Considerations for virtual and cloud environments

When configuring this type of system, the operating system prerequisites, memory and file system requirements still apply. Carefully consider security and network issues, especially if your RICOH ProcessDirector primary server runs outside of your physical network or you are sending jobs to continuous feed printers.

• The host name assigned to the RICOH ProcessDirector instance cannot change when the server is restarted. If this value changes over a restart, you will have a short grace period to update your license keys before the system stops running.
• If you are printing across an externally hosted or distributed network, you need substantial network bandwidth to keep high-speed printers running at rated speed over long distances.

  If you are printing to AFP, PCL, and IPDS printers, you can use a secondary server to receive and buffer print jobs so that data transmission to the printers can keep up with high print speeds. We recommend adding the secondary server to the same network that the printers are on and using this secondary server for the Printer server value when you create the printer objects. Also, take into consideration the location of the files that are being printed, as different printer types and methods might not get the required speed if the spool directory is not on the same network.

  After installing the secondary server, set these properties on the AFP printer:

  • Copy to secondary server: Yes
  • Destination directory on secondary server: The location on the secondary server file system where you want RICOH ProcessDirector to write print files.

  If you are printing to a Ricoh PDF or Custom PDF printer, there are some limitations to consider:

  • The PDF Printers do not have the Copy to secondary server option.
  • For PostScript printing, the quality of the PDF file can impact the time required for the printer to convert the PDF file to PostScript. The output PostScript file is created locally on the server where the Ricoh PDF Printer or Custom PDF Printer is defined. However, the file conversion occurs in the spool directory.
  • Optionally, jobs can be divided into smaller files. These smaller files are created on the primary server and then the smaller files are sent to the printer.
    Important:
    • We do not recommend dividing jobs into smaller files for Custom PDF printers, as the primary server does not receive status of all smaller files. Thus, it could result in a smaller file not printing.
  • When the printer is defined on the secondary server, the secondary server communicates with the printer for media information, printer status, and job status updates during printing.

• Securing data across your network and from cloud platforms to printers on the ground is your responsibility. Use of virtual private networks (VPNs) sometimes introduces performance degradation in file transfer. Involve your network and security administrators when planning to host RICOH ProcessDirector in these environments.