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: Great product!
Summary: 5 Stars
Very easy to set up. Integrated well with my existing newtork with a Netgear router, including security settings. Well worth the money!Customer Review: Trick needed for MAC/OSX printserving; 2x price of Motorola WPS870G
Summary: 4 Stars
I have a wirelss network w/3 pc's, one Mac Powerbook, w/netgear router, and now the WGPS606 netgear printserver (my motorola WPS870G was half the $$$ and easier to set up on my Powerbook, but got killed by lightning storm yesterday); I have an old laserjet & HP officejet d145. Contrary to rumors, you can get the WPS870G to printserve wirelessly from Mac/OSX through the network (i.e., powerbook is wireless, printserver is also wireless)
1-I set a dedicated IP address in my router to associate w/my printserver...To do this: in 192.168.0.1 (which is the router) I renewed IP addresses, looked into the router's assignment table, and figured out that the printserver was at 192.168.0.4, so I just assigned it to 192.168.0.4; to do the assignment, you also need the device (i.e., the printserver's) MAC address; that's the trick...the MAC address on the netgear printserver is called the "device" or "hardware" MAC address, and it's the number printed on the box itself; if you go to the printserver ip address (in my case, 192.168.0.4), you find netgear's set up pages for the printserver; the printserver has two mac addresses, the 2nd is called something like the `wireless' MACaddress; that wireless MAC address (which is only different by one digit at the end) is what you use when you set up a dedicated IP address for the print server; when you've done all this, you should probably go back into 192.168.0.1 (your router set up pages) try to renew ip addresses to see if the assigned printserver address (in my case, 192.168.0.4) shows up and shows up with the right MAC address
3- when setting up a new printer in printer set up utility, you select IP Printing + LPD/LPR, printer address is your new ip address that you assigned (192.168.0.4 in my case) and queue name is L1 (presumably L2 if you have a second printer)
btw, you may need to upgrade the driver (I needed an HPIJS driver for my multi-function HP d145); the original driver didn't even install from the cd
Customer Review: Set Up Was Not Bad
Summary: 4 Stars
I too was worried about setting this thing up after reading numerous reviews. It seemed to me to be a 50/50 proposition, so I purchased a refurb at less than half price and went for it. My system consists of a Dell desktop (wireless), a Compaq laptop (wired), and a Dell laptop (wireless) routed through a Netgear 814. The printer is a Canon i850. Since it was a refurb, the box contained no manual or software CD so I had to get everything from the web. Downloading the software was routine and it walked me through the entire process. The only hitch was having to type in the printer's IP address, which I got from the downloaded manual. It was described as the "default address." Once that was done, I configured the computer. I repeated the process on each machine and it all worked. I am not an expert at this stuff by any means but it seemed pretty straightforward. The key steps are: 1.) Configure the printer first. Once that's done correctly, the rest is almost automatic. 2.) Make sure each computer has the printer driver installed (I had to add the driver to two of these machines). 3. Repeat the configuration process for each machine.
The entire installation took about an hour.
I have now liberated my printer from its "mother ship" and can print at any time from any place regardless of which computer is turned on or off. Also, since the server is located at one of the wireless computers, it now doubles as its adapter, connected to the computer with an ethernet cable (supplied). I detected no loss in performance whatsoever. Prior to buying, I checked the Netgear site for compatibility with my printer and it was listed, although it did not have a "yes" next to it. Since the Canon i550 was compatible, I figured the similar i850 would be as well. Obviously, the list is not up to date. My only complaint is that the server does not seem to support advance features like ink level displays and such. But I knew that going in and it's not a critical drawback.
Customer Review: Worked like a charm
Summary: 4 Stars
I read various reviews of this before I decided to take a chance and buy it. I had little interest in the print server aspect; I was more interested in having a wireless adapter to get my xbox online since my computers and router are upstairs, but my xbox is downstairs. I originally tried the wireless adapter made by Linksys, but it was terrible. It took forever to set up, had limited configuration opens, and then lost all the settings as soon as it lost power (ever since Linksys was bought up by Cisco they've gone downhill). This seemed like a lot more bang for the buck, given the multi-functionality, and I hoped it would have more configuration options.
As with most devices of this nature, the initial setup was a little problematic. Evidently the device doesn't come with a set IP and instead is expected to retrieve one from your DHCP server. This (probably) works great if you have DHCP set up on your network, but I prefer to do everything with static IPs, so I had little success at first. Actually, even switching everything to DHCP did little to help. I had to use the utility on the CD to detect the print server and assign the initial IP (static) before I was able to actually browse to the unit's address and use its own interface to configure more advanced features such as encryption.
Once everything I got past that initial hurdle, however, everything was a snap and I'm happy as could be with it all. If you have some network savvy you shouldn't have too much of a problem setting this up for whatever you want, and I'm sure the utilities that come with it make it a breeze for the non-savvy among us (I didn't use all the utilities, so I can't verify for sure). And with 3 more ports and 2 USB slots, it makes for other network possibilities downstairs. Methinks the set-top box is coming soon...
Customer Review: Good Product, But Setup Could Be Easier and Less Buggy
Summary: 4 Stars
The Netgear WGPS606 has a LOT of bang for the buck. 2 USB ports AND a 4-port switch/wireless bridge is a lot to pack in to such a normal priced wireless print server.
The unit is small and stylish, and can be set vertically or horizontally, as well as mounted to a wall.
The included setup CD gave me some problems, but a quick visit to Netgear's support site showed me there was an updated install program that fixed the hang-ups.
Somebody not familiar with networking could get a little lost in the setup process. When installing, the software asked me to assign an IP address and subnet to the print server, and started me out with all zeros. If an IP or subnet is entered that is not compatible with the router, the software tells you so (not why), and then lets you continue with the incompatible settings. I imagine tech support will get many calls from inexperienced users asking what address they need to assign.
The documentation is thin in other areas too. While many other companies take the time and space to explain to you why bidirectional settings don't work with any print server, Netgear makes absolutely no mention of it. Since almost all modern printers at least monitor ink levels by default, this was a glaring omission from Netgear's FAQ's, and will likely frustrate and confuse people new to print servers.
I had no problem setting up the print server to handle my WEP security, but I haven't tested the WPA-PSK support yet.
The WGPS606 looks good, has some better than average features like an extra USB port and switch/bridge, and it works well...once it's all set up. If you know of (or how to find) your network's basic settings, and don't mind the possibility of having to attempt setup 2 or 3 times to get it to work, the WGPS606 is a great value.