HP 1018 HP Universal Print Driver for Windows, Version 4.1 - Technical Frequen - Page 5

Services What services are installed, and what are the services used for? The HP Port Resolver (HPBPRO.DLL) and HP Status Monitor (HPBOID.DLL) services are installed on the server. These services are there as a way to have a common and easily accessible set of components to establish bi-directional communication with network and DOT4 connected devices. Why does HP install services for bidirectional communications? The UPD installs services for bidirectional communication to facilitate the following advantages: • The services allow the Universal Print Driver to communicate with each HP device and automatically customize itself for each device's unique features. • Bi-directional communication services enable real-time print job and device information (Status Notification Prompt). When are services installed? (I saw that some services are only installed if I click on Update Properties and the user has admin rights.) To install the driver, you must have Admin rights, unless it's a point-and-print install (where the service registration doesn't get pushed). What services are pushed out to the client? In a Point-and-Print install, no services should be registered or running on clients, although the files get pushed with the driver. If the client has local installs of product-specific HP drivers installed, however, they may or may not have the same services depending on the age and model of the drivers. Are there different services for Universal Print Driver PCL5/6 and PS? Can they be installed on the same server/client? The services are common across PDLs and only one instance is in place at a time. Since the services are only running for the time it takes for the devices to communicate, the upgrade path is clean. Is there a statement from Microsoft regarding the use of the services? Not that I'm aware of. The service architecture in Windows is still heavily used. I have never seen a document from Microsoft indicating that IHV/ISVs are discouraged from taking advantage of it to drive their solutions. Does Universal Print Driver use different services than product-specific drivers? Not drivers released in the same window. The product-specific drivers used to register a couple of additional services, but the current set of services described above is common to the Universal Print Driver and product-specific drivers. What is the strategy of HP regarding the services? Are they going to be replaced by another technology in future? There are no plans to do this at this time. Universal Print Driver Frequently Asked Questions 1