Question: What is a HP Advanced non-HP Device Support Module certified or qualified device?

Answer:

HP has established a new non-HP device certification program that provides the ability for device manufacturers to certify their devices with Web Jetadmin. HP has contracted with Lionbridge Company to work with the device manufacturers using HP specifications to develop consistent plug-ins and certify non-HP devices with Web Jetadmin. Once plug-ins are certified or qualified, they will be made available to customers utilizing the HP Advanced non-HP Device Support Module and released with the next available version of Web Jetadmin.

A similar qualification service is offered by Lionbridge to HP customers who desire to utilize their non-HP devices that device vendors have not certified. Lionbridge will attempt to develop the same level of consistency for specific non-HP devices using the same specifications as the certified devices and develop qualified plug-ins for non-HP devices with Web Jetadmin.

HP Advanced non-HP Device Support Module and includes access to features such as configuration of unlike devices, auto grouping, configurable alerts, intelligent updating of software, user profiles, comparative reporting, trend and forecasting reporting, and much more.

For more information about Lionbridge and the certification or qualification services, please visit the lionbridge website at www.lionbridge.com/lionbridge/en-US/services/software-product-engineering/testing-veritest/product-certification-services/hpwjacert.htm .

Question: What devices are certified and qualified for the HP Advanced non-HP Device Support Module?

Answer:

HP will provide the list of certified and qualified devices as they are made available on the www.hp.com/go/webjetadmin website.

Question: Why isn’t HP Web Jetadmin discovering my non-HP third party printer?

Answer:

During discovery of devices, HP Web Jetadmin uses SNMP queries to gather information from the printer and print server device. If HP Web Jetadmin concludes that the device is a peripheral such as a printer, plotter, multi-function device, etc., it will display it in the list of discovered devices. In order for HP Web Jetadmin to conclude that a device is a peripheral, the device must be able to answer a set of basic questions.

A MIB (Management Information Base) is a set of objects that defines the types of SNMP queries that can be asked of a device. For example, the Standard Printer MIB (RFC 1759) is a generic set of objects to which most peripherals should be able to provide answers when queried. The Standard Printer MIB consists of objects that describe functionality and capabilities of the printer such as page counts, media types, etc. Other common MIBs include MIB2 (RFC 1213) and the Host Resources MIB (RFC 1514).

Devices must be able to answer queries defined in these common MIBs in order for HP Web Jetadmin to discover the devices. Otherwise, there is not enough information pertaining to the device to warrant displaying it in the list of discovered devices. HP Web Jetadmin focuses on printer management, and it would be increasingly difficult to distinguish devices as printers unless they can answer a standard set of questions such as those defined in the Standard Printer MIB.

Additionally, the print server device that connects the peripheral to the network must be able to answer queries defined in MIB2 (RFC 1213) in order for the peripheral to be discovered in HP Web Jetadmin.

Question: What type of information will be provided in HP Web Jetadmin for my third party printer?

Answer:

Everything that HP Web Jetadmin provides for third party printers must be available through standard queries as defined in the Standard Printer MIB, Host Resources MIB, and MIB2. Thus, the following features will be provided to the extent that queries can be made that comply with these MIBS:

• Alerts:
  • Polling only, no traps
  • Limited set of events
  • Service (online, offline, error, disconnected)
  • Supplies (paper out, toner low, toner out, other supplies low/out/replace)
  • Media Path (paper jam, cover open, output full)
• Status:
  • Basic status events
• Graphics:
  • A single generic graphic for all models
• Consumables:
  • Gauges for remaining levels such as toner Tray levels
• Reports:
  • Device Inventory Engine cycle counts
• Configuration items:
  • System Contact
  • Control Panel Language
  • Company Name
  • Contact Person
  • System Location
  • Duplex Binding
  • Original Orientation
  • Control Panel Access
  • IP Address
• Detailed Info:
  • General category (serial #, engine count)
  • HP Jetdirect category (HW address, packets, IP address)
• Troubleshooting:
  • Reset button EWS button
• Storage:
  • Disk information (type, size, read/write)
  • Initialize disk
• Capabilities:
  • Duplex
  • Color
  • Memory
  • PCL/PS

Question: Why do the gauges for remaining toner levels appear with hashes instead of a solid bar on my third party printer?

Answer:

If a devices answers prtMarkerSuppliesDescription correctly, the gauge will be present as HP Web Jetadmin knows the consumable exists. However, if the device cannot answer either prtMarkerSuppliesMaxCapacity or prtMarkerSuppliesCurrentLevel correctly, the percentage cannot be calculated and HP Web Jetadmin will display hashes instead to indicate an “unknown�? level.

Question: Why aren’t there any consumables gauges displayed for remaining levels on my third party printer?

Answer:

A device must answer prtMarkerSuppliesDescription correctly in order for HP Web Jetadmin to know the consumable exists. Without a response to this Standard Printer MIB query, HP Web Jetadmin will not display a gauge.

