requires a direct query to CAS to verify account details. With CAS offline, these details cannot be verified. Therefore, if your configuration will implement billing codes, you can configure the workstations to validate billing code information locally. The user can then authenticate against the data stored locally, and the user workflow is not interrupted.

If you enabled DCE Server caching and the DCE and DRE servers are reachable then both PageCounters and embedded devices will support Follow-You Printing. Multi-server Follow-You is also supported but you will have to manually select each print server to view the print jobs. If configured, a billing code prompt will still appear but cannot be validated against CAS. DCE and DRE cache full print and copy attributes and uploads them to CAS once communication is restored. The first time a user logs onto a PageCounter or embedded device while it was connected to CAS ensures that their user credentials have been cached on DCE and are available to all devices accessing DCE.

If you enabled DCE caching and the DCE server is unreachable, PageCounters and embedded devices that support local caching will still track copying but will not support Follow-You Printing. The user must have logged onto the

PageCounter or embedded device just once while it was connected to CAS to ensure their user credentials have been cached locally. The device sends a periodic ping to DCE to determine if communication is possible. If not, all user login requests are authenticated against cache data automatically. The device will continue to try to communicate with DCE, and if successful, normal terminal operation resumes and all tracking activity is uploaded to DCE and ultimately, the Equitrac database.

Network Outage

In the event of a network outage that extends beyond CAS (no network communication occurs between any

Equitrac components), jobs in the secure print queues are not retrievable until network communication is reestablished. Any transactions that have not yet been transmitted to CAS (whether for print or copy jobs) are not retrievable for release by the user and will not be logged in the Equitrac database.

36 Equitrac Express Planning Guide

User Account Management

Topics

Creating User Accounts

Preparing the User Base for Synchronization

Account Administration Options

Implementing PINs

Equitrac Office/Express uses account information for user authentication and for transaction tracking. Each time a user performs a print, copy, scan, or fax job, the user must authenticate with their unique credentials before

Equitrac allows access to the device. Equitrac Office logs and/ or charges the transaction details to a specified user account and maintains an audit trail of activity for reporting purposes. Equitrac Express tracks and charges every document that the user sends to any networked printer or walk-up copier.

Sites often choose to associate Equitrac Office/Express accounts with an existing identity card such as a swipe card, a proximity card, or an employee pass key (Equitrac Office), or a campus card (Equitrac Express) to offer the user a single mechanism used to authenticate at a variety of different applications. Card readers are then placed on or near the MFPs and device they control to allow the user to swipe or pass their identity card to authenticate before making copies, scanning documents, sending faxes, or releasing documents from the secure print queue.

Equitrac Express Planning Guide 37

Chapter 4: User Account Management

Creating User Accounts

Equitrac Office/Express offers five different methods to create user accounts. The size and complexity of your site primarily determines the method you should choose.

Method

Active Directory

Synchronization or

LDAP Synchronization

Flat-file import

Add users individually

Purpose and Benefits Site Description

Use Directory Services to batch import user data, then synchronize updates as they occur.

• Minimizes administration because updates occur automatically via communication with the directory service

• PIN code (ID card number) synchronization is automated (if implemented)

• Multi-server Follow-You Printing is configured when the home server is designated upon initial account import into

Equitrac Office/Express

• Department mapping is performed automatically (if configured)

• Large sites that primarily rely upon

Windows print servers

• An existing user base that is managed by the directory service

• LDAP directory service must support persistent search



(e.g. eDirectory)

Use the EQCmd.exe utility to import a file containing user account data.

• Once imported, the accounts are managed solely with the Equitrac Office/Express

Accounts Manager or Department Manager.

• Import pin or card numbers from a separate database.

• Sites that do not rely on ADS or eDirectory user management

• Typically 250-1000 users

Use Accounts Manager within Equitrac Office/

Express to add users one at a time.

• Sites that do not rely on ADS or eDirectory user management

• Typically 1-249 users

Allow Equitrac Office/Express to create users automatically

Configure Equitrac Office/Express to create a new account automatically when a print request is received from a user not known to the Accounting Server, or when a user logs in to the front panel with their network credentials to perform copying.

New accounts are assigned the default settings for pricing, quotas,

• Sites that prefer to issue temporary

PIN codes for user authentication

(when the email address is generated at auto user creation)

38 Equitrac Express Planning Guide

Chapter 4: User Account Management

Preparing the User Base for Synchronization

Synchronization with an existing set of user accounts from another source such as Active Directory Services (ADS) or eDirectory (formerly NDS), offers the least amount of overhead and administration because you can maintain all user accounts required within your organization from a single source. You can perform an initial import of the accounts, then configure Equitrac Office/Express to listen for changes on the ADS or eDirectory server. However, if you choose this method, you must carefully plan your account groups before you first populate the Equitrac Office/

Express database.

