NETGEAR WGPS606 54 Mbps Wireless Print Server with 4-port Switch
by Netgear Inc
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List Price: Our Price: $40.00 You Save: $51.99 (57%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of NETGEAR WGPS606 54 Mbps Wireless Print Server with 4-port Switch
Customer Review: Quick setup on two PCs and a Mac G4
Summary: 5 Stars
I needed a way to hook an old Dell desktop, an old IBM ThinkPad, and an old Mac G4 to an old HP Laserjet. The newest piece of this hardware is three years old. My router is a new Belkin N1 (which I really like) and it's located upstairs. Initial configuration of the print server and setup on the first PC took about 20 minutes, setup on the second PC about 5 minutes and setup on the Mac about 20 minutes. Here's what I did:
1. Configured the Print Server
a. connected my ThinkPad to the Print Server with the supplied Ethernet cable.
b. configured the Print Server by following the steps on the supplied CD
c. made a note of the IP address that the setup wizard gave me.
d. disconnected the Print Server from the ThinkPad
e. restarted both pieces of hardware
BIG TIP: be sure you know the passphrase to your router!
BIG TIP: don't lose the IP address
2. Configured the ThinkPad (uses a Linksys wireless PC card)
a. connected to the Print Server via the wireless network
b. followed the steps on the setup wizard CD
BIG TIP: do not print a test page from the Windows printer set-up screen. You can do this at the end of the setup wizard.
BIG TIP: You have to click on the printer name in the selection window in order to get the "Next" button to activate (figuring this out was my only point of frustration).
3. Configured the Dell desktop (uses a Belkin USB wireless adapter)
a. same steps as above
4. Configured the Mac G4 (connected to the WPGS606 via an Ethernet cable)
a. you must be sure that your printer works when cabled directly to each computer. I went directly to HP to download the Mac OS drivers for my printer. Forget the GIMP drivers that come with OS X. If you can't print directly from your Mac, you won't be able to print through the Print Server.
b. go to Netgear.com, enter WGPS606 in the search window, download the instructions on how to set this up in Mac OS X
c. follow the instructions that Netgear provides!
BIG TIP: you'll need the IP address that you wrote down during the configuration of the Print Server
I also have my Vonage phone adapter connected to the WGPS606 via an Ethernet cable. Several connection tests at Vonage.com confirm that there's little difference in speed between wiring the adapter directly to my router (upstairs) and wiring it to the WGPS606 here in the basement. The difference to me is that I can get rid of the cord that runs down the staircase.
I wish all of my wireless gadgets were as easy to set up!
Customer Review: No issues setting it up
Summary: 5 Stars
My setup: Canon i455 printer, Linksys WRK54G (something like that) wireless router, windows XP.
First, you should know that some printers may not work with this print server. Go to the netgear website, choose the "support" option on the page, and then search on the model number of this print server. They give a list of supported printers. I found the list while I was searching for other software and documentation for the print server, and I thought you should know. Mine is not listed, but it worked anyway. I think that your printer should be USB-compatible for this print-server to work. Also, I think you need a wireless router, too. I am not sure, so please check the documentation.
I bought this print server because it had the best price (I bought for 35.00 refurbished) and seemed to have pretty good reviews. When I got the print server, I didn't get any documentation or software with it, so I immediately to the Netgear website and downloaded the install instructions and the software.
The first time through, the software was not able to get an IP address, so I tried to fake it. I don't remember much from networking class, but I double-clicked my wireless networking system tray icon (I use windows XP), clicked the support tab, and got my ip address and subnet mask from there. To fake it, I took the last three numbers of my IP address, e.g. xxx.xxx.xxx.yy--the ones with yyy, and then added 20 to it. I used the subnet mask that was listed in my "support" tab for the linksys router.
It seemed to work okay until I got to the "setup computer with the print server" part. My computer didn't see the print server. I started over from the beginning, and voila, everything worked as it should. If yours doesn't work right away, you may just want to wait 5 minutes and then refresh instead of restarting. Sometimes the print servers and routers are just sleepy and slow to get going.
I am extremely happy that I am now able to print wirelessly ( whenever I readjust my laptop on my lap, it doesn't pull the printer off the desk. ) The one thing I am not thrilled with is that it doesn't do bidirectional, so my laptop doesn't get feedback from my printer (e.g. it doesn't pop up a window saying that the ink cartridges are low.) Also, if yours does scanning and copying, I doubt that you will be able to do that wirelessly unless the support website specifically says that you can. However, I am very happy that it prints wirelessly and I didn't have to call tech support. 5 Stars.
Customer Review: Actually Works With Vista 64 Bit
Summary: 5 Stars
This Netgear print server was bought when I started using Vista 64 Bit on a laptop and desktop computer. I used an ancient Linksys WPS54GU2, USB and parallel port wireless G print server for around 4 or 5 years. There was no way in the world to make the Linksys box work with Vista 64 Bit. That print server was also incapable of working whenever I used my company's VPN connection.
What a sweet little box this Netgear server! It absolutely 100% definately works with Vista 64 Bit. There's a couple of little tricks you have to use that are very well described on the Netgear forums. Just google those words and very simple step by step instructions will be found.
I now use this server on 5 different computers, and it was infinitely easier to install than that Linksys device. It has been rock solid now for the past 3 months, absolutely no difficulties. The Linksys used to require reseting every few weeks. I've never unplugged this server. And the huge bonus, I can now print wirelessly even when I'm connected to my company's network. Frankly, the fact that this device works so well surprises me, the Netgear devices I've use in the past were really poor.
It's unfortunate you can't turn off the front panel lights, they are bright green and blue. Masking tape is just the trick. It's a small, light weight device. There are two USB printer ports and 4 network connections. Those network connections can be used as a bridge, or a way to extend your wireless network range.
Be absolutely certain to follow the installation instructions. These things are not easy to install. And if you do not follow the instructions step by step, you will never get this to work.
I'm very happy I bought this server. It has worked flawlessly, simply, and does exactly what it is supposed to do. I don't even think about it anymore.
Customer Review: Great for what I need it to do -- router bridging
Summary: 5 Stars
This review is focused on a very specific and perhaps quirky need of mine:
I stumbled on this product while looking for a way to bridge to my landlord's wireless network while still keeping my own computers wired to each other. This is one of the few, or perhaps only, wireless bridge routers out there -- and with a print server to boot. I had considered the Linksys WRT54G because there are open-source firmware revisions out there that allow it to do what I just described. But support for doing so is thin, and requires a lot of patience and skill on the user's part.
Well, this product bridges perfectly to my landlord's wireless network (with his permission, of course!) with NO hitches whatsoever. His network is protected by WPA-TKIP (PSK), which is currently one of the strongest security protocols available for home wireless networking. The specific product I bought already has the latest firmware installed (earlier versions apparently did not support WPA-TKIP -- if you have one of these, upgrade your firmware!)
On top of this, the print server works OK with our Canon Pixma IP5000. Very time I print I get an error that "bi-directional communication" needs to be enabled, and eventually I'll see if that can be fixed, but printing works anyway. I do recommend checking the Netgear list of printers guaranteed to work - mine was not on the list, but I found that at least one other person had success with the same printer after doing a search on the company's official support forum, which I recommend if you don't see your printer on the list.
In short, so far so good, though I'll write an update if things change. Five stars Netgear!
Customer Review: Piece of cake
Summary: 5 Stars
I read scary reviews about print servers and was very reluctant to buy one, however, I eventually broke down and bought the Netgear WGPS606, 54Mbps. I was shocked that it was a piece of cake to install. The wizard spoon feeds you the installation steps. 1) You make sure that the printer you want to share has a driver installed on the computer (any computer can be used to configure your computer). 2) You disconnect your computer from your router (if applicable) and connect the print server via network cable provided 3) the wizard configures the printer to the Print server. I ran into problems at this stage, however, the wizard offered three possible troubleshooting scenarios - one was related to the firewall. Surely enough, once I disabled my firewall, the wizard was able to continue with configuring the print server 4) the wizard then automatically assigned an IP and tested a print page. It worked great! Then I moved the print server to a corner in our living room (stand alone- connected to the printer only). Next I ran the wizard on each laptop to configure the connection to the print server ... it took less than 5 minutes per machine before it started printing. Again, the only problem was related to my software firewalls (Zonealarm and Norton) - Once I disable both and everything worked. Once done, I re-enabled my firewalls and everything still worked. Great product. All in all, it took less than an hour. I should have done it sooner.