Every 3D printer owner, after the initial fascination is gone, starts toying with the idea of setting up a dedicated device for the purposes of remote control of printing.
Besides, keeping the only computer at home busy with the printjob that would take hours to complete is a generally annoying practice – not to mention the fact that you do not want to ruin the print with the forced Windows update.
And the problem gets even worse when you have dual printer setup and want to have this rig monitored, automated and optimized. This is when you get your prototyping boards out and start examining the best practices offered by open source hardware enthusiasts.
As of now, there are at least two widely used software solutions to set up the 3D printing server – the OctoPrint project and the Repetier-Server.
Both have Pros and Cons to consider: OctoPi distributive is totally free and offers considerable functionality, and the Repetier Server allows running and monitoring several printers connected to a single Raspberry – but is not free if you need some specific tools like surveillance.