If your existing user account data is managed by eDirectory, you can use LDAP Synchronization to monitor changes to the directory service. Subsequently, when a new user is added to the directory, or if a change is made to an existing account, Equitrac Office/Express receives a notification specifying the change details.

NOTE: Note that eDirectory Synchronization does not support domain qualification.

Whether you choose ADS or eDirectory, you can limit the initial account import to specific Organizational Units

(OU) that contain user account data. Before you perform the first import, you should create specific OU containers on the ADS or eDirectory server that you will use for import and synchronization purposes.

NOTE: The EQ services must be started by a domain account with access to the contact Active Directory. If services are started under a local machine account, the Active Directory synchronization may fail.

If you deploy multiple Core Accounting Servers, consider that each server manages a separate set of users. You can have a separate instance of the same user account in each database, if needed. However, the accounts are managed separately.

To manage a set of users without duplicating accounts, configure your OUs to group user accounts that will be managed by a particular CAS. You can then import specific OUs into each CAS database.

There are also several Equitrac Office/Express attributes you may need to map within your existing user base.

Ensure that these attributes are completed within your existing user accounts before you perform the initial import into the CAS database:

• The Department attribute maps the ADS or eDirectory department name to the Department field in the

Equitrac Office/Express database. If the department name does not already exist within Equitrac Office/

Express, it is automatically created and the selected users are added to the new department.

• The Home Server attribute maps the name of a particular print server to the Home Server field in the Equitrac

Office/Express database.

• The PrimaryPIN and SecondaryPIN attributes map the numeric PIN or ID card number found on the ADS or eDirectory Server to the PrimaryPIN and SecondaryPIN fields in Equitrac Office/Express. A Primary PIN is generally the user identifier, and the optional Secondary PIN is equivalent to a password or card pin code.

Equitrac Express Planning Guide 39

Chapter 4: User Account Management

Account Administration Options

User accounts are administered through one of two utilities within Equitrac Office/Express:

• Accounts Manager provides a direct view to the Equitrac database for all accounts-related information. When planning administrative roles, consider that a user must be a member of the Domain controller assigned to

Accounts permission to open and use Accounts Manager. Within this utility, the administrator can add new accounts, remove accounts, or make changes to existing account details such as department assignments, accounts balances, PIN numbers, ID card numbers, etc.

When you launch Accounts Manager, you can specify the Core Accounting Server that you want to connect to, so only a single instance of the Accounts Manager utility must be installed across the deployment. Access to this manager is restricted to selected domain groups, assigned in Access Permissions. To open and user Accounts

Manager, users must be a member of the Domain controller assigned to the Accounts permission. For more on

permissions, see

Establishing Access Permissions

on page 42.

• Department Manager also provides a direct view to the Equitrac database for accounts-related information, but the view is limited to accounts assigned to a specific department only. Department Manager allows you to establish department-level administrators.

To open and use Department Manager, users must be a member of the Domain controller assigned to the

Department permission. For more on permissions, see

Establishing Access Permissions

on page 42.

Implementing PINs

PIN information connects an Equitrac Office/Express printing account with user logon information. Control mechanisms can be configured to require the user to enter primary and/or secondary PIN information. The system tracks and charges printer and copier use to the appropriate account in the Equitrac Office/Express database when users use PINs to log on to a control terminal or release a print job.

The primary PIN is the numeric sequence that uniquely identifies the user. The primary PIN can be data encoded on a magnetic swipe card, an HID, Legic or Mifare contactless ID card, or the user can enter it using the control terminal keypad. The secondary PIN acts as a device password or card pin code. The user enters it using the control terminal keypad, Release Station keyboard, or on the front panel in the case of embedded devices.

You can configure Equitrac Office/Express to allow users to self-manage their user PIN information at a control terminal or via their personal web page. Users can reset their PIN code at any time, reducing administrative overhead normally spent performing this task. Equitrac Office/Express 4.1 offers alternative primary PIN functionality. You can assign two different primary PINs to each user account, providing the user with additional flexibility when logging in.

Where supported, embedded devices can be configured to prompt a user to register a PIN when a new card is swiped. Embedded devices can also be configured to prompt for a Secondary PIN if the Primary PIN is manually typed (i.e. there is no secondary prompt if a swipe card is used).

