To share a Brother HL-L2320D printer from a Windows 11 system using Samba and access it from a Fedora Linux system, follow these steps:

Step 1: Share the Printer on Windows 11

  1. Install Printer on Windows 11:

    • Ensure the Brother HL-L2320D driver is installed and the printer is set up correctly on Windows.

  2. Enable File and Printer Sharing:

    • Open Control Panel → Network and Sharing Center → Advanced sharing settings.
    • Under Private Network, enable:
      • "Turn on network discovery."
      • "Turn on file and printer sharing."

  3. Share the Printer:

    • Go to Settings → Bluetooth and Devices → Printers & scanners.
    • Click on the Brother HL-L2320D printer → Printer properties → Sharing tab.
    • Check Share this printer.
    • Assign a share name (e.g., BrotherHL2320D).
    • NOTE: It is preferable to use a name with no spaces! This makes it friendlier with network addressing in general and can prevent unexpected behaviour.
    • Click OK.

  4. Note Down the Windows Hostname or IP Address:

    • Open a command prompt (Win + R, type cmd, and press Enter).
    • Run ipconfig to find the IP address of the Windows 11 machine.

Step 2: Install and Enable CUPS on Fedora Linux

  1. Install Printer Support Packages: Open a terminal and run:

    sudo dnf install samba-client cups system-config-printer

  2. Start and enable the CUPS service:

    sudo systemctl enable cups
sudo systemctl start cups

Step 3: Install 'brlaser' Open Source Drivers for Brother Laser Jet Printers

brlaser is available in Fedora's official repositories, so you can install it directly using dnf.

Open a terminal and run:

   sudo dnf install brlaser

Step 4: Configure the Printer in CUPS

  1. Open the CUPS web interface:

    http://localhost:631

  2. Go to Administration → Add Printer.

  3. When prompted, log in with your system username and password (must be in the lpadmin group). Optional Add yourself to the group if needed:

    sudo usermod -aG lpadmin $USER

  4. Select Windows Printer via Samba or Windows SMB as the connection type.

  5. Enter the Samba URI for the printer:

    smb://<WINDOWS_HOSTNAME_OR_IP>/<PRINTER_SHARE_NAME>

    Example:

    smb://192.168.1.100/BrotherHL2320D

  6. Provide your Windows credentials when prompted (username and password).

  7. When prompted for a driver:

    • Look for and select the brlaser driver for your Brother printer.
    • If your exact printer model is not listed, try a generic brlaser driver.

  8. Test the Printer:

    • After setup, print a test page to ensure everything is working.

Step 5: Troubleshooting

  1. Check Samba Connectivity:

    • Test if the Samba share is accessible: 
      smbclient -L //<WINDOWS_IP_OR_HOSTNAME> -U <USERNAME>
    • Example: 
      smbclient -L //192.168.1.100 -U myusername

  2. Firewall Rules:

    • On Windows, ensure printer sharing is allowed through the firewall:

      • Open Windows Defender Firewall → Allow an app through firewall → Enable File and Printer Sharing.

    • On Fedora, ensure Samba services are allowed:

      sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=samba
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

  3. CUPS Logs:

    • Check CUPS logs on Fedora for printer issues: 
      sudo journalctl -u cups

By following these steps, you should be able to share your Brother HL-L2320D printer from Windows 11 and access it from Fedora Linux using Samba.