Reference Guide

5 Scalability
HP ePrint Enterprise can be deployed in a primary/secondary server layout to balance the load for larger
printer fleets. In this layout, a single primary server will be responsible for the database operations
(searching, user authentication, activity logging, etc.) and routing print job requests to other secondary
servers. Secondary servers will then be responsible for rendering and printing only. Primary servers can also
be set to perform rendering and printing for a given set of printers, but can also automatically take over that
responsibility in case of a secondary server failure.
The balancing mechanism is static and related to printer distribution: each server (be it primary or secondary)
will be responsible for addressing a defined set of printers. If a print job is sent to printer A that is hosted by a
secondary server S1, the job is forwarded to S1 for rendering and printing. If S1 becomes unavailable for any
reason, the primary server M will take over and execute job on printer A. If a job is sent to a printer B that is
hosted by M (the primary server), jobs sent to this printer will only be processed by M. As of this version,
there is no failover mechanism for a primary server.
The following diagram illustrates a primary/secondary server deployment layout:
Secondary servers have no information about the primary server. The primary server controls the database
records identifying all registered secondary servers. A secondary server that is not registered as a valid host
in the database will not be accessible.
16 Chapter 5 Scalability