Hi, I've always been told that there is a maximum number of printers that can be serviced by a Windows Operating system and I believe it is 256. Can anyone confirm whether there is indeed a maximum number of printers that can be installed on a Windows 2003 server and if so how many. Thanks

I am sure it is more that that. There is a max but it is a huge number. Our system has thousands of printers in AD, and more not listed.

Thanks Jefro, Could you clarify what you mean when you say you have thousands of printers in AD? Is that the number of printers installed on one server? Are they installed as local or nework printers?

I mean that as a domain, running hundreds of servers mostly tied by Active Directory or Novell, printers across the country are available because they have been listed in AD. There are other printers I am sure in many offices that are not part of AD. A printer in AD is just one of the objects that can be added to an OU.

Leaving AD to one side for a moment, the question I'm asking is very simple. On a single Windows 2000 server, is there a maximum number of printers that can be installed using the "Add Printer" icon?

This is all I could find. From MS site "Types of Drivers Scalability is closely tied to driver types in that a server might be required to host many unique driver models. For example, a server hosting 2,100 printers that use the same driver requires less registry access and saves some spooler processing compared to a server hosting 2,100 printers that use 215 unique printer drivers. For many customers, reliability and scalability go together, because they cannot afford to be without a certain number of printers at one time. For this reason, Microsoft recommends using the user-mode drivers supplied with Windows 2000 or the Windows Server 2003 family or the drivers provided by the printer manufacturer that include the Designed for Windows logo."

There is no set answer. here is something i found on nt 4.0 which i am sure should hold true for 2000 in a similar way... There is no practical limit built into Windows NT 4.0. The number that your Print Server can support depends upon: The number and speed of the processor(s). The speed/throughout of the servers disk sub-system. The speed of the NIC(s). The speed of the printers. The printer driver software efficency. The size of the print jobs.