Windows Virtual Desktop on IGEL OS – Bring your own printer using CUPS! 11.05.131 released!

By Fredrik Brattstig @virtualbrat

19 April 2021 – IGEL just released a new firmware extending the WVD client – we now support CUPS printer mapping in WVD sessions. CUPS (CUPS stands for Common UNIX Print System) mapping is a standardized way of adding printers to the IGEL OS endpoint and bring them to session. One of the beauties’ with CUPS mapping is that the printer driver for your special printer doesn’t need to exist on Linux. High level description would be that the IGEL OS endpoint will act as a print-box and forward the printer to the WVD session using the nifty Virtual Channels.

When a user connects to the WVD session and the CUPS printer is configured correctly the printer appear in session, with the correct Windows print driver, allowing you to use all sorts of advanced function. Color, double sided, any paper size the printer can do etc. The printers native driver needs to be installed on the WVD host where your user are connecting in to, and the CUPS printer needs to tell the server-side virtual machine what driver to use.
In my scenario I’m using a Brother printer, where the drivers doesn’t exist in the IGEL OS driver repository.

Here you have a sample config where I map my Brother DCP-L3550CDW series printer using CUPS to the IGEL OS endpoint and then connect in to WVD.
First off, you open up a IGEL UMS profile, or the local Setup, go to Devices->Printer->CUPS->Printers and add a printer and this dialogue will appear:

The Red-marked entries is what I changed to add my printer. The printer is connected to my network so I set the Printer Port to TCP network printer and has the IP of 172.16.200.200, I set manufacturer to Generic, the printer name to Raw Queue and I also set the Default paper size to A4

Now lets tell the IGEL OS WVD client to bring the printer to the session. As this is a new feature in 11.05.131, we have to set this configuration in the registry. Soon there will be a update allowing to config this using what I say the Graphical Setup. Anyhow, in IGEL Setup lets expand System->Registry->Print->CUPS->Printer0->wvd_printer_driver and i will type Brother DCP-L3550CDW series in the field, as this is how the print driver is named in Windows. It looks like this:

And now let us connect to WVD! I recorded a short video where I login to WVD from my IGEL OS device and open up the mapped printer in session.

The firmware enabling this new feature is a private build, named 11.05.131. Fill out the form below and I’ll send you the download link to the firmware ASAP!
Happy Printing!
/Fred

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