The EtherFast 10/100 two-port switched print server is an easy way to expand and simplify your small or home office network. With two high-speed printer ports and four standard 10/100 switch ports, the system allows you to connect up to two printers and four PCs (or other network devices) to your network without any additional hardware. Supporting both standard and bidirectional printers, the system is fully compatible with regular laser, Bubble Jet, ink-jet, and dot-matrix printers. And with a 256 KB buffer and automatic collision control, the print server handles multiple print jobs simultaneously and efficiently.
The four internal 10/100 switched ports integrate your 10Base-T and 100Base-TX hardware together in a seamless fashion, running four times faster than a four-port hub, while minimizing cabling and space requirements.
The print server works with all major operating systems, including Windows 95, 98, and NT 4.0, and NetWare, and comes with a three-year limited warranty and free technical support.
The Linksys EtherFast 10/100 2-Port Switched PrintServer - the first PrintServer to offer integrated 10/100 switch ports - is the easiest way to both expand and simplify your departmental, small office, or home office network. The EtherFast 10/100 2-Port Switched PrintServer houses two high-speed printer ports and four standard 10/100 switch ports, allowing you to connect up to two printers and four PCs (or other network devices) to your network without any additional hardware.The 2-Port Switched PrintServer comes with an easy-to-use software management suite that integrates seamlessly with all of the Windows operating systems. Fully compatible with regular laser, bubble jet, ink jet, and dot matrix printers, the PrintServer also supports bi-directional printers from HP, Panasonic, and other manufacturers. Equipped with Direct Memory Access (DMA) technology, a 256KB buffer, and automatic collision control, the PrintServer can handle print jobs up to 50% faster than regular print servers - even jobs with complex graphics and layout. And because the 2-Port Switched PrintServer has four built-in 10/100 full-duplex switch ports, you will conserve space, money and cabling clutter while also dramatically upgrading your network's speed. A four-port switch runs up to four times faster than a four-port hub! The Linksys EtherFast 10/100 2-Port Switched PrintServer is an essential departmental, small office, or home-office-simplifying solution.
1 disaster
We use linksys as standard in my company for wireless activities, we found normal to stack a print server from linksys on top of wireless AP.
Out of the fact the techs took one hour to find out how to configure it through fixed IP an installing bi admin a described in other critics, which does not make it user friendly but we can cope with that as IT professional.
However, bi directional is a joke. No printer is recognized and we lost all fax and scanner functions on a Brother MFC, this IS a problem (guess why we bought a Multi Function Center?)
We had to return this material to linksys...
2 Works with XP but takes some tinkering
I read all the reviews so I was expecting some extra work to get this print server working with XP. The trick is using a static IP address, not DHCP. Go ahead and install the "BI Admin" utility because it allows you to configure the print server via a browser page, but use a static IP address. And just enter that same static IP when you configure your printer port (printer properties, add TCP/IP port). Linksys tech support can help - although this is yet another company that has outsourced tech support to the Phillipines and India. That's a big check mark against them in my book.
3 HP Laserjet1200 and Linksys printserver
Despite spending hours (days) attempting to configure the printserver, I was unsuccesful. The printserver does not appear to be compatible with the HP laserjet 1200. I wish I had read the reviews prior to purchase. Problem is incompatability with HP drivers. Tried all drivers, tried all settings. Would be interested to hear from the people who apparently got this to work.
4 Allen
I've had this print server for almost 2 years. I have a reasonably-sized home network with other Linksys products that have worked flawlessly. I guess the bottom line comment I would make about this product is that, when it works it is fantastic, but when it doesn't it drives me crazy!
In my case it will work fine for a while, and then require either soft or hard resets (with the button on the back). The DHCP never worked consistently for me. I was advised by Linksys not to use it at all. I have already had to replace my original unit because it failed, and my second unit just went on the fritz as well. I was on the line with Linksys support for an hour and we couldn't get it to work, so they're sending me yet another one. I just replaced my old HP 4ML that was on the server, and decided NOT to rely on the print server anymore - I paid extra for a built-in 10/100 card. However, I still have a Canon inkjet on the print server. I still don't understand in this day why built-in ethernet is so expensive to add to a printer - it should now be standard on all but the lowest price printers IMHO.
I gave this 3 stars, but it's really probably more like 2.5 (only redeemed by the built-in 4 port switch). I agree with another poster who said Linksys needs to update the firmware for this product - it is not up their usual standards.
Allen
5 Worked for me
I purchased this so we could print without having to keep the computer next to the printer on all the time. Am using two Epson printers: Epson 1270 and 2200.
