Installing Virtual Channel Gateway

On remote desktops

On virtual desktops

Configuring Virtual Channel Gateway

On terminal servers

Further steps

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Virtual Channel Gateway is only necessary if printers have to be targeted over RDP, ICA or PCoIP. It enables print jobs from ThinPrint Servers to be sent to the client through a virtual channel of an RDP, ICA or PCoIP connection. This also allows the targeting of printers that can’t be reached over TCP/IP – for example, behind firewalls or with Network Address Translation (NAT).¹

Virtual Channel Gateway is installed onto remote desktops (terminal servers or virtual desktops) – while ThinPrint Engine runs on the central print server(s).

Installing Virtual Channel Gateway

Only use unambiguous accounts for printing over the Virtual Channel Gateway (i. e., not a guest account), and make sure that the desktop and the ThinPrint Servers are not in different domains.

On remote desktops

Virtual Channel Gateway can be installed on remote desktops (terminal servers or virtual desktops) using the Remote Desktop or Desktop Engine role of the ThinPrint Engine installer.

On virtual desktops

Note that there is a slight difference between the Virtual Channel Gateway for virtual desktops and that for terminal servers. With the terminal server’s version the addresses of print servers have to be set up.

Configuring Virtual Channel Gateway

On terminal servers

• On terminal servers, open Virtual Channel Gateway in the ThinPrint configu­ration.
• Select Edit Settings.

Add (terminal servers only)

• On terminal servers, select Add to enter IP addresses of print servers, on which Thin­Print Engine is installed and on which Virtual Channel Gateway is to be used for print­ing. For failover clusters add the IP addresses of all cluster nodes.

Change

Modify IP addresses for print servers

Delete

Delete a print server’s IP address

TCP port

TCP Port number for TCP/IP communication with the ThinPrint Engine (default: 4000).

Note: The TCP port numbers in ThinPrint Ports (on print servers) and Virtual Channel Gateway (on terminal servers or virtual desktops) must match. Make sure that no other application is using this TCP port.

Apply

• Click Apply or OK to confirm. The result is shown in the following screenshot.

Further steps

• On the central print server: create ThinPrint Ports and select Use Virtual Chan­nel Gateway in the ThinPrint Port configuration. (This can also be done with Management Services.)

• Create printers, attach them to these ports and share them.
• For Windows devices, create exactly one printer per printer model or per class of printer that uses TP Output Gateway as its printer driver.

• In contrast, for non-Windows devices create exactly one V-Layer pair per printer model.

 V-Layer printer pairs on a central print server

• Configure Dynamic Printer Matrix on the terminal server or in the respective Group Policy (see ThinPrint group policies).
• Establish an RDP, ICA or PCoIP connection from a workstation to the terminal server or to the virtual desktops.
• In the session, open an application and perform a test print to each of these printers.

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^{1. As an alternative to the ICA, RDP or PCoIP protocols, the Connection Service can also be used – e.g. for local print servers or for gateway appliances (like ThinPrint Hubs).}