Brother Solutions Center

This is an old page, please visit the new page for the latest information.

Installing a Brother scanner driver into a Linux based system using SANE (for Network Users)

Brother machines are able to scan in a Linux based system. To learn how to install a driver for your Linux distribution, please refer to the instructions below. For Red Hat, Mandrake, SuSE and FedoraCore Users click here, for Debian Users click here.

Notes

  • If there is a file "/etc/sane.d/brother.conf", delete it.

For Red Hat, Mandrake, SuSE and FedoraCore Users:

  1. Before you install the Brother scanner drivers, you should download and install the latest versions of sane and xsane.

    $ rpm -ivh sane-xxxxxx.rpm
    $ rpm -ivh xsane-xxxxxx.rpm
  1. Install the Brother scanner driver

    $ rpm -ivh brscan-0.2.4-0.i386.rpm
    or
    $ rpm -ivh brscan2-0.2.4-0.i386.rpm



  1. To use your machine as a network scanner, you need to set the friendly name, model name and IP address or node name in the driver using the commands below. Please make sure which scanner driver "brscan" or "brscan2" you are using. If you are using "brscan" driver, please use "brsaneconfig". If you are using "brscan2" driver, please use "brsaneconfig2".

    Using IP address:
    brsaneconfig -a name=FRIENDLY-NAME model=MODEL-NAME ip=xx.xx.xx.xx
    or
    brsaneconfig2 -a name=FRIENDLY-NAME model=MODEL-NAME ip=xx.xx.xx.xx

    Using node name:
    brsaneconfig -a name=FRIENDLY-NAME model=MODEL-NAME nodename=BRN_xxxxx
    or
    brsaneconfig2 -a name=FRIENDLY-NAME model=MODEL-NAME nodename=BRN_xxxxx

    i.e)
    When your model name is "MFC-7820N", nodename is "BRN_XXXXX" and friendly name is "SCANNER1", set the command as below:
    brsaneconfig -a name=SCANNER1 model=MFC-7820N nodename=BRN_XXXXX
    or
    brsaneconfig2 -a name=SCANNER1 model=MFC-7820N nodename=BRN_XXXXX

 

  1. You can check the result by running the command:
    brsaneconfig -q
    or
    brsaneconfig2 -q

    If the setting is done correctly, you will see the result as below:
    0 SCANNER1 "MFC-7820N" N:BRN_XXXXX

Notes

  • Please specify a "FRIENDLY-NAME" that suits you. (no spaces)
  • Please run the "brsaneconfig-q" command to confirm that your Brother machine model is supported. Enter your model name exactly as it appears in the list.
  • If you are using DHCP, please specify the nodename.
  • You can delete the setting by running the command below:
    brsaneconfig -r FRIENDLY-NAME
    or
    brsaneconfig2 -r FRIENDLY-NAME
  • (only for root User)
    You can export or import the setting by running the commands below:

    To export:
    brsaneconfig -s:label name
    or
    brsaneconfig2 -s:label name

    To import:
    brsaneconfig -l:label name
    or
    brsaneconfig2 -l:label name

    Label name must be less than 384 characters. (no spaces)
    The file will be located in "/usr/local/Brother/scanner" and you can copy the file to the same directory of other PCs.
  • To delete network scanners, open the following files with a text editor and delete lines.
    /usr/local/Brother/sane/brsanenetdevice.cfg (for brscan user)
    /usr/local/Brother/sane/brsanenetdevice2.cfg (for brscan2 user)

 

 



For Debian Users:

  1. Install The latest versions of Sane and Xsane

    $ apt-get install sane xsane


  1. Install the Brother scanner driver

    $ dpkg -i brscan-0.2.4-0.i386.deb
    or
    $ dpkg -i brscan2-0.2.4-0.i386.deb



  1. To use your machine as a network scanner, you need to set the friendly name, model name and IP address or node name in the driver using the commands below. Please make sure which scanner driver "brscan" or "brscan2" you are using. If you are using "brscan" driver, please use "brsaneconfig". If you are using "brscan2" driver, please use "brsaneconfig2".

    Using IP address:
    brsaneconfig -a name=FRIENDLY-NAME model=MODEL-NAME ip=xx.xx.xx.xx
    or
    brsaneconfig2 -a name=FRIENDLY-NAME model=MODEL-NAME ip=xx.xx.xx.xx

    Using node name:
    brsaneconfig -a name=FRIENDLY-NAME model=MODEL-NAME nodename=BRN_xxxxx
    or
    brsaneconfig2 -a name=FRIENDLY-NAME model=MODEL-NAME nodename=BRN_xxxxx

    i.e)
    When your model name is "MFC-7820N", nodename is "BRN_XXXXX" and friendly name is "SCANNER1", set the command as below:
    brsaneconfig -a name=SCANNER1 model=MFC-7820N nodename=BRN_XXXXX
    or
    brsaneconfig2 -a name=SCANNER1 model=MFC-7820N nodename=BRN_XXXXX

 

  1. You can check the result by running the command:
    brsaneconfig -q
    or
    brsaneconfig2 -q

    If the setting is done correctly, you will see the result as below:
    0 SCANNER1 "MFC-7820N" N:BRN_XXXXX

Notes

  • Please specify a "FRIENDLY-NAME" that suits you. (no spaces)
  • Please run the "brsaneconfig-q" command to confirm that your Brother machine model is supported. Enter your model name exactly as it appears in the list.
  • If you are using DHCP, please specify the nodename.
  • You can delete the setting by running the command below:
    brsaneconfig -r FRIENDLY-NAME
    or
    brsaneconfig2 -r FRIENDLY-NAME
  • (only for root User)
    You can export or import the setting by running the commands below:

    To export:
    brsaneconfig -s:label name
    or
    brsaneconfig2 -s:label name

    To import:
    brsaneconfig -l:label name
    or
    brsaneconfig2 -l:label name

    Label name must be less than 384 characters. (no spaces)
    The file will be located in "/usr/local/Brother/scanner" and you can copy the file to the same directory of other PCs.
  • To delete network scanners, open the following files with a text editor and delete lines.
    /usr/local/Brother/sane/brsanenetdevice.cfg (for brscan user)
    /usr/local/Brother/sane/brsanenetdevice2.cfg (for brscan2 user)

 


Legal | Global Site