Print server installed OK. I was confused by the docs because they seemed to be saying I needed to do something to make it work via DHCP, turns out this is the default behavior. Otherwise I got through the install with only one short call to LinkSys tech support. I got through immediately. Being a software support engineer myself, I would give the engineer a 4 out of ten for customer service skills.
My Epson printers use a 'bidirectional' process to show the levels of ink in the printers. This no longer works, so I guess I'll just need to have some ink replacements ready for when the red light goes on in the printer itself, or ocassionally hook it up to a computer to check the levels. I also had to mess around with the Epson printer driver to turn off it's communication error checking and advanced features. Otherwise it would give me an error message that there was a communication problem.
These were not enough to make me want to send it back as the product makes it very convenient for our network and is relatively easy to deal with as far as networking products go.
I also notice a considerable improvement in the network file transfers using the included 10/100 switch.
As many of the reviewers have said, there are some problems with install etc., but if you can get past this, having a print server can be a great addition to your network. I would also say that at some point users will have to gain some understanding of TCP/IP to get very far with any network project...
6 Unsupported Product with many problems
I'd like to start off by stating that overall I use and like many of the linksys products, including the routers, wirless products and network adaptors. I also work with computers for a living, so I tend to be able to resolve most technical problems on my own accord. This product attempts to fill an industry niche of allowing any parellel printer to be network ready. It does this in two ways, a browsable print server or a locally configured port.
I was running this product without a problem for a while, although it frequently would get confused and drop the connection and require rebooting. I have it attached to an HP Laserjet 5P which is a very reliable and stable printer. I noticed that if I ran the product in a mixed type mode using some of the browser print servers and some port based configurations, it would crash and just stop working and require a reset. When I changed everything to the same configuration it worked better.
When I tried to configure and work with the print server from my Windows XP Home edition laptop things got very messy. I was able to figure out that the Windows XP built in firewall was blocking any use of the EFSP42 Linksys print server. To confirm my findings I did extensive testing and actually read the firewall logs. Apparently, this server was accessed on the normal port 80, but responds on port 3079. To solve this problem I had to turn off the build in XP firewall. I don't blame this on Microsoft, it was just functioning as a stateful inspection firewall should, however; linksys developed this product long before XP was on the market and has not put out updated firmware to deal with this situation.
I called Linksys and spoke with someone in the tech support, their response was we don't ever recommend using any personel firewalls. Perhaps microsoft and some of the other personal firewall manufactures should be aware of the fact that linksys is telling people not to use their products. The fix is relatively simple for Linksys, simply don't randomly change the inbound port (it should be the same as the outbound), but the technical support person couldn't understand the nature of the problem.
If you can affort to purchase a dedicated network printer, or a print server from the printer manufactures this is a far better long-term solution. You can also use any computer on your home network and set up print sharing and essentially create your own print server.
I tried to upgrade the firmware from the website using the bi-admin, but the version on the website could not recognize me device, so the techntion had to email me a 4 MB file not available to the general public. This updated utility was able to recognize the device, but then when I went to flash the firmware, I recieved a "H/W Mismatch Error". So, now I've send another email to Linksys to try and get the proper "bin" file which apparently is not on their website either. For some reason this product will NOT allow you to update the firmware from the web administrative pannel and requires the bi-admin utility (seems like a very inconsistent solution compared to their other product lines).
My guess is that this product was produced very quickly to fulfil a small market niche and not much R&D or quality went into the design. They haven't undated the firmware in over two years, which apparently has caused many problems. I gave it two stars because the 4 port switch worked, although a "C" note for a 4 port switch seems like a lot. Good luck to anyone who purchases this product, you will need it!
7 Print server and PC need configuration
People cannot blame a Print Server if they cannot configure theire own PC.
Get professional help and do not blame the product. These are not plug and play item. Both Your PC and the print server require configuration.
If your previous Pc was configured as a local printer after attching this Print server you need to set each PC to print to a network printer.
We have used these Servers and no if"
's,and's, or but's, they work.
Imran ...
8 Print server and PC need configuration
People cannot blame a Print Server if they cannot configure theire own PC.
Get professional help and do not blame the product. These are not plug and play item. Both Your PC and the print server require configuration.
If your previous Pc was configured as a local printer after attching this Print server you need to set each PC to print to a network printer.
We have used these Servers and no if"
's,and's, or but's, they work.
