Is it practical to connect the printer directly to the main cable (aka trunk) instead of the server as in the photo. If not why?
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2 Answers
The books shows the typical case of a printer connected with an serial-paralel-usb cable to a host. Then the host will share "his printer", and the equipment on network will be able to print once it will connected to the host, and search for "Devices shared" on the target host.
Newer printers with hign performance can bring a NIC built-in. In this cases, you can configure an IP address and convert it into a terminal device. Then, all the equipments that can conmunicate with him, and will be able to print without problem.
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So the book illustration is showing a printer without a NIC card? Commented Oct 5, 2015 at 21:34
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Like we see, book shows a Typical Bus topology, (do you remember, BUS, RING, MESH) where the equipment are connected throught some physical medium, one to everyone all the large of the network, using some devices called TAPs, where occurs the desviation of the electrical signal to every equipment. I think, this case do not make a point if this printer have NIC or not, maybe it has, maybe not, but the point of the ilustration is show you how BUS topology look like, how the equipments are connected,... and, very important, how it finished, look at the sides, it called "terminators". Commented Oct 5, 2015 at 21:40
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I think, if you look BUS topology (obsolet nowdays) it used mainly 10BASE-5 (thick) and 10BASE-2 (thin), COAXIAL CABLE,I dont know if exist one printer with that technology on that days, but still is posible. Nowdays, like a say, is used on a topology where it is posible the 2 scenarios, connected or not, directly, like another network equipment. Commented Oct 5, 2015 at 21:49
It depends on whether or not the printer has a NIC and built-in print server. Many new printers will work this way with built-in ethernet and/or Wi-Fi adapters.
The diagram shows something that once was very common: a printer connected to a file/print server.
For what it's worth, the word "trunk" has a connotation as a switch link which carries multiple VLANs. The diagram is just showing a network, typically a single VLAN.
answered Oct 5, 2015 at 21:14
