Change the CUPS web interface to listen on an external IP address

This document (7004934) is provided subject to the disclaimer at the end of this document.

Environment

SUSE Linux
CUPS

Situation

The CUPS web interface only listens on localhost
The CUPS web interface listens on 127.0.0.1
CUPS web interface is only available on the local server
Workstations cannot access CUPS interface

Resolution

Many users want to change the CUPS web interface to be accessible from anywhere on their network as opposed to just the server itself. This is accomplished via several modifications to the /etc/cups/cupsd.conf file. Changes are listed in bold.

Editing /etc/cups/cupsd.conf:

# Listen on external interfaces for connections
Listen <dnsnameofyourserver>:631
Listen /var/run/cups/cups.sock

# Show shared printers on the local network.
Browsing On
BrowseOrder allow,deny
BrowseAllow all
BrowseAddress All

# Default authentication type, when authentication is required...
DefaultAuthType Basic

# Restrict access to the server...
<Location />
Order allow,deny
Allow localhost
Allow All
</Location>

# Restrict access to the admin pages...
<Location /admin>
Order allow,deny
Allow All
</Location>

# Restrict access to configuration files...
<Location /admin/conf>
AuthType Default
Require user @SYSTEM
Order allow,deny
Allow All
</Location>

Once these steps are complete, cups must be restarted:

/etc/init.d/cups restart

Once cups has been restarted, the page will look like this:

Additional Information

Note: If an administrator wishes to ONLY access the page from the local server, the "All" parameters can be replaced with "@LOCAL"

Disclaimer

This Support Knowledgebase provides a valuable tool for SUSE customers and parties interested in our products and solutions to acquire information, ideas and learn from one another. Materials are provided for informational, personal or non-commercial use within your organization and are presented "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND.