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.