Enabling HP Cloud Connection using the MPS Printer Onboarding Tool

Introduction

Enable the HP cloud connection (also called Web Services on some printers) before onboarding the printer to WXP. This article explains how to use the MPS Printer Onboarding Tool to enable HP Cloud Connection (Web Services).

Enabling HP cloud connection/web services connects the printer to the HP cloud, allowing WXP to connect to and communicate with the printer so that it can access, manage, and monitor the device.

If you need to enable HP Cloud Connection on multiple printers with the same admin credentials, you can use the MPS Printer Onboarding tool. This tool can locate printers on the internet and can then connect to and modify the Enable HP Cloud Connection/Enable Web Services setting on each printer.

The MPS Printer Onboarding tool can locate printers by hostname or IP address. The easiest way to use the tool is to provide a range of IP addresses. Once you provide the first and last IP addresses in a range, the tool attempts to contact all the inclusive IP addresses and enable HP cloud connection/web services.

Alternatively, if you already have a list of hostnames or static IP addresses for your fleet of printers, you can put them in a CSV file and upload it to the MPS Printer Onboarding tool. The tool attempts to connect to and enable HP cloud connection/web services for all the printers contained in the CSV file.

Target Audience

IT administrators who onboard and manage printers.
Printer administrators who onboard and manage printers.

Prerequisites

To enable HP cloud connection/web services, the MPS Printer Onboarding tool must be able to discover your printer(s) on the Internet as well as access and modify the printer settings. Before using the tool, you should ensure that all printers are discoverable and that the tool can perform the necessary tasks.

Network connectivity: Before using the MPS Printer Onboarding tool, ensure that all printers are powered on and connected to the internet, either over Wi-Fi or Ethernet.
Printer Identification: To enable the MPS Printer Onboarding tool to discover your printers, you’ll need to either upload a CSV file of hostname/IP addresses or provide the range of IP addresses it can search. Before using the tool, make sure you have the hostnames/IP addresses or range of addresses for your fleet available.
Proxy information: If your printers are connected to the Internet through a proxy server, ensure that you have the proxy information, including the Proxy hostname or IP address, the port, and the proxy server username and password. The tool lets you enter your proxy server information, which it then uses when attempting to connect to the printers.
Printer admin credentials: To enable HP cloud connection for each printer, the MPS Printer Onboarding tool needs to access the printer settings. HP expects that these settings are password-protected on each device to prevent unauthorized changes. The tool allows you to supply the access credentials so that it can access and modify the printer settings as necessary.

Important

The MPS Printer Onboarding tool operates on the assumption that all printers in your fleet have been secured using the same username and password; the tool only allows you to enter a single Admin username and password, which it uses to connect to every discovered printer. If a printer has a different set of admin credentials, the tool will be unable to enable HP cloud connection/web services for that printer.

Downloading the MPS Printer Onboarding tool

If you have not already downloaded the MPS Printer Onboarding tool via the Workforce Experience portal, you can download it here.

Using the MPS Printer Onboarding Tool

To enable web services using the MPS Printer Onboarding tool:

On your computer, navigate to the folder where you downloaded the MPS Printer Onboarding tool and double-click the following file to install and run the tool:
hp-mps-printer-onboarding-tool--.exe
For the onboarding method, choose Discover & Connect.
The MPS Printer Onboarding Tool Devices page appears.

On the Devices page, on the left, select one of the following Device Discovery Types:
• Bulk Upload Devices: Lets you upload a CSV file containing the hostnames or IP addresses of multiple printers.

You’ll need to have a previously created CSV file containing all the devices you want to onboard. Follow the link in the description to download a template file and alter it as necessary.

• IP Range Discovery: Lets you enter the beginning and ending IP addresses of a range.

If necessary, set the SNMP version and credentials:

a. Select the SNMP Version toggle between v1/v2 and v3.
b. Select Configure to change the credentials:
• If you selected SNMP v1/v2, set the following value:

Setting	Description
Community Name	The community string (password) used by the printer to restrict access to the device.

If you selected SNMP v3, set the following values:

Setting	Description
Username	The security username.
Context Name	The context string (password) used by the printer to restrict access to the device.
Auth Protocol	The authentication protocol used by the device. You can choose either MD5 or SHA.
Auth Key	The password used for authentication purposes.
Privacy Protocol	The privacy protocol used by the device. You can choose either DES or AES.
Privacy Key	The password used for privacy purposes.

Click Discover. The tool attempts to contact each specified device or each device in the specified range to determine if:

It is reachable
It is a printer
It is running compatible firmware.

After some time, the tool displays the results in the lower portion of the window.

Note
You can display only valid printers in the Results list by toggling the switch above the list to Show valid devices only.

In the Results list, select the printer(s) you want to enable HP cloud connection/web services for, then select Next.

The Settings page appears.

On the Settings page, complete the following steps as necessary.

If your printer is behind a proxy, select Is your device behind proxy?

The panel expands to display fields for you to enter the Proxy (host name or IP address), the Port, Proxy Server Username, and Proxy Server Password.

If your printer requires credentials, select Does device need admin credentials to access?

The panel expands to display fields for you to enter EWS Username and EWS Password / Device PIN.

8. Select Next. The Cloud Enablement page appears.

Select Start to enable web services on the selected printers.

The MPS Printer Onboarding tool attempts to enable HP cloud connection and register the printer(s) with the HP cloud. Once complete, an onboarding report appears at the bottom of the page, indicating whether the enablement succeeded or failed.

Troubleshooting issues

If the MPS Printer Onboarding cannot successfully enable the HP cloud connection/web services, there may be a few reasons. For example, the printer may be unavailable due to a network issue.

The best way to get specific information about the cause of your issue is by opening the Device Details page. To view the Device Details page, select the icon in the Action column of the Onboarding Results list.

The Device Details page displays the steps of the enablement process, where that process failed, and provides some information on how to remediate the issue.

In most cases, the Device Details page provides enough information to help you resolve your issue. Afterward, you can try enabling web services for the affected printer. Review the following table to determine the appropriate steps:

Message	Troubleshooting steps
Unable to connect. Make sure the device is turned on and available.	The printer could be in a sleep state, and the tool is unable to connect within the timeout. Check the printer connection status and try again.
Unauthorized: Request failed with status code 401	The printer is password-protected, and either no password was provided or the provided password was incorrect. Provide the correct credentials and try again.
Error: Request failed with status code 401	Make sure the proxy information and EWS admin credentials provided in Settings page are correct.
Registration state is not valid. Status Code: 200, Message: OK, Attempt #1	Make sure the proxy information provided in the Settings page is correct.
Request failed with status code 404	Make sure the printer is connected to the network and online.
Status Code 404 Not found	Make sure the printer is connected to the network and online.

In some cases, the tool cannot be specific about the cause. In these instances, it’s recommended to enable web services on the device or via the printer’s embedded web server, rather than using the tool. For more information, see Enabling Web Services on HP printers.

Contact Us

For any assistance, create a support case or email support@wxp.hp.com.