40 Equitrac Express Planning Guide

Security Considerations

Topics

Establishing Access Permissions

Securing Print Output

Auditing

Port Communication

Encryption

Equitrac Office/Express offers the ability to secure the Equitrac services, the administration tools, and the secure print queues.

Equitrac Express Planning Guide 41

Chapter 5: Security Considerations

Establishing Access Permissions

To prevent unauthorized access to the Equitrac Office/Express Administrative Applications or modifications to registry entries, Equitrac Office/Express relies on Windows-level authentication and application-level

Administrative accounts.

All Equitrac Office/Express installations require at least one user with Windows Administrator privileges who can start and stop services and the print spooler on the server workstation(s).

Application-level permissions are fully configurable. Access is granted to a Windows-level group that is registered to a domain, as opposed to individual users. For example, if you want to establish department-level account administrators, create a separate domain group within Windows that includes all users who will be allowed to administer accounts through Department Manager. Assign the group to the Department access permission.

The following table provides a description of each access permission and a use case detailing how you might organize your windows-level groups per domain to accommodate your site needs.

Permission

Admin

Reports

Accounts

Department

Description

Controls access to System Manager.

Controls Access to Reports Manager.

Controls Access to Accounts Manager.

Use Case

System Manager contains all configuration tasks and device detail.

Limit access to users from IT or to an Equitrac super administrator group.

Separate device administration from accounts administration - assign separate user groups to each permission.

Create a reports administrator group that is responsible for auditing the system.

Establish a group of users that can create and modify all user accounts.

Limits the view of user accounts to a specific department only.

Equitrac checks which department the user belongs to, then limits the view within

Department Manager to accounts within the same department only.

Create a group that is responsible for administering accounts within a specific department only. This group can make modifications to existing accounts, but cannot create accounts.

42 Equitrac Express Planning Guide

Chapter 5: Security Considerations

Permission

Device Admin

Print distribution

Cashier



(Equitrac Express feature)

Description

Controls access to the Device Monitoring

Console.

Use Case

Create a group that is responsible for monitoring device status only. All SNMP status change UI notifications can be directed to any user via email, creating a proactive approach to solving device downtime and supply replacement.

Allows this group of users to use Send To printing.

Allows certain users to submit print jobs on behalf of other users. These jobs are held in a secure print queue until the recipient releases the job from a control mechanism.

Controls access to the Cashier application. Create a group of staff members that can adjust balances on user, department, and billing code printing accounts (similar to a library cashier) via the Cashier application.

Equitrac Express Planning Guide 43

Chapter 5: Security Considerations

Securing Print Output

In environments where users print proprietary or confidential documents, secure printing gives users the power to control the timing of their output. Equitrac Office/Express holds documents sent to registered devices in the DRE’s secure print queue until the user releases the document from a control mechanism, such as Release Station, control terminal or an embedded device.

Establishing a fully secure document release strategy requires three separate actions:

Prevent Direct IP Printing

To prevent direct IP printing, you must ensure that users are able to connect to printers via Equitrac ports only. If you have existing standard TCP/IP ports already setup, you can easily convert the port to an Equitrac port. You must also establish printing permissions in Windows to ensure that users cannot bypass the Equitrac ports.

Secure the DRE Spool Directories

Securing the DREs spool directories will ensure that other users cannot find proprietary documents on the DRE server. On each Windows DRE server, ensure that you set full control for the User ID that is running the DRE service only. Grant read-only access to the User ID that is responsible for running system backups. Remove access to any other user IDs.

Windows

C:\Documents and Settings\<userid>\Local Settings\Application Data\Equitrac\Equitrac Platform

Component\<platform version>\EQDRESrv\EQSpool. Where <userid> is the account under which the Equitrac services are running.

UNIX

<installdir>\EQSpool

Establish IP Masking

If supported on the output device, mask the IP Address of the MFP to ensure that users cannot directly connect via the IP address.

44 Equitrac Express Planning Guide

Chapter 5: Security Considerations

Auditing

Equitrac Office/Express provides the ability to audit device and account activity based on a number of factors.

Specifically, detailed activity reports provide statistics about:

• device usage

• user account

• network user

• billing code account

• department account

• queued documents by device

• queued documents by user account

Depending on the report you generate, the following data fields may appear in the report.

Report Field Description

Account Indicates if the activity was charged to a user, department, or billing code account type.

Cost

Date

The amount of money that was charged to the account for the job.

You can limit the report contents to a specific date range. When the report is run, the Date field shows the specific date on which the activity occurred within the date range selected.