Question: Why do the gauges for remaining paper tray levels appear with hashes and a value of “non-empty�? for my third party printer?

Answer:

While a device answers the prtInputType query to indicate a tray is present, the device may respond to the prtInputMaxCapacity and prtInputCurrentLevel queries with either true values or a value that indicates at least one sheet remains. If true values are returned, a calculation is presented. If true values are not provided, HP Web Jetadmin will display either “empty�? or “not empty�? depending upon if the device indicates at least one sheet remains.

Question: Why doesn’t the picture on my third party printer match the printer?

Answer:

Once a third party device is discovered and opened to reveal the Status page, HP Web Jetadmin will determine if it can display a matching bitmap and icon for the device. It will match the printer type that is returned from the device against any predefined bitmaps and icons that have been created in a plug-in. Since only one generic plug-in is present to define supported items per third party vendor, only one generic picture will be supplied per third party vendor.

Question: Why are so few alerts available for my third party printer and so many alerts available for my HP printer?

Answer:

While HP Web Jetadmin can listen for traps to trigger alerts on HP printers, it will only perform polling to trigger alerts on third party printers. Since polling will be used to provide alerts, the only supported events are those that can be detected through status queries that match certain conditions. Standard status queries such as those defined in the Host Resources MIB can typically determine the following types of alert conditions:

• Toner Out
• Toner Low
• Paper Out
• Paper Low
• Cover Open
• Offline
• Paper Jam
• Printer Error

Question: Why are so few configuration items available for my third party printer?

Answer:

Each printer vendor has its own proprietary MIBs that define exactly which objects to query to get or set information pertaining to the device. Unfortunately, these are proprietary, and HP Web Jetadmin has no knowledge of the objects defined in the MIBs. For this reason, HP Web Jetadmin must rely upon the device supporting the Standard Printer MIB as defined in RFC 1759 in order to provide management capabilities. There are a minimum number of standard queries that can be made to perform some of the configuration items that HP Web Jetadmin makes available. Most configuration items require proprietary objects thus do not appear for third party printers.

Question: Why don’t I see the ability to upgrade firmware or create print queues for my third party printer in HP Web Jetadmin?

Answer:

The technique used for firmware upgrades can differ from vendor to vendor and becomes too risky for HP Web Jetadmin to provide. Print queue creation involves installation of a printer driver which also becomes too cumbersome and risky for HP Web Jetadmin to provide.

Functionality that is reserved for HP devices includes:

• Custom device graphics
• Firmware upgrades
• Print queue creation
• Reports
  • Accessories Inventory (capabilities)
  • Supplies Utilization (marker supply info)
  • Device Utilization (page counters)
  • Peak Usage (hourly page counters)
• Extended configuration items
• Alerts
  • Trap based alerts
  • Extended alert capabilities (fuser, fan, disk, etc. errors)
• Print Test page button
• Multicast Discovery (Multicast)

Question: Why does the control panel claim “not supported�? or “unknown�? for my third party printer in HP Web Jetadmin?

Answer:

“Not Supported�? indicates the device did not respond to the prtConsoleDisplayBufferText object while “unknown�? may indicate that the device recognizes the prtConsoleDisplayBufferText object but did respond with any text.

Question: Why does the model name for the third party printer in HP Web Jetadmin appear to be a much longer name than the true name of the device?

Answer:

HP Web Jetadmin relies upon hrDeviceDescr to display the model name. Properly truncated model names are generally provided in proprietary objects. HP Web Jetadmin does not know how to truncate a response to hrDeveiceDescr if it contains too many characters. For example, if a Lexmark printer responds with “Lexmark X652de 7932M8R LJ.MN.P092�?, HP Web Jetadmin cannot know where to truncate the string.

Question: Can HP Web Jetadmin display a serial number for my third party printer?

Answer:

The Serial Number is a unique manufacturing identifier for the printer. The serial number is a critical identifier item for HP Web Jetadmin that is used to determine the uniqueness of a device along with other items such as MAC Address, IP Address, etc. Some functionality, such as Reports, will be blocked in HP Web Jetadmin if the serial number cannot be obtained. Therefore, HP Web Jetadmin will make strong efforts to obtain the serial number from third party devices. The most typical and widely supported object to extract for obtaining serial number is prtGeneralSerialNumber from the Standard Printer MIB.

Question: Can HP Web Jetadmin display page counts for my third party printer?

Answer:

Page Count is a value stored on the printer that represents a cumulative total of pages printed for the life of the printer. This is the same value that is reported on the test or configuration page for the printer as the Engine Page Count. Page Count will be displayed if a printer supports the prtMarkerLifeCount object in the Standard Printer MIB. Page counts for various sizes and/or fax, copy, scan, and color page counts are only obtainable via proprietary queries and cannot be provided for basic third party support.