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Computer Standards

Peripherial Recommendations

Printers

OCCS recommends the Hewlett-Packard line of laser printers. All these items are on State Contract through:

AV Networks
Matt Phillips or The Virginia State Team
4431-B Brookfield Corporate Drive
Chantilly, VA 20151
1-703-802-0500 - Voice
1-703-808-0798 - Fax

  • Desk-side Personal Printer
    • HP LaserJet 2100 for the PC only (HP Option C3980A) and the HP LaserJet 2100N, LaserJet 2100 TN for the Macintosh and PC (HP Option C3982A).
    • Features: 1200 x 1200 dpi laser output, delivers 10 page-per minute print speed, 4MB of Memory standard (8MB for the 2100M). We do not recommend using the HP 2100 printer as a network printer. The 2100M and 2100TN are ideal for use with small department/workgroups. The 2100TN is network-ready right out of the box, with a pre-installed HP JetDirect 600N (EIO) Internal Print Server.

  • Small Department or WorkGroup Printer
    • HP 4050N (HP Option C4253A) for the PC, Macintosh, and UNIX environment.
    • Features include high-quality printing with ProRes 1200 for outstanding graphics, 17 page-per minute print speed, an expandable design for increased printing ability, Macintosh support, Postscript support and 16MB of Memory standard.

  • Large Department Printer
    • HP 8100 Series for the PC, Macintosh, and Unix environment (HP Option C3167A).
    • The HP 8100 features include 1200 dpi, 32 pages-per minute print speed, Postscript support, and 16MB of Memory standard. For large postscript documents, an additional 8MB of memory is recommended (24 MB on HP LaserJet 8100 DN model). The HP 8100N and above include a network adapter. Please select the Ethernet 10BASET adapter.

  • Network Printing
    • In order for several users to share a printer, that printer must be connected to the network. This will require an HP JetDirect Print Server (Ethernet Card).
    • Whenever possible, HP printers should be purchased with an internal HP Print Server.
    • An external HP Print Server is required for all non-HP printers or HP printers that do not have internal cards.
    • The recommended model is the HP JetDirect Ex-Plus (Ethernet) - Product number is J2591A or J3263A.

SCSI Cards

OCCS has experienced a variety of issues with different SCSI manufacturers currently in the industry. Many manufacturers of internal devices sell or package proprietary SCSI cards with their peripheral devices versus "standard" SCSI cards specifically produced by SCSI device manufacturers. These proprietary cards should be avoided to the greatest extent possible.

Whenever considering a SCSI card/device, it is important to determine the exact type and manufacturer of the components involved. Manufacturers such as Adaptec, Future Domain, or Promise are well known for their adherence to documented SCSI standards. For more effective support in our campus environment, OCCS recommends staying with reputable SCSI manufacturers and that the following be considered:

  • PC Bus Type: 32-bit PCI
  • Maximum Transfer Rate: 80 Mbytes /sec, 10 Mbytes /sec
  • Total Devices supported: 7 (internal or external), 15 (internal or external)
  • Support Protocols: SCSI-1, SCSI-2, SCSI-3 and FAST SCSI/ FAST SCSI-2, Wide Ultra SCSI, Ultra SCSI, Ultra2 SCSI, and Fast Wide SCSI
  • Boot Support: Onboard BIOS
  • External Connector: 50-pin high-density (Ultra and Fast SCSI devices, SCSI-2 female) DB25-pin (female)
  • Internal Connectors: 50-pin standard (Ultra and Fast SCSI devices, male)  68-pin high-density (Ultra2 SCSI devices)

For the average user, the above standards will be adequate for most devices like scanners, CD Writers (burners) and Zip and Jazz Drives. High-end users requiring bootable hard drive or CD Rom support will need to refer to the individual manufacturer's recommendations for the chosen product.

Scanner

Within the OCCS environment there are many factors which affect whether a scanner will operate correctly and to the full potential desired. These include compatibility issues with Windows NT 4.0 and user rights that are required to fully operate the scanner software interface. For more effective support in our campus environment, please consider the following:

  • Scan Resolution, Enhanced: 9600 dpi
  • Scan Resolution, Optical: 600 x 1200 dpi
  • Color Processing: 36 bit
  • Scan Speed:
    • 90 seconds, 4 x 6 in color photo to MS Word
    • 90 seconds, OCR letter size B/W text to MS Word
    • 90 seconds, B/W line art to MS Word
    • Connectivity/Interface: Parallel
  • Scan Size, Max: 8.5 x 11.7 in (8.5 x 14 in with optional ADF)
  • Automatic Document Feeder: Optional

OCCS has found that the Hewlett Packard scanners have proven to work well with our current user configuration under Windows NT and are also affordable.

Before purchasing the scanner of your choice, be sure that it will work under our current Windows NT environment and does not require that the user be an administrator (please note user rights and NT 4.0 compatibility issues).

Wireless Devices

OCCS has seen a variety of wireless devices on the campus, with some significant variables in operation. For more effective support in our large campus environment, please consider the following:

  • infrared (IF)
  • radio frequency (RF)

OCCS has found that the best choice to be RF devices, which need only to be within the range of the transceiver and allow for free movement within that range. Conversely, IF devices need to be in a direct line of sight from the device to the transceiver.