Document title for print job. If the activity was a copy job, the description is listed as ‘copying’. Description

Details Lists the specific details of the print job, such as page size, color output, duplex output, stapling, punching, binding, etc. For example, the following details might be displayed for a print job that is seven pages in total:

4xLetter/D = 4 letter-size pages, duplexed

3xLegal/C/Punch = 3 legal-size pages, color and punched output

Device name The name of the output device where the copy, scan, or fax job was released or performed.

Disposition The status of the job. When you run the report, you can select ‘all’, ‘deleted’, ‘expired’, or ‘released’.

Deleted jobs were removed from the queue by the user without releasing them, expired jobs exceeded the time limit set on the secure queue and were automatically removed from the queue, and released jobs were jobs the user printed on an output device. Select ‘all’ to view all disposition types.

Pages

Type

User

User ID

The number of pages produced.

The job type that was produced. When you run the report, you can select ‘all’, ‘copy’, ‘fax receive’, ‘fax send’, ‘print’, or ‘scan’.

Lists the Equitrac user account that produced the activity.

Lists the network user ID that produced the activity (appears in network user reports only).

Equitrac Express Planning Guide 45

Chapter 5: Security Considerations

Port Communication

If the Equitrac components must communicate through any kind of firewall, you must open several ports in order for the servers to communicate properly. See your firewall documentation for product-specific information about opening ports.

The ports listed in the tables below must be open for both inbound and outbound traffic.

Equitrac Office/Express Components

On the machine running this component

CAS

DRE

DCE

Port to Open

TCP 2910

TCP 2938

DME

TCP 2939

TCP 1824

TCP 2063

TCP 4941

TCP 2942

DME Console UDP 2613

Web Personal Account Statements and Scheduler TCP 2941

Equitrac message client

Interactive rules

UDP 4940

TCP 4940

Enables communication from

DRE, DCE, DME, Workstations

DCE, CAS, Workstations

CAS

Embedded devices – Xerox

Embedded devices – Kyocera Mita

Embedded devices – Sharp

DRE, CAS

CAS, DME

Web Browser

DRE

The workstation client installer opens these ports.

PageCounter Communication

If the DCE that controls the PageCounter terminal is located outside the firewall, open the following ports on the machine where DCE is running:

Component

PageCounter boot request

PageCounter boot response

Ethernet communication for PageCounters

Ethernet communication for legacy control devices

Port to Open

UDP 2613

UDP 68

TCP 1234

TCP 1235

46 Equitrac Express Planning Guide

Chapter 5: Security Considerations

Database and Messenger Communication

If you require remote access to the SQL server database, you must open the port first.

If you configure "Sending a popup message" as the method of notifying users of print errors, you must open TCP port 139. This port is not open by default.

If you are installing the Client software on Windows Vista, you must configure "Use Equitrac messaging service" as the method of user error notification. This service is installed with the Client by default and port UDP 4940 is opened automatically.

Encryption

Equitrac Office/Express reduces the threat of network sniffing through dynamic encryption keys. At the beginning of each communication with a PageCounter, or when communicating with the server regarding PINs or passwords,

DCE performs a dynamic public/private key exchange. If the PageCounter firmware does not support dynamic encryption keys, Equitrac Office/Express automatically uses 128-bit AES fixed encryption keys

You can optionally configure IPSec encryption if you prefer to encrypt communication between all Equitrac server components, such as DCE, DRE, CAS, DME, and Scheduler.

Print Assistant (Equitrac Express) and Workstation Client use 128-bit AES encryption for the login prompt. If you want encryption on other workstation components, then you need to enable SSL or IPSec. To enable SSL, go to

C:\Program Files\Equitrac\Office\Tools and run the EQEnableSSL.exe file. See Enabling SSL Communication in the

Equitrac Office or Equitrac Express Administration Guide.

It is possible to encrypt the print stream. There are two options depending upon what the printer supports.

Configure the Equitrac port to use IPP over SSL.

Configure IPSec between the DRE server and the printer. This will encrypt all traffic between the two devices.

CAUTION: Enabling SSL or IPSec may impact performance.

Equitrac Express Planning Guide 47

Chapter 5: Security Considerations

48 Equitrac Express Planning Guide

Backup and Recovery

Topics

Database Backups

Print Server Configuration

Recovery

Disaster Recovery through Virtual Computing

The design and implementation of an effective backup and disaster recovery process is essential to any network environment. Equitrac Office/Express conforms to the requirements and standards for Windows server-based applications, and standard backup procedures should be utilized for backing up and restoring the binary files, configuration and data.

Database Backups

Equitrac Office/Express database backups are crucial for ensuring the safety of both the collected data and the system configuration data, which is also stored in the database, with the exception of the print queue definitions.

