The intent of the Site Server is to ensure the access to Print and Copy services is supported during a network outage; i.e. to ensure the business can still continue to function during a disaster. Some services remain unavailable during an outage, as detailed below.
| Normal Operations | Offline with NO Site Server | Offline WITH Site Server |
|---|---|---|---|
Basic printing (Failure mode) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
MFD login (ALL devices) | Yes | No | Yes |
Hardware terminals (CPad, Alpha, VCC…) | Yes | No | Yes |
Secure Print | Yes | No | Yes |
Find-Me Print | Yes | No | Yes |
User Balances | Yes | No | Yes |
Filters and conversions | Yes | No | Yes |
Release Stations | Yes | No | Yes |
Shared Accounts at the MFD | Yes | No | Yes |
Payment Gateways, Kiosks | Yes | No | No |
Mobile Print (Web, GCP, iOS, Email…) | Yes | No | No |
Desktop Client / Account Selection | Yes | No | No |
Scripting | Yes | No | No |
Table 11.2. Supported Functions
To ensure continuity, Offline Policies allow an Administrator to define the application behaviour ahead of any outage that disrupts PaperCut normal operations.
As the user client, scripting services and payment options are not available during an outage, Offline Policies fill the gaps allowing users to continue to work. Offline policies are available after installing your first Site Server. They are accessible via →
The PaperCut User Client is one service that remains connected to the Application Server. Users that normally have the desktop client popup ask for a Shared Account before prints are accepted need a policy to determine the account to charge when the desktop client is unavailable during an outage. The policy options are;
[default] Automatically charge to a single shared account. The print job is charged to a specified shared account (the default is "Offline Account").
Automatically charge to personal account. The print job is charged to the user’s personal account.
Cancel the print job. If a Shared Account must be selected by the end user and this is not possible, the job is cancelled.
The Offline Credit Policy determines how PaperCut should determine whether to assume credit is available or to deny the job when the Application Server is unavailable. As an example, organizations may choose to allow an overdraft should the ability for users to top up their accounts be impacted whilst the central Application Server cannot be contacted.
The following policies are defined for restricted users and accounts whilst a site is in offline mode:
[default] Use last known balance. Only deny jobs when the user’s balance (as known by the Site Server) is used up.
Use the last known balance and allow overdraw by. Only deny jobs when the User’s balance known by the Site Server, plus a specified offline overdraft amount is used up.
Allow job to proceed, regardless of balance. Treat the account as unrestricted and allow all jobs to proceed. The account may go into negative when the Application Server is available again.
Assume no credit. Deny any job charging to restricted accounts. Only unrestricted accounts will be able to be used when offline with this policy. For example, when offline, Staff are able to use resources, whereas Students are not.
Important: The first three policies may result in accounts being deficit when the Application Server is online again.
The User Authentication Policy prescribes the behavior in offline mode where PaperCut cannot validate the owner of the job. This is anticipated for sites that rely on the unauthenticated user feature of PaperCut. For unauthenticated users, the following policies are available:
[default] Assign print job to this user. (The default user is "unknown"). The preconfigured user should be configured as unrestricted, so that jobs allocated to this user are not denied based on the Offline Credit Policy. You may also configure this user to charge to a specified shared account (which should also be unrestricted).
Do not track, but allow job to print. Jobs will pass through physical queues unimpeded to the destination printers. However jobs sent to virtual queues will not print.
Cancel the print job. Any print jobs sent from the unauthenticated users will be cancelled immediately.
Important: This policy also applies for users that have not been encountered by PaperCut previously. i.e. new domain users that have not been previously synced into PaperCut.
PaperCut normally performs user authentication via an external directory source, such as Active Directory. In normal operations, this validation is performed by the Application Server. When offline, we may choose between these options:
External authentication on: The Site Server attempts to authenticate the user via the external source as configured. This option requires the authentication source to be able to be contacted by the Site Server during the interruption that is preventing access to the Application Server.
External authentication off: Authentication from an external source is not available. This means that offline username/password login to a device or release station is not available, other than for Internal users.