Recommended print servers?
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Hmm. Its USB is USB1.1, not very nice for a printer if you want to print color images. And they don't mention multifunction peripherals, those print-scan-copy units that are popular. :)
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I use a bi-directional ethernet to USB Network Hub from Belkin. Works a treat. I only use it for single user. but you can set it up to automatically connect and disconnect as required by each client. http://www.belkin.com/networkusbhub/[^]
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If only they had that as a wireless device, so it could be added to an existing wireless network, with the printer NOT at the same location as where the current wireless router and the ADSL connection are. And then, it should work for multifunction print-scan-copy peripherals. I am aware of http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/index[^] software, however I'd prefer buying a ready-made unit. :)
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Okay, so I have two USB printers. Old school, and I like them, so I don't want to replace them with printers having Ethernet ports. I have a wireless Belkin print server that almost works; however, it has gone brain-dead for the last time. I am looking for a print server that can support 2 USB printers. I do not care if wireless is supported - I would in fact prefer Ethernet to USB. Amazingly, google or newegg is coming up with null data. I'm guessing that built in wireless is all the rage, so print servers have faded. Anyone have any suggestions? I'm now taking the print server out to the backyard and doing a John Simmons on it :) with a pellet rifle.
Charlie Gilley You're going to tell me what I want to know, or I'm going to beat you to death in your own house. "Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783
Thanks for the suggestions. The print server that is now in the target zone has always been a bit flakey - it's engineering and operation underwhelms me. A pellet rifle is too good for it, but the neighbor behind me might just get annoyed if I use something larger. I'll take a look at these. I really have no use for a mf device, the complexity isn't worth it. Just need stable access to my printers.
Charlie Gilley You're going to tell me what I want to know, or I'm going to beat you to death in your own house. "Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783
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Okay, so I have two USB printers. Old school, and I like them, so I don't want to replace them with printers having Ethernet ports. I have a wireless Belkin print server that almost works; however, it has gone brain-dead for the last time. I am looking for a print server that can support 2 USB printers. I do not care if wireless is supported - I would in fact prefer Ethernet to USB. Amazingly, google or newegg is coming up with null data. I'm guessing that built in wireless is all the rage, so print servers have faded. Anyone have any suggestions? I'm now taking the print server out to the backyard and doing a John Simmons on it :) with a pellet rifle.
Charlie Gilley You're going to tell me what I want to know, or I'm going to beat you to death in your own house. "Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783
I looked at a few print server options last year. Ultimately ended up bagging the whole thing and buying one of the new wifi-enabled print/fax/scan devices. Specifically, an Epson NX-515 (Canon also makes very similar devices, the Epson just happened to be on sale and right in front of me). Very happy with it after a year of regular use. We have a mixed-bag of devices and OSs at the house, and finding something with actually functional MacOS support -- to say nothing of Linux -- turned out to be a lot harder than I expected. If you just want to print from Windows, that simplifies the situation a lot.
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I looked at a few print server options last year. Ultimately ended up bagging the whole thing and buying one of the new wifi-enabled print/fax/scan devices. Specifically, an Epson NX-515 (Canon also makes very similar devices, the Epson just happened to be on sale and right in front of me). Very happy with it after a year of regular use. We have a mixed-bag of devices and OSs at the house, and finding something with actually functional MacOS support -- to say nothing of Linux -- turned out to be a lot harder than I expected. If you just want to print from Windows, that simplifies the situation a lot.
The first time someone brings a Mac into the house, I'm closing the personal IT department down. :) Actually, I would not mind spending some time developing on a Mac, just for a change of pace. I'd think about a multifunction, but to keep them affordable, they are rarely durable enough for my wife (she destroys things as a normal part of her job description).
Charlie Gilley You're going to tell me what I want to know, or I'm going to beat you to death in your own house. "Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783
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Okay, so I have two USB printers. Old school, and I like them, so I don't want to replace them with printers having Ethernet ports. I have a wireless Belkin print server that almost works; however, it has gone brain-dead for the last time. I am looking for a print server that can support 2 USB printers. I do not care if wireless is supported - I would in fact prefer Ethernet to USB. Amazingly, google or newegg is coming up with null data. I'm guessing that built in wireless is all the rage, so print servers have faded. Anyone have any suggestions? I'm now taking the print server out to the backyard and doing a John Simmons on it :) with a pellet rifle.
Charlie Gilley You're going to tell me what I want to know, or I'm going to beat you to death in your own house. "Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783
I recommend a Silex USB device server. It'll do printers, scanners, flash drives, etc. I've been using one for about 2 years now. With printers you can set it up to do a connect/disconnect when you start/finish a print job so you're able to share printers automatically. I got the one that only has 1 usb port since I had a usb hub that I could plug into it.
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Okay, so I have two USB printers. Old school, and I like them, so I don't want to replace them with printers having Ethernet ports. I have a wireless Belkin print server that almost works; however, it has gone brain-dead for the last time. I am looking for a print server that can support 2 USB printers. I do not care if wireless is supported - I would in fact prefer Ethernet to USB. Amazingly, google or newegg is coming up with null data. I'm guessing that built in wireless is all the rage, so print servers have faded. Anyone have any suggestions? I'm now taking the print server out to the backyard and doing a John Simmons on it :) with a pellet rifle.
Charlie Gilley You're going to tell me what I want to know, or I'm going to beat you to death in your own house. "Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783
I had a similar dilemma a while back. My solution was to purchase an Apple Airport Extreme. It has the capability of sharing both hard drives and printers via the USB2 port on the back. You can also connect a USB2 hub to the port to share multiple devices.
Paul A .NET developer who now drinks the Ruby and Cocoa Koolaid.
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Okay, so I have two USB printers. Old school, and I like them, so I don't want to replace them with printers having Ethernet ports. I have a wireless Belkin print server that almost works; however, it has gone brain-dead for the last time. I am looking for a print server that can support 2 USB printers. I do not care if wireless is supported - I would in fact prefer Ethernet to USB. Amazingly, google or newegg is coming up with null data. I'm guessing that built in wireless is all the rage, so print servers have faded. Anyone have any suggestions? I'm now taking the print server out to the backyard and doing a John Simmons on it :) with a pellet rifle.
Charlie Gilley You're going to tell me what I want to know, or I'm going to beat you to death in your own house. "Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783
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I recommend a Silex USB device server. It'll do printers, scanners, flash drives, etc. I've been using one for about 2 years now. With printers you can set it up to do a connect/disconnect when you start/finish a print job so you're able to share printers automatically. I got the one that only has 1 usb port since I had a usb hub that I could plug into it.
How's performance? I just read their web site, and they talk up the wonderfulness of the device. However, there are some scathing reviews of how slow the device is.
Charlie Gilley You're going to tell me what I want to know, or I'm going to beat you to death in your own house. "Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783
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I had a similar dilemma a while back. My solution was to purchase an Apple Airport Extreme. It has the capability of sharing both hard drives and printers via the USB2 port on the back. You can also connect a USB2 hub to the port to share multiple devices.
Paul A .NET developer who now drinks the Ruby and Cocoa Koolaid.
Interesting, I've not come across a wireless rrouter with a USB port. Learn something new every day.
Charlie Gilley You're going to tell me what I want to know, or I'm going to beat you to death in your own house. "Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783
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Is there a reason you don't just connect the printers to a computer and "share" them on the network? It works well for me since I have the printers hooked to the server which is always turned on.
Because that's why I had the Belkin / target print server. Years ago I did this - but I don't leave machines running for the sole purpose of supplying print services. I know, you use yours as a server as well. I'm going to have to go back and investigate my prejudices on this issue.
Charlie Gilley You're going to tell me what I want to know, or I'm going to beat you to death in your own house. "Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783
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Because that's why I had the Belkin / target print server. Years ago I did this - but I don't leave machines running for the sole purpose of supplying print services. I know, you use yours as a server as well. I'm going to have to go back and investigate my prejudices on this issue.
Charlie Gilley You're going to tell me what I want to know, or I'm going to beat you to death in your own house. "Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783
I haven't noticed any speed issues. I didn't do any real speed tests with the printers and scanner but it feels about the same as if I'd plug the device directly into the PC. If you're sharing the printer among multiple PCs, there will be a small startup delay when you start a print job because the software on the PC will do an auto connect (if you've enabled this feature) to the specific printer.