Question 1

How does Atlas Spool print without a print server?

Accepted Answer

Atlas Spool defines each printer as a direct-IP (TCP/IP) printer. The Atlas AVD Agent on every session host and Atlas Reach-managed Windows endpoint installs the printer locally and print jobs travel straight from that device to the printer over the network (RAW/JetDirect 9100 or LPR). There is no central print server in the path. Atlas Spool never receives, spools, or relays document data; it manages the printer definitions, who they are assigned to, and the install state reported back.

Question 2

What do I need to run Atlas Spool?

Accepted Answer

Atlas Spool is available on every Atlas AVD plan, billed by use in units, and it uses the Atlas AVD Agent that already runs on your session hosts and Reach-managed Windows endpoints (the same agent behind Atlas Reach). An admin defines the printers and assigns them; the agent does the rest on each device. Printer installs need the Windows agent; macOS and Linux endpoints are not supported for printing.

Question 3

How are printers assigned to users and hosts?

Accepted Answer

Assign a printer to a host pool, a specific session host or device, an Atlas Reach device group, a user (by UPN), or an Entra ID group. On each reconcile pass (every 30 minutes by default, or right away with Refresh printers in Atlas Reach) the agent resolves every assignment that matches the device and the signed-in user and installs those printers, sets the default when one is flagged, and removes printers that are no longer assigned. When several assignments mark a default, the most specific target wins.

Question 4

Which print protocols are supported?

Accepted Answer

Direct-IP printing over RAW/JetDirect (port 9100), LPR (515), or driverless IPP and IPPS (631). You pick the protocol and port per printer to match the device. RAW and LPR printers take their driver from the Atlas driver repository, either a built-in universal driver or a package you uploaded, which the agent stages into the Windows driver store; IPP and IPPS printers use Windows' built-in Microsoft IPP Class Driver, so they need no driver package.

Question 5

How do I know a printer actually installed on a device?

Accepted Answer

The agent reports the observed install state for each printer on each session host and Windows endpoint (installed, failed, or removed) with the driver or connection error on failure. Operators see this per-device rollout health in the Atlas Spool admin surface, so a printer that could not install (for example a driver that failed to install) is diagnosable instead of silently absent.

Question 6

Can Atlas Spool report on print usage?

Accepted Answer

Yes, if you turn it on. Print job collection is off by default and is switched on per tenant in the Settings Matrix. While it is on, the agent on each Windows session host reports each finished job's details: who printed, on which printer and machine, when, how many pages and copies, color or black and white, duplex and paper size. The Usage tab on the Atlas Spool page then shows pages by user, printer, session host, host pool or printer location, with cost allocation from your per-page rates and an optional monthly page quota per user. No document content is ever collected, and document names are kept only if you turn on that separate setting. Quotas warn rather than block, every view and export of the report is audited, and records are deleted after the retention period you choose. It is included in Atlas Spool at no extra cost.

Question 7

Is Atlas Spool generally available?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Atlas Spool is available on every plan. It is on by default, and the setup wizard lets you opt out.

Question 8

Is Atlas Spool available on every plan?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Atlas Spool is part of the Atlas AVD platform and available on every plan (Community and Atlas AVD), billed by use rather than gated to a tier. It runs on the agent already on your session hosts and Reach-managed Windows endpoints, so there is nothing separate to buy or deploy. Managed printers are billed by use in units (5 units per managed printer per month, in every month the printer exists), and those units draw on the same pooled monthly unit allowance as Atlas Ink, Atlas Reach, and the End User Portal, with more prepaid units available at the standard $1 per unit whenever you need them.

Atlas Spool: Managed Direct-IP Printing