Determining if a printer works with SNMP

Not all printers work with SNMP and the standard MIB. In addition, only printers that are attached to a network can work with SNMP. Printers that are parallel-attached cannot use SNMP.

To determine if a printer works with SNMP:

  1. Set the actual destination attribute destination-tcpip-internet-address to the IP address of the printer to indicate that InfoPrint Manager should try to communicate with the printer using SNMP. The server sets the actual destination attribute use-snmp to “true”.
    Note: For PSF TCP-IP attached printers, a destination TCP-IP port number of 5002 must be used when driving the second engine in an InfoPrint 4000 or InfoPrint 4100 dual simplex configuration for SNMP support to work. If 5002 is used for a printer other than one using SNMP, the actual destination for that printer will not work. The server will set the actual destination attribute use-snmp to "false".
  2. If the server cannot communicate with the printer using SNMP, it pings the printer. If the ping command:
    • Works, the server concludes that the printer is not an SNMP printer. It sets use-snmp to “false”.
    • Does not work, the server concludes that the printer is turned off or is not currently connected to the network. It leaves use-snmp set to “true” and continues trying to establish an SNMP connection with the printer.
  3. Check the actual destination attribute snmp-active. If it is “true”, the printer works with SNMP.
Parent topic: Setting up and using SNMP