Hey everyone! I'm working on a setup with a print server running Uniflow for secure printing. We're required to harden two servers to comply with government standards. I have one server with Windows 2022 for Uniflow and another with Windows 2019 as the print server. Print jobs are spooled to a queue and held there until users log into a printer to retrieve them, but after applying a Group Policy, some print jobs, especially those sent from Outlook, seem to just disappear. I've checked the Group Policy and have disabled settings related to printers, printing, encryption, and virus scanning. Has anyone else encountered a similar issue or have suggestions? I consulted our vendor, but they were not very helpful. Thanks!
3 Answers
If you’re having trouble pinpointing what the hardening GPO is breaking, you might need to go through the policy settings one by one until you find the culprit. It could take some time, but it’s an effective way to track it down.
I’ve been using Uniflow on-prem for some time now. Are you utilizing secure printing with a badge reader, PIN, or password? It sounds like you have things configured, but jobs sometimes aren’t going through. If you’re using SQL Express for the Uniflow database, that could be the issue; it can’t handle databases larger than 10 GB effectively. Make sure your database is on a separate server if possible. Also, check the resources on your server; often print servers get less RAM than they really need.
We’re using a SQL 2017 cluster for our database, and everything is fine with resources. We have badge readers installed as well. The hardening GPO is what's causing issues with emails disappearing from the secure print queue.
I’ve worked with Uniflow a bit as well, and it’s true that NT-ware doesn’t offer end-user support. Are you using the SmartClient? It provides more insight into print jobs, which might explain why they are disappearing from the Windows print queues. If it’s truly affecting everyone, can you replicate the issue yourself? Also, who’s handling your printers? Our printer support has been super helpful in situations like these.
We’re actually working through a local vendor—not NT-ware—for support. I can replicate the issue myself. I see the email spool into the queue, but it disappears right after spooling, which doesn’t happen without the Group Policy.
That’s the tough part; there are so many settings in the GPO. I’ve started testing them bit by bit, but it’s challenging to do after hours.