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Network printers crashing WINS server

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by joeleary

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We have several Canon network printers, some older some new. All are setup to receive IP address, WINS server, gateway from DHCP on a Windows 2000 network. Every so often the older models lose contact with the WINS server and they start a broadcast storm that winds up crashing the network and corrupting the WINS database. They are setup for H-node and only can be entered for one WINS server not a secondary. When we set the machines back to factory defaults they work again for awhile then ithappens again. With the network traces did it seems they lose contact with the WINS server and keep trying to register its name with WINS over and over causing broadcast storms because it cannot reach the WINS server directly. Canon themselves donot have an answer as of yet. We have to use WINS and DHCP for our printers for political reasons (of course) otherwise that would be the first thing i would change. Any solutions?

5 replies

by mikenac

Sure.. Use DHCP for these printers, but set up a reservation in your DHCP scope, so that they always get the same IP address.

Then create a static mapping in your Wins server.

I have yet to see any printers that work correctly using DHCP. Theyall work for a while and then......

by temp

Agreed. Static entries in DHCP for the MAC addresses to your printers should resilve this issue as long as you do not have other network issues that do not let your printers contact the WINS servers. If this is the case, set your printers to P node (h-node contacts the WINS server first, then boradcasts, m-node broadcasts first then contacts the WINS server, B-mode broadcasts only, and P-node ONLY utilizes WINS, disabling all broadcasts. If you dont wish to put these printers in P-mode within thier statically assigned DHCP options, your other alternative, though it will be a sizeable project upon itself, would be to segment your network to reduce broadcast traffic all together. If funds are and issue for switches that support VLANS, youcan always use a Windows 2k server running RRAS or a *nix machine as a router.

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