Exercise: Network Share Configuration

Sharing a CUPS Printer

A hands-on exercise to configure printer sharing in CUPS, making a local printer available to other computers on the network.
Author

Chuck Nelson

Published

November 16, 2025

1 Purpose

In a home or small office, you often have one printer that needs to be used by multiple computers. This exercise demonstrates how to configure printer sharing in CUPS. This makes a printer that is managed by your local CUPS server (like our virtual IPP-Printer) visible and accessible to other computers on the same network, simulating a common network printing setup.

2 What You’ll Accomplish

By the end of this exercise, you will be able to:

  • Enable printer sharing in the CUPS web interface.
  • Describe the difference between a local printer and a shared network printer.
  • Understand the basic concept of network printing protocols like IPP.

This exercise maps to the following program and course learning outcomes:

  • Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs):
    • 1. Identify hardware and basic network components: This exercise covers the configuration of network services for a hardware peripheral.

This exercise develops the following skills, which align with the O*NET SOC Code 15-1232.00 for Computer User Support Specialists.

Learning Objective O*NET KSAs Technologies Used
Configure a printer for network sharing. Knowledge: Computers & Electronics, Telecommunications
Skills: Installation, Configuration		 CUPS, IPP, Shared Printer

3 Prerequisites

This exercise requires a running Fedora 43 virtual machine where you have completed Exercise 10.2 and created the IPP-Persistent-Printer.

4 Step-by-Step Guide

4.1 Step 1: Navigate to CUPS Administration Settings

  1. Open the Firefox browser in your VM.
  2. Navigate to the CUPS web interface: http://localhost:631
  3. Click on the Administration tab.

4.2 Step 2: Enable Printer Sharing

In the “Server Settings” section, you will find the options that control how CUPS behaves on the network.

  1. Find and check the box for Share printers connected to this system.
  2. Click the Change Settings button.
  3. You will be prompted for your user’s username and password to authorize the change.

CUPS will restart to apply the new settings. Your IPP-Persistent-Printer is now being broadcast on your local VM network.

4.3 Step 3: Understanding the Concept

You don’t need to perform any further actions for this exercise, but it’s important to understand what just happened.

  • Shared Printer: By enabling sharing, your computer’s CUPS server started broadcasting the presence of your IPP-Persistent-Printer queue using network protocols. Now, if another computer were on the same network, it could “discover” and add your shared printer, sending its print jobs over the network to your computer for processing.

  • Print Server: In this shared scenario, your computer is acting as the print server. If you turn your computer off, no one else can print to the IPP-Persistent-Printer queue. This is different from a true network printer that has its own network card and IP address and connects directly to the network without an intermediary computer.

5 Reflect and Review

ImportantReflection: 3-2-1

Now that you have completed this exercise, reflect on your experience in your personal notes:

  • 3 words you would use to describe the difference between a local and a shared printer.
  • 1 checkbox you enabled in the CUPS server settings.
  • 1 question you still have about network printing protocols.
TipCheck on Learning

Answer these questions in your notes to solidify your understanding:

  1. On which tab of the CUPS interface did you find the sharing settings?
  2. What is the main disadvantage of sharing a locally managed printer compared to using a dedicated network printer?
  3. What does IPP stand for?
  4. After you enabled sharing, which device is acting as the “print server”?
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