The print queue definitions should be backed up in accordance with backup best practices, including data retention, rotation schemes and off-site storage.

CAUTION: The Equitrac Office/Express databases (whether SQL Express, SQL Server or Oracle) are ’live’ and cannot perform basic file-based backups without endangering the internal consistency of the databases.

Major backup software applications include specific database backup options or connectors for backing up SQL

Server (including SQL Express) and Oracle databases, and should be used whenever possible.

If specific backup connectors are not available, it may be possible to dump the data from the database to an external file or to stop the database engine prior to backing up the files. Consult your database documentation for details.

Equitrac Express Planning Guide 49

Chapter 6: Backup and Recovery

Print Server Configuration

The Windows print queue configuration—including Equitrac port definitions—is stored in each print server's registry. This configuration data can be secured by either backing up the complete print server registry using standard backup software, or by using the Print Migration utility (downloadable from microsoft.com)

Recovery

When restoring a backup after a complete system failure, backup recovery systems can generally restore the system to a consistent state. However, when restoring multiple systems or a single system backed-up using a hybrid method, it is necessary to ensure that all aspects of the system have been restored to fully operational state.

The following checklist outlines the items to verify after a recovery process:

• Database restored

• ODBC connection (DSN) restored

• Equitrac Office/Express software either (1) restored, or (2) reinstalled, and appropriate hotfixes applied

• Equitrac Office/Express software licenses correct and valid in System Manager (should the server name have changed, the licenses will need to be re-activated)

Disaster Recovery through Virtual Computing

One approach to recover after a server failure is to utilize virtualization software—such as Virtual Server or

VMware—on the Equitrac Office/Express servers. The Equitrac server can be deployed as the only virtual machine on the physical server to ensure that the full performance of the underlying hardware is available to Equitrac Office/

Express.

By using a virtual machine, it is relatively easy to recover from a disaster even in the absence of repaired or identical server hardware, by installing the Equitrac Office/Express virtual machine on another physical server. This can reduce dependence on specific server hardware and enable more rapid recovery of the server environment.

50 Equitrac Express Planning Guide

Key features

Secure print queues
Cost allocation and tracking
Print and copy job management
Device monitoring
Multi-platform compatibility

Frequently asked questions

Equitrac Office/Express is a print management software that controls access to printers, copiers, scanners, and multi-function devices. It tracks costs and usage patterns, and can be used to reduce waste and improve overall printing efficiency.

Equitrac Office/Express can help you reduce expenses by tracking print and copy usage, establishing limits on user output, and routing print jobs to the least expensive device.

The core server components of Equitrac Office/Express include the Core Accounting Server (CAS), Document Routing Engine (DRE), Device Control Engine (DCE), and Device Monitoring Engine (DME).

Equitrac Office/Express

Planning Guide

Contents

Introduction

Why Plan for an Equitrac Office/Express Deployment?

Database Requirements

System Requirements

Server Requirements

Management Tools Requirements

Client Workstation Requirements

Additional Documentation

About Equitrac Office/Express

Product Overview

Core Server Components

Core Accounting Server

Document Routing Engine

Device Control Engine

Device Monitoring Engine

Copy & Print Control Mechanisms

Control Terminals

Embedded Devices

Release Station Terminals

Pay Station Deposit Center

Establishing a Secure Print Environment

Follow-You Printing

Send To Printing

Client Workstation Support

Deployment Variables

Enterprise Geography

Deploying in a Clustered Environment

Network Interconnection

Single vs. Multiple Core Accounting Servers

Network Reliability and Setup

Ease of Administration

Consolidated Reporting

Print Server Platform

Windows Print Server

UNIX Print Servers

Print Server Platform Feature Comparison Chart

Print Server Calculation

Part 1: Peak pages per minute calculation

Part 2A: PDL adjusted peak calculation

Part 2B: Safe capacity calculation

Part 3: Print Server calculation

Client Workstations

Deploying Client Software

Client Workstation Caching

Network Bandwidth

CAS Offline Planning

Network Outage

User Account Management

Creating User Accounts

Preparing the User Base for Synchronization

Account Administration Options

Implementing PINs

Security Considerations

Establishing Access Permissions

Securing Print Output

Prevent Direct IP Printing

Secure the DRE Spool Directories

Establish IP Masking

Auditing

Port Communication

Equitrac Office/Express Components

PageCounter Communication

Database and Messenger Communication

Encryption

Backup and Recovery

Database Backups

Print Server Configuration

Recovery

Disaster Recovery through Virtual Computing

What is Equitrac Office/Express?

How does Equitrac Office/Express help me reduce expenses?

What are the core server components of Equitrac Office/Express?

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