Imran
9 Okay with some printers
I have both an HP 842C deskjet and a HP laserJet 1200
The 842C works great but the HP 1200 Laser will not work. Tech support not that great for a non-working printer.
So now I am stuck with needing a directjet interface for the laser.
10 Problems overcome, flawed but best option
I have an HP LaserJet 6P which I share on my home LAN.
I started with the HP JetDirect... had problems with it not always appearing in NetBeui browse.
I dumped that and got Intel PrintStations. Those worked well with Win98 and WinMe, but then showed Netbeui browse problems under WinXP.
So I tried the Linksys Print Server. I will echo many other complaints... it's not up to the quality of other Linksys products. I could not get it to install properly using the Quick Setup instructions (device name would not show up under Browse!).
I read the manual cover to cover, and decided to fix the IP address using the Bi-Admin utility.
STILL had problems getting the print server to show up under their default PrintServer driver.
THEN I uninstalled that driver and tried to do everything using the IPP (Internet Print Protocol) instead.
SUCCESS! I installed the IPP driver on all my client PC's, and it's been working wonderfully since then.
It shouldn't have been this hard to get it working, but it finally solves my problem and works better than the HP and Intel print servers I tried earlier.
11 This Printserver does not work with all printers
Folks,
Be very careful when you buy this printserver. LinkSYS advertising on the box says that this works with all popular bi-directional and parallel printers --- IT DOES NOT!
Don't be fooled into the same hassles that I have run into. I have a Xerox XD100 (a "popular" bi-directional/parallel printer) and 2 canon bjc-2100 printers (another "popular brand"). Neither work. Here is a list as of 4/25/02 from LinkSYS tech support as to the printers that don't work.
There seems to be inherent problems getting bi-directinal printers to work correctly with printservers as an intermediate step. I would go for a JetDirect printer and save yourself the troubles.
You may get these to work by disabling bi-directional printing in the spool settings under details under printer properties, but i didn't.
Good LUCK!
I would call them and ask for the latest update:
Last Up Date 4-25-02
Printers That Been Known to Work With The Printservers
ALPS
Alps MD1000
BROTHER
Brother HL 630
Brother HL 730
Brother HL 1040
Brother HL 1240
Brother HL 1260
Brother HL 1440
Brother MFC 3100
Brother MFC 4600
Brother MFC 8600
Brother MFE 9200C
Brother MFC 9600 DOESN'T WORK
Brother MFC 9700 DOESN'T WORK
CALCOMP
CalComp Techjet 720
CalComp CCL 600xF
CANON
Canon F50 DOESN'T WORK
Canon 100
Canon 200
Canon 250
Canon LBP 430
Canon LBP 460 DOESN'T WORK
Canon 600
Canon 610 Needs driver modification
Canon 620 Needs driver modification
Canon 2500
Canon 3170
Canon 4100
Canon 4200
Canon 5100
Canon 6000
Canon 7000
Canon BJC 80
Canon BJC 210 DOESN'T WORK
