IPP Mail Archive: Re: IPP> Firewalls etc.

Re: IPP> Firewalls etc.

Scott Lawrence (lawrence@agranat.com)
Thu, 11 Jun 1998 16:00:32 -0400 (EDT)

On Thu, 11 Jun 1998, Paul Moore wrote:

> 1. A user inside a corporation sending print commands out into the internet.
> This is the one I was always talking about
>
> 2. A printer inside a corporation being accessed from outside. It was clear
> to me that this is what some others were talking about
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> #1 must work by default. I.e. if somebody on a web site or whatever has an
> ipp URL then (provided I have the right client s/w installed) I should be
> able to print to it, in the same way I can send email or browse a web site.

I think that you'll find that many corporate IT managers would
strenuously disagree. Your sending a print job from your desk could:

- print company confidential documents in an unsecure place
- incur print charges on behalf of the company (if you are sending it to
a commercial print shop)

Many firewalls I've used will allow ftp GET but disallow PUT for similar
reasons.

> This is the solution we have today. #1 works provided that the user can post
> onto the internet (usually true).

IPP in its current form is (in my view) likely to make some people
wonder about the wisdom of this.

> #2 works because most networks dont allow
> arbitrary inbound posts. This is true in routed cases and in proxy cases.