Configuring Secondary Servers

In a PriApps Enterprise Deployment, Secondary Servers handle the actual printing and MFP management at specific locations. There can be any number of Secondary Servers. In the Hub naming convention they are referred to as Hub1, Hub2, Hub3 and so on.

Secondary Servers must be installed and licensed before the Primary Server is configured. The Primary Server automatically configures Secondary Servers as part of its own configuration process — those servers must already be running PriApps when that happens.

Role of a Secondary Server

Each Secondary Server is responsible for:

Handling printing and MFP management at a specific location or group of locations
Managing the local population of print devices and users
Receiving configuration and user data from the Primary Server via synchronization

The Secondary Server is typically deployed where it can conveniently and efficiently serve the local print devices and users. This is especially important where network bandwidth between sites is limited — the Secondary Server provides local processing rather than routing every print job and authentication request across the WAN.

Each Secondary Server Hub controls all printing at one or more actual locations that are physically close to it.

Initial Secondary Servers (Hub1 and Hub2)

The first two Secondary Servers in the deployment are configured automatically when the Primary Server is configured. You do not need to configure Hub1 and Hub2 manually — the Primary Server pushes the necessary configuration to them.

Prerequisites

Install PriApps on the Secondary Server

Run the standard PriApps installer on the machine designated as the Secondary Server. Follow the installation procedure.

License the Secondary Server

Apply a valid PriApps license to the Secondary Server. Follow the licensing procedure.

Confirm the server is running

Verify that PriApps services are running on the Secondary Server before proceeding to configure the Primary Server. The Primary Server will contact the Secondary Server during its own configuration process.

Once all Secondary Servers are installed and licensed, proceed to configure the Primary Server. The Primary Server will automatically configure Hub1 and Hub2.

Adding an additional Secondary Server (e.g. Hub3)

After the initial deployment is set up, you can add further Secondary Servers to the enterprise. The procedure for adding Hub3 (or any subsequent Secondary Server) is as follows:

Install PriApps on the new server

Run the standard PriApps installer on the machine designated as the new Secondary Server (Hub3). Follow the installation procedure.

License the new server

Apply a valid PriApps license to the new Secondary Server. Follow the licensing procedure.

From the Primary Server Admin UI, add Hub3 as a new Secondary Server in the Enterprise configuration. The Primary Server will push configuration to the new Secondary Server and include it in central reporting and synchronization.

The Enterprise Disposition field in General Settings on each server controls its role in the Enterprise Deployment — Primary or Secondary. When adding a new Secondary Server, verify this field is set correctly on the new machine.

Secondary Server placement guidance

Place each Secondary Server where it can efficiently serve the local print devices and users at that site:

Physically located at or close to the remote site
On the same local network segment as the MFPs and printers it manages
With reliable network connectivity back to the Primary Server for synchronization

This ensures that user authentication requests and print release operations are handled locally, without depending on WAN bandwidth for every transaction.