This article aims at describing Gespage technical prerequisites for installation purpose.
Introduction
Gespage is an application for the management of MFPs. It provides features such secure print release, scan flows, mobile printing, accounting, and payment. It can manage printers installed on one or several print servers or on workstations.
The Web architecture of Gespage is made accessible to the administrator via the network with a web browser.
Technical Prerequisites
Gespage application
On-Premise server
Gespage On Premise software must be installed on a Windows or Linux server.- It can be installed on a print server, i.e. a server that hosts print queues and share them on the network.
The server hosting Gespage service may also be separated from the server hosting print queues (on which only the agent service is to install). - It is also possible to install the application on a cloud hosted server but it requires in such case to have a VPN connection on the client network.
Windows Server
- In Windows environment, it is recommended to install Gespage on a Windows server.
- Gespage is by default installed on the print server, but it can also be hosted on a separate Windows server.
- The supported Windows Server OS are :
- Windows Server 2022
- Windows Server 2019
For small configurations (less than 10 workstations), it may be acceptable to host the print server on a Windows work station.
The supported Windows OS are :
- Windows 11 (64 bits)
- Windows 10 (64 bits)
Linux Server
In Linux environment, Gespage application must be installed at least on a Debian 11 or Ubuntu 22.04 distribution.
We recommend using Debian 12 for now.
The Debian installation procedure is available in the article : Gespage v9 installation on Debian
Hardware requirements
The prerequisites concerning the On-Premise server are dependent on the size of the fleet of printers and on the Gespage functions to be used.
Gespage server physical requirements are as follows:
- More than 100 printers: Minimum 16 GB of RAM, minimum 8 CPU
- From 50 to 100 printers: Minimum 12 GB of RAM, minimum 6 CPU
- From 10 to 50 printers: Minimum 8 GB of RAM (12 GB minimum if using Gespage mobile), minimum 4 CPU
- Less than 10 printers: Minimum 8 GB of RAM, minimum 2 CPU
ATTENTION! The maximum number of printers per print server depends on the limitations of the Windows print servers and on the configuration (drivers, number of workstations ...). We do not recommend more than 300 print queues per print server.
Installing the software requires 5 GB of disk space available. The total size of a print server disk space depends on the documents printed (time for document retention, size of spool files).
The web interface of administration is compatible with browsers Edge, Firefox, and Chrome.
Database
Gespage is compatible with 2 types of databases :
- PostgreSQL: 15.2 (default configuration)
- Microsoft SQL server: Minimum version - 2016
By default, Gespage installer installs an autonomous PostgreSQL database. The database can also be hosted externally.
Network flows
Gespage software requires to open network flows which depend on the configuration.
Please refer to Gespage administration and eTerminal manuals for further information.
Architecture overview
Standard Configuration
Gespage server is divided in 4 main services :
- Gespage Application Server : Manages the printing logic, the users’ accounts, the Web interface, and the management of the eTerminals or peripherals.
- Gespage Print Service (or Agent service) : Manages Windows or Linux print queues.
- Gespage Mobile Service: Manages Gespage mobile printing and advanced scanning.
- Gespage Mobile Gateway : Manages Gespage App
By default, it is installed with an autonomous PostgreSQL database managed by its own service.
Multi-sites configuration
- There are specific functions for managing multiple sites with a limited network link (Gespage Remote, Tracker Agent). Please refer to Gespage administration manual about these architectures.
Prepare the installation
Printers configuration
Print2me
Virtual Print2me print queues are used to allow secure printing. It requires that all compatible printers support a common print driver.
Print accounting
Gespage parser allows the analysis of spool files of the following languages:
- PostScript
- PCL 5/6
- XPS
For other print languages, Gespage relies on the information provided by the print spooler (only on Windows).
ATTENTION! Print flows from ERP systems must be first validated.
Users configuration
Prior to installation, it is important to define how the user accounts will be setup.
Users can be created through several methods:
- By synchronization with a LDAP directory
- By CSV import
- By an administrator on the web interface.
- Dynamically at the first authentication from a Popup window.
- By an end-user in the user interface.
Only the case of a configuration for public environment with a payment station does not require the creation of accounts in Gespage.
LDAP Synchronization
Gespage may synchronize its database of users to one or several LDAP directories:
- AD
- Azure
- OpenLDAP
Some specific fields can be defined to be synchronized from the directory (such as the card number or the print code).
Synchronized accounts are created in Gespage database.
Gespage connects to the directory at synchronizations or validation of a user password.
CSV Import
If no directory is available, users can be created from a CSV file.
The format of the CSV file must be in Gespage standard. The format of this file is dependent on the parameters to be initialized by the CSV import.
Please contact Gespage support to get the file format that matches your needs and prepare it before installation.
Client Stations
Print submission
By default, users printing to the shared print queues are identified by the login of their session.
Without a print server, Gespage agent must be installed on the users’ workstations to manage the print jobs through Gespage. This Gespage agent will connect to the Gespage application server.
Gespage Popup
In the following cases, the use of GespagePopup software is required in order to identify the owners of the prints:
- Printing from a shared station without a distinct login per user.
- Login of the users different of the accounts defined in Gespage.
The Popup can be installed to identify the users printing or to notify them with information about their prints.
This is an application that can be installed on Windows, Mac, or Linux.
The application requires Java 11 minimum.
Gespage features
Gespage Mobile
Gespage mobile printing is available through:
- Web printing
- Email printing
- App printing
Web printing
Web printing is using Gespage user interface. Please refer to the dedicated chapter.
Email printing
Email printing requires to create public mailboxes dedicated to receiving the documents to be printed (if all printers are compatible, only one mailbox is required)
App printing
Gespage App is available on Android and iOS phones and tablets.
App printing requires that the device is connected to the Gespage server (through a WiFi access or through the Gespage server address being public on Internet)
Gespage user interface
The user interface is a public web page provided to end users :
- To submit print job (web printing)
- To access their account information
- To top-up their credit (through web payment option)
Gespage user interface is available only for devices with a network access to Gespage server.
If the service is supplied on Internet, the server must have a public IP. In this case, the DNS name of the server should also be public (for example, print.mydomain.com).
It is recommended to purchase a SSL certificate for the access to the website.
The installation of the certificate is carried out by Gespage support.
Web payment
Opening of the merchant account
You have to open a merchant account to a payment gateway compatible with Gespage.
Thank you to contact the following organizations to open a merchant account:
Opening this merchant account requires the subscription of a banking contract with an acquiring partner. This contract defines the costs charged by your bank (% of turnover, cost per transaction …).
The opening of these accounts may take several weeks.
Gespage configuration
Web payment is using Gespage user interface. Please refer to the dedicated chapter.
In addition, in the case of Paypal, it is mandatory to have a public access from interface with a valid certificate.
Gespage scan
If you want to setup OCR processing in Gespage scans, Tesseract 3.05.01 must be installed on Gespage server (please refer to the Gespage manual for installation advice).