Cisco-Linksys PSUS4 PrintServer for USB with 4 Port Switch
by Linksys
|
Our Price: $129.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $25.00 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
|---|
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Cisco-Linksys PSUS4 PrintServer for USB with 4 Port Switch
Customer Review: Works well - Mixed Mac and PC Network
Summary: 4 Stars
It looks like this product did not get rave reviews but so far I am having no problems at all with it.
First, our problem: We have a HP-1320 LaserJet (USB printer) that was plugged directly into a PC on our network. We ran into a lot of problems with the LaserJet crashing when other computers on the network sent a job. This problem was particularly bad when the Macs (OSX-Tiger) on our network tried to print.
So we thought we'd give this print server a try. This device seemed like the perfect solution since I was able to plug the PC and printer into separate ports on the same box.
PC Setup> READ the instructions first. The part about having the printer drivers installed and everything wired up in each computer before proceeding makes a lot of sense. Then just follow the steps in the setup wizard. My DCHP is set to auto configure IP addresses (Default) since my network router is set for this. Piece of cake.
MAC (OSX-Tiger Setup)> OSX setup is simple but there seems to be no easy setup wizard for this. I could not find a Mac compatible configuration program on the CD, although I found some instructions that alluded to one. (Linksys should have it pop up automatically or at the very least a Macintosh Readme message on the CD). I didn't bother looking through all the folders on the CD since the print server had already been configured earlier by a PC. All I had to do was + for a new printer in the Apple Control Panel/New Printer setup. The print server name appeared and I just selected my HP printer from the list. Since I do not know if there is a Mac config program hidden on the included CD, I would suggest setting up the print server through a PC on your network if possible first.
I flooded the printer with big jobs trying to overload the server, but I couldn't get it to balk.
Kevin
Customer Review: Works great with MAC OS X 10.4 but requires some tinkering.
Summary: 3 Stars
I'm using the PSUS4 on a wireless local area network that contains a mixture of Mac OS X 10.4 and Windows XP machines printing to a Brother HL2040 laser printer. The Windows machines were easily configured, but in order to get the Macs working it was necessary to download and install CUPS (Common Unix Printing System) printer drivers.
I did not bother with the software C.D. that came with the hardware. The documentation directs you to use the install C.D. on a PC, but the PSUS4 has http configuration (unmentioned in the instructions). I looked at the DHCP log in my wireless router and found the assigned ip address. I popped it into a browser and logged in with the default password. (First thing I did was change that password to something more secure.) Then I assigned a static IP address to the device in order to prevent future surprises. I changed the gateway to the ip address of my Linksys router.
After tinkering, I was able to get the Macs to print using a fresh set of CUPS drivers downloaded from the Brother support site, and setting it up as a LPD/LPR printer in the Mac printer settings.
(Putting "lp" in the "Queue Name" field is critical.)
This article was very helpful despite being a different model of printer.
macosxhints 20041020080654229
update...
The printserver has been working fairly well for the last 2 years. But, occasionally a large print job will hammer it. It seems to be the culprit in the very rare crash of my LAN and sometimes I'm forced to reboot the router, printserver, and the printer in order to get the local network back up. It has survived several power failures, and comes back to life without being touched. I think that assigning it a fixed ip address helps with stability.
Customer Review: Kudos to tech support
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this for use with my Epson Stylus 4600, multifunction printer. Installation was straight-forward until the end when I got a message to turn off Epson print spooling. The process it outlined did not work, or should I say did not exist. I called Epson tech support & they said I had to talk with Linksys. The Linksys technician I reached was extremely helpful and stayed on the line for me for at least 30 minutes while he had me try a series of procedures, not all of which worked. Finally he got me to a point where it actually printed! Yes, the PSUS4 CAN work with multifunction printers! However, it only worked with the print function.
I was unwilling to give up the scan function just to get the printer on my home network and was going to return the print server when I got the clever idea of installing a simple AB switch in the loop. I hooked the A side through the print server and the B side direct to the printer. It works perfectly! I can scan by flipping to B and print by flipping back to A. What with the changes made, I cannot print from the B side, but who cares? Since I only scan from my main computer it's an ideal solution for me.
It's the old story; if you get a good tech support guy who's willing to work with you and willing to take a few chances, you'll win every time. I could just as easily have gotten a less competent person on the phone and could have ended up with the same type of horror story that other reviewers have posted. Instead I've been able to add a valuable component to my network.
Customer Review: Wasted My Money
Summary: 2 Stars
I might be doing something wrong but I've given up on this as a print server. I read a lot of the reviews before I bought it but I guess that I should have read closer and paid more attention to them. I consider myself reasonably tech savy but this just wasn't very easy to install. I'm running MS Vista and I did get it to work, finally. I started out pretty much following the instructions (such as they are) and everythng seemed to work okay. But when I went to print the system just acted as if the printer wasn't there. I eventually did get it to work correctly and happily printed away from a couple of different computers on my home network. Then, at the end of the day, I shut the computers and the printers off, as I do every night. I did leave the print server, the router, and the modem powered on. Got up the next morning, powered up the computers and the printer, and tried to print. The system acted again as if there was no printer attached to the print server. Reinstalled the printer and everything worked fine until the next time that I shut down the printer. Had to reinstall it again the next day. Figured if I was going to have to reinstall the printer every day it wasn't worth the hassle. Took the printer and installed it on the main computer as a shared printer and took the print server and threw it in a drawer. It'll probably go in to the recycle bin the next time I head that way. Very disappointed in this product. Expected more from Cisco/Linksys!Customer Review: Stay away from any Linksys products after Cisco's acquisition
Summary: 1 Stars
I used to be a big fan of Linksys when it was an independent company. They had good products and good support. So one might naturally think that once Cisco bought them things would get even better, right? WRONG! Cisco has done to Linksys what Novell did to WordPerfect -- run it into the ground with inferior/non-existent support out of the Philippines.
Having previously bought their wireless print server (which never worked and was a joke), I bought two of this wired one since the reviews indicated that it seemed to work. Installation was a nightmare (English was tech support's 7th "bestest" language then) and when finally configured, it lasted for about a year.
I pulled out my sealed box replacement unit and after revisiting the nightmare of the original installation, called tech support (BTW their English is better, but their support is still worthless). First you have to give them a serial number to even get any support and then they came back that this serial number was more than a year old and could not even support an initial installation EVEN THOUGH NO SUPPORT CALL HAD EVER BEEN MADE ON IT.
So:
1. Never buy a reserve part of Linksys equipment in advance and
2. Never buy a piece of Linksys equipment in the first place.
Cisco should change the name of Linksys to "Orphan."