[tanker3278]

System Specs

Operating System – Linux Lite	Linux Lite 8.0
CPU / Processor	Intel Core i7-1255U
Memory (RAM)	8 GB
Storage	NVMe SSD
Graphics (GPU)	Intel iRISxe
Network device	Realtek RTL8852BE PCIe 802.11ax Wireless Network Controller

New to Linux Lite.  Need some help with getting a wireless printer up and running.

Keep running into:
"CUPS server error"
"There was an error during the CUPS operation: 'server-error-internal-error.' "
when attempting to add the printer via System/Printers menu.  I tried installing the Brother drivers via the Wireless Wizard off their website.  Didn't seem to have any effect.  Still same result.

While I have some experience with Linux and the command line, this one is beyond what I know how to troubleshoot.  Is this a printer settings issue, a firewall issue, or something else?  Everything else seems to work - just not the printer.

What is this telling me?  I know CUPS = Common Unix Printing Server, but am not knowledgeable enough to know what to look for after getting this type error message.

Background info:
Just moved my elderly mother (age 80) to Fedora and ran into a problem with the top feeder on her Brother all-in-one printer/scanner.  It can scan from the glass, but not from the top feeder.  No issues with printing.

It's her first time off Windows (since our Apple IIe when we were kids in the 80s).  Since this change is just now a thing for her, she won't be completely set on sticking with any version of Linux for a few months - so I have a window of time to adjust things as needed.

WHO:  Me - Not any kind of power user on any platform (windows, linux, or anything else).  I've used linux off & on since the 1990s.  I've been on linux full time now for about 3 years (Fedora & OpenMandriva, plus the same bit of distro hopping the average user does).

WHAT:  After my Mom's computer (Core i5) effectively came to a halt, she agree to let me do some upgrades and install linux.  Changed out her old 5400 rpm HDD to an SSD to clear up that bottleneck, changed her wifi card from a B/G/N to an AX, and installed Fedora Workstation thinking that would be the best chance for a "works out of the box" type situation.

It did, except for that top feeder.  And after seeing how much of a difference that made, apparently my Mom started chatting up my sister about it.  My sister is now asking me to do her computer when she gets back from vacation.  Similar hardware situation, approximately 15 year old laptop (don't know what model it is yet - and neither does she, "it's a computer?").

Total of about $125 for an SSD, Wifi6 card, and a drive enclosure for turning that old HDD into an external storage drive.  And she got to avoid the "new computer" thing that elderly people dislike.

WHY1:  That puts me in a position of wanting to standardize all 3 laptops onto the same operating system in order to give myself the best chance at becoming familiar with it and support my Mom & Sister when they inevitably will screw things up.  Which is how I came by Linux Light.  I did a search for the linux distro with the best chance of working "out of the box" and it seems Ubuntu has moved back in front of Fedora since the last time I looked (+10 years ago).   Linux Lite gets listed as good for older laptops that would benefit from a lightweight distro and Ubuntu's hardware support.  Using a light distro gives these laptops the potential for the longest possible service life.

I keep all of my data stored on an external drive, so I can do full installs all day without bothering anything.  I jumped in with a full drive partition because that's what I'd be doing on my Mom and sisters computers.

WHY2:  If I can get passed this printer issue, then LL is an option.  It's already proven to work on my setup with a 2nd monitor that has speakers built into it (sounds great!).  If I can't get passed the printer issues - then LL is not an option.

WHY3:  I also have another 15 year old laptop I plan on turning into a linux box so my 8yo can play Minetest.  It's an AMD and a bit slower (was cheaper) than mine or my Mom's computers - was a hand-me-down from the In-laws.  I figure that would be a good test run of a less capable laptop to see how LL handles old hardware.  But I need to get this printer issue fixed first.

How do I fix this?

[stevef]

The CUPS server error may be a Name Resolution System (DNS) problem.

The printer advertises it's services using a name that the PC can't resolve.

To check for this condition, ensure the printer is on and run this command to find the names of any IPP print servers (printers) advertising on the network

Code:

ippfind

The response may look something like this

Code:

ipp://HPFC15B4D163FD.local:631/ipp/print

This shows the name of a printer advertising ipp print services on port 631.
In this example, the printer's name is HPFC15B4D163FD.local

To check if the PC can resolve the name, try pinging with a command similar to the one below.
Replace HPFC15B4D163FD.local with the printer name that your system reports.

Code:

ping HPFC15B4D163FD.local

If you get a name resolution failure, post back with the ipp name of your printer and the IP address it uses and we can give you a workaround.

Best if the printer IP address is fixed, either by setting it direct on the printer or by reserving it on your DHCP server.

[tanker3278]

On my first attempt I got an error - and then realized I needed to go wake up the printer.

Code:

ippfind [ble: exit 1]

Afterwards I got:

Code:

ippfind ipp://BRW4C82A9E8C11D.local:631/ipp/print

I used copy & paste to ensure I didn't make any type-o's.  Pinging it I got:

Code:

ping BRW4C82A9E8C110.local ping: BRW4C82A9E8C110.local: Temporary failure in name resolution [ble: exit 2]

[LL-user]

If you don't want to deal with DHCP/setting up a fixed IP address, here some info to solve the name resolution issue:

* hostname resolution via Avahi/mDNS
hostname resolution (*.local) also depends on Avahi, which handles mDNS properly.

* make sure Avahi is running:

Code:

systemctl status avahi-daemon

If it's not running:

Code:

sudo systemctl start avahi-daemon sudo systemctl enable avahi-daemon

* Enable nss-mdns
The ''.local'' domain requires ''nss-mdns'' to be installed and configured:

Code:

# Install nss-mdns (if not already present) sudo apt install libnss-mdns # Verify /etc/nsswitch.conf has "mdns4_minimal" for hosts grep hosts /etc/nsswitch.conf # Should include: hosts: files mdns4_minimal [NOTFOUND=return] dns mdns4 # Test hostname resolution ping -c 3 BRW4C82A9E8C110.local # If ping fails, restart avahi sudo systemctl restart avahi-daemon

Hope that helps