Windows XP Service Pack 2 firewall is blocking RPM's Client from working

Question

How do I get Ranger Print Manager's Client to work with Windows XP SP2?

Symptoms

Using Ranger Print Manager Administration you have configured the 'charging printing to' option to 'selected by user at print time'. This means that when a user prints, they are prompted to choose who is going to be charged for the print job. The notification is sent to the user via the Ranger Print Manager Client.

Then as a result of the Windows SP2 firewall being enabled the notification is not received, which means the print job remains paused, and thus never printed.

Cause

Windows XP Service Pack 2 has been installed enabling the network firewall which blocks communication between the Ranger Print Service on the print server and the Ranger Print Manager Client.

Resolution

There are a number of solutions to this problem. The first option is to disable the firewall which is enabled as part of the SP2 update. This is not ideal as it would compromise the workstation's security and therefore not recommended.

Option 2 it to add the ports which Ranger Print Manager uses, into the firewall's exceptions list to allow communication between the server and client.

Instructions

Please note that in order for these solutions to be implemented the user must have administrative privileges.

Option 1 - Disable the Windows Firewall Completely

Go to the new security centre and select the firewall option. Make sure that the firewall is set to be turned off..

Option 2 - Configure the Firewall's Exceptions List.

a) Manually add the ports into the exceptions list

For Version 2.6 and Earlier
Ranger Print Client uses the NetBIOS name and datagram services so UDP ports 137 and 138 must be open. If the workstation has file and printer sharing enabled, these ports will already be open.

Go to the security centre and select the firewall option. Make sure that the 'Don't allow exceptions' option is un-ticked then go to the exceptions tab and manually browse for the executables. Finally, add the following ports

        * UDP Port 2301
        * UDP Port 137
        * UDP Port 138

For Version 2.7 and Later
Ranger Print Client uses a UDP and TCP port that you can specify. The default is port 11001 but you can change it in File/Options/Client/Options' tab

b) Run a batch file that adds the Exceptions for you automatically

This method allows you to run a batch script (version 2.6 or earlier)RPMfxSP2.bat or (version 2.7 or later) RPMfxSP2_27.bat which adds the exceptions to the firewall list on the workstation automatically. This script can be run many ways.

       1. Logon to each computer as an Admin level user and double click the batch file.
       2. Setup a logon script to call this batch file for Admin level users.
       3. Setup a react rule that runs the batch file each time an Admin level user logs on
       4. Highlight the computers from LAN Ranger when they are logged on as an Admin level user and run the file from the server

Note: The batch file will specifically enable default Port 11001. If you prefer to use another port, then you will need to edit this manually

Testing

Ways to test if the updates have worked-

• Try to print a document from a user that requires the client popup to load

• Look at the Windows firewall configuration dialog to view the current configuration. Go to start > settings > control panel > windows firewall