Canon BJC 2100 DOESN'T WORK
Canon BJC 230
Canon BJC 4100 needs driver modification
Canon BJC 5000 DOESN'T WORK
COMPAQ
Compaq IJ 200 make sure spool data format is PMJOURNAL and disable bidirectionality
Compaq IJ900
CITIZEN
Citizen dot matrix works
Digital Lan 30 no on PPSX1
DYMO
Dymo 300
ENCAD NOVAJET
Encad 736 DOESN'T WORK
EPSON
Epson Stylus 2
Epson MX8
Epson FX100
EpsonTMU200
Epson 400
Epson 570
Epson LQ570 Plus
Epson 600 Needs spooler modification
Epson 640
Epson 740
Epson Stylus Photo 750
Epson 777 DOESN'T WORK
Epson Stylus 780
Epson Stylus Photo 780
Epson 800 Needs spooler modification
Epson 850
Epson 860 DOESN'T WORK
Epson LQ870
Epson 880 Stylus
Epson 980 Stylus
Epson T1000 DOT MATRIX
Epson LQ1070 plus esc/p2
Epson LQ1170
Epson 1200
Epson Action Lazer 1500
Epson 1520, works but needs to try new or different drivers
Epson 2500
Epson LQ2550
Epson 3000
Epson DFX 5000
Epson DFX 8000
Epson Photo
Epson Stylus color
HP Deskjet
HP 9
HP R80 DOESN'T WORK
HP 450C
HP 430
HP 500
HP 500C
HP 550C
HP 560C
HP 600C
HP 630 No bitrontics
HP 650 Designjet
HP 660C
HP 670C
HP 672C
HP 692C
HP 693
HP 694C
HP 710
HP 712C
HP 720C DOESN'T WORK
HP 722C needs driver modification
HP 820C
Hp 820CSE
HP 840C
HP 855C
HP 870CSE needs driver modification
HP 870CXI needs driver modification
HP 880C
HP 890
HP 890C
HP 892 needs driver modification
HP 895C
HP 895 needs RAW or it will say out of paper
HP 895CXI
HP 932C
Hp 940C
HP 952C
HP 960CXI IT'S BEING TEST ON
HP 970C
HP 970CXI DOESN'T WORK
HP 970CSE
Hp 990
HP 1000 and 1000c
HP 1100
HP 1115
HP 1120C has alot of problems DOESN'T WORK ON PPS1
HP 1200
HP 1220C
HP 1315
HP CP1700
HP 2000
HP 2000C
HP 2100HDM
HP 2500C
HP 3100 DOESN'T WORK
Hp 3200
HP 4500
HP LazerJet
HP 2
HP 2D
HP 3
Hp 3D DOESN'T WORK
HP 3SI
HP 4
HP 4L
HP 4M
HP 4ME
HP 4ML
HP 4MP
HP 4plus
HP 4SI
HP 4V
HP 4VC
HP 5L
HP 5MP
HP 5P
HP 5SI
HP 6
HP 6P
HP 6L
HP 6MP
HP 6P
HP R 80
HP 1100XI
Hp 1100
Hp 1200
HP 1220CSE DOESN'T WORK
HP 2100
HP 2100M
HP 2200
HP 2200D
Hp 3150 DOESN'T WORK
Hp 3200
HP 4000
HP 4100
HP 4500
HP 4500DN
HP 4550
HP 5000
HP 5000PS
HP 8000
HP 8100
HP 8150
HP OFFICEJETS
HP G55 DOESN'T WORK
Hp R60
Hp K60
HP T65 ONLY WITH GENERIC DRIVERS
Hp K80
HP G85 (able to print but scanner does not work)
HP 570 ONLY WITH GENERIC DRIVERS
HP 600 DOESN'T WORK
Hp 610
HP 1170CSE ONLY WITH GENERIC DRIVERS
HP Plotter
HP GL200
HP 220
HP 330
HP 350
HP 430
HP 600
HP 649C
HP 650
HP 750C DOESN'T WORK
HP JX1130 DOESN'T WORK
HP INKJET
HP 1150C
HP 842C
IBM
IBM 2380
IBM 4010
LEXMARK
Lexmark 1000 Color
Lexmark 1020 DOESN'T WORK
Lexmark 3455
Lexmark 4029
Lexmark 5700
Lexmark 7000
Lexmark Z42 DOESN'T WORK
Lexmark Z52 DOESN'T WORK
Lexmark Z53 DOESN'T WORK
Lexmark Optra C
Lexmark Optra E
Lexmark Optra R
Lexmark Optra LX
Lexmark Optra N
Lexmark Optra 1250
MANNESMAN
Mannesman Tally MT 645
MINOLTA
Minolta Pageworks 20
Minolta Pageworks 81
Minolta 2200 DOESN'T WORK
Minolta Proage4110
NEC
NEC 660 DOESN'T WORK
NEC 1260
OKIDATA
Okidata 6E DOESN'T WORK
Okidata 10E ?
Okidata Microline 320
Okidata 320 Turbo
Okidata 320
Okidata microline 321
Okidata 340
Okidata 520 Turbo
Okidata 590
Okidata 810 E PORT 3
Okidata 1600
Okidata Okipage 4W
Okidata 16N
Okidata 3410 DOES'T WORK
PANASONIC
Panasonic KXp-1624 i used lpr
Panasonic KXP-2023
Panasonic KXP-2130
Panasonic KXp-2624
Panasonic KXP-4410
Panasonic KXP-4420
Panasonic KXp-4455
Panasonic 4450
Panasonic KXP-6500 needs driver modification
Panasonic 1695
RICOH
Ricoh AP206
SAMSUNG
Samsung QL-85 DOESN'T WORK
Samsung ML-1210
SHARP
Sharp AR280
Sharp AL1340 DOESN'T WORK
Sharp AL1600
Sharp 9460 PS
STAR THERMAL
SONY
Sony 100 DOESN'T WORK
XEROX
Xerox P3 DOESN'T WORK
Xerox docu print P8 DOESN'T WORK
Xerox N17
Xerox N32
Xerox C55
Xerox WORK CENTER 80 DOESN'T WORK
Xerox WORK CENTER 88 DOESN'T WORK
Xerox XD100 printer copier DOESN'T WORK
Xerox XD105F DOESN'T WORK
Xerox XD130DF DOESN'T WORK
Xerox XD155DF DOESN'T WORK
Xerox WORK CENTER 385 DOESN'T WORK
Xerox M750
Xerox XE904UG DOESN'T WORK
Xerox WORK CENTER XL2130F DOESN'T WORK
Xerox 2230 (plotter)
Xerox WORK CENTER XD series DOESN'T WORK
ZEBRA
Zebra DA402
12 Print Server + LAN Switch = Great for home network
Despite review comments I read before I bought product about
difficulty with installation and functionality, I successfully
installed this new product from Linksys using their documentation
with NO PROBLEMS. I replaced my hub and always on desktop PC
that served as home network print server with this product and
my print performance shot up, so did my LAN performance due
to obvious architecture advantages of switch vs hub. I installed
the Linksys software on both Win98 AND Windows 2000. Note Windows
2000 software was NOT on CD, but easily downloaded from Linksys
Website and simply ran the "Setup" wizard. Print Server has
printed both documents, web pages, and photo applications as
well as my home network components can expect. Definitly everything is 3/4 times faster than when I had hub/PC arrangement. And now I get to turn the old desktop PC off, and
use my newer wireless laptops around the house, or other
wired connections at docking stations. I should also note
due to switch functionality, even my DSL internet connection
through the gateway seems faster, due to less lan CSMD contention, especially with overhead of wireless access point
and trying to use other wired connections on
my LAN. Works great.
13 Such High Hopes..dashed
I so wanted this to work, it would have been a perfect add to my small home network using their Etherfast Cable/DSL Router. I have an epson and hp 4 and running XP, and 2 Win98 PCs. Manual was sadly lacking, nothing explained why sometimes certain documents from my XP would print, but others would result in an error 22 on on the HP (the epson just flat didn't work). A troubleshooting section and compatibility list would have been nice. Even after turning off the advanced features and several other HP "workarounds" it didn't work as advertized. Plus very unhappy I had to load additional protocols, which according to their email tech support should have solved my problems, which it did not. A total waste of a weekend, and money. I'll keep dinking with it since I want to add 2 more PCs and a laptop and the additional ports are needed - and don't want to throw more money at my home network for now. Maybe they'll actually put something useful on their website..
14 Buy the WPS11 or wait for the next version of this product
Works fine, but the major drawback is that it only has 256kB of memory. For the same money, you get the wireless print server WPS11 which comes with 2MB of memory. So if you do not need the 4 switch ports, get the WPS11. Just don't use the wireless connection that's all. If you need the 4 port switch, buy a separate one or wait until Linksys rev's this product
15 A great print server, better than HP jetdirect
Don't be scared away by some comments. I just got one, it works terrific.
Remind you, I don't have any experience installing any router, or print server before, though understand how it works...
After hesitating for a while, I decide to take the risk trying another print server, that's Linksys Etherfast.
Once I got it, plug it into our campus LAN, then, install the CD-ROM. Instantly, I can see the printServer on the network. (Unlike HP, this is the only linksys I can see, so, easy to find.) Then, I hook two printers up, configure port, select device port. All of them worked immediately, without even reading its manual (said to be very bad. I don't know.)
One thing as some reviewers found, when setup the tcp/ip configuration, I have some problem. But it does not affect the function at all. With this price, and its many ports, good compatibility. I love it.
16 Total Disappointment
Like other reviewers I also have a home network with other Linksys products (Cable router, 8-port hub, wireless AP) which are excellent. This print server is a total disappointment for me.
The built-in 4 port hub works fine, but the print server just would not function with my set-up. Originally connected to the parallel port of my win98 machine is an HP Deskjet 932C. After hooking it up to the print server and installing the Linksys software, the printer no longer prints correctly. I changed many times the settings, uninstall and reinstall drivers (both Linksys and the HP printer drivers) and after much trial and error I gave up.
I also have a Xerox Docuprint P8 laser printer, and the result is the same after hooking up to the print server. I ended up going back to sharing the printers from my PCs.
It is possible that this printer is only compatible with a certain type of printers. The manual and website does not offer much help. I could not even get the print server administration software to print a test page.
I like most of the Linksys products except this one.
17 A downgraded rating and suggestions for Linksys
Originally, I rated this product with 4 stars. I have downgraded it for the following two reasons:
First, some background. My in-home network has about 5 Linksys products. Their 4 port cable/dsl router which does a good job. In two years, I've upgraded the firmware twice which involves a reboot of the box. Other than those two times, I've only had to recycle power to the box once to clear a problem. I have the Wireless access point and associated PC Card for my laptop. There's also a 5 port hub and the two port print server. So overall, I like Linksys. However, here are the reasons for the downgrades.
1) with the Printserver active, I occasionally get IP address conflict warnings from Windows TCP/IP drivers. I have to cycle power to the PrintServer to clear the problem. This did not happen until the PrintServer was added to the network. My cable modem router is the DHCP server on the network and that functionality is disabled in the printserver and the WAP11, so either Linksys has a problem in their DHCP server in the router or the problem lies with the Printserver. This is not a show stopping issue, it just causes inconveniences until it's cleared.
2) The printserver (two printer model), only has 128kb of RAM. That's not enough. With RAM prices as low as they are, the box should have 32MB or more. I have an Epson 900 color stylus printer and an NEC 1200 laser printer controlled by the print server. The laser printer has no problem printing, but when I send a color job to the Epson, it takes FOREVER. The Epson printed faster when I had it on our server and shared the device. That just slowed the server down when someone else on the network printed to it. Our server is also a work-station (yes, I'm peer-to-peer). Each printer should have 16MB of buffer ram to speed print jobs, especially to an ink-type printer.
18 Product didn't match manual and Nonexistent tech support
I purchased a Linksys 10/100 4 Port Switch with Print Server. I had two problems with it. First: the unit arrived with two printer ports but only one printer port status LED. The manual clearly shows two status LEDs, one for each port, but the faceplate only had holes for one. Second: I couldn't get it to work with my HP 5L Laserprinter. The directions were clear enough, but I couldn't get the Linksys software running on my 200 MHz Pentium Pro to recognize the HP printer. I called the Linksys supposedly 24/7 tech support (at 9 PM PST) and the recording told me that my call would be answered in 20 minutes. I gave up after waiting 55 minutes to talk with someone. The next night I called at 7 PM PST and waited 45 minutes before giving up. No one at Linksys ever responded to my email asking for help. I called on the third day during business hours and was told that tech support would call me back--they did not. I contacted SMC for information about their router/print server and got an email response within 3 hours. That did it. I returned the Linksys PrintServer (Thanks Amazon for such a great return policy) and bought a SMC Wireless Router/Switch/Printserver. It worked great! The Linksys PrintServer might be OK if it works for you, but don't count on getting any tech support.
19 Home Office Must Have!
This worked great for me on all windows based systems I have used it with many HP printers without any driver conflicts. I have also used it with all my upgrades (win98 - winXP) without any problems.
It is fully configable with all the settings I have needed (DHCP, Static IP, SMTP, daisy chaining ect... And I like to try all the settings! If you are printing to different printers from any number of computers in a TCP/IP network or Windows domain this is for you.
It was a little slow on the large print jobs. Someone in a large printing enviroment should look to something with some built in memory. It also does appletalk ,NETBUI and IPX/SPX. I will be trying the bi-directional (scanners) stuff very soon.
20 Printer Server
I purchased the Print server for a Macintosh network. I was looking to move my Epson 1520 to the server, so I could remove the printer from one of the mac actting as a server. It did not work at all as a Mac Print server, I wish apple would of left the local talk on the machines. I was able to get it to work from Virtual PC on my Mac, so the networking was setup correctly. I was also slow as a hub with the macs. They are all 100mb machines, and when connected they ran slower than the 10mb hub that they were connected to. This box is a good idea, I wish that you could setup with the Macs, because we need a way to connect these stupid parrallel printers that we use now, since lost the network printers.
21 Great all-in-one product
I bought this because I needed a printer switch. Imagin my suprise when I found a 4 port switch and a print server, all in one unit, for a few dollars more than the printer switch I was looking to buy.
As a network Administrator I will be looking forward to see what other products linksys will be producing.
22 Linksys Etherfast 10/100 4 Port Switch with Print Server Mod
I print large graphic images (about 10 meg) to a Epson Photo Ex. Using LPT1: parallel port these image complete in under 5 minutes. Recently I purchased a Linksys EFSP42 Printerserver. Printing the same image through the EFSP42 Printserver takes over an hour. I have isolated the problem to the Epson printer driver used. If I use a dumbed down Epson driver from Windows 98 disk (specifically Epson Stylus Color ESC/P2) then the speed through the Linksys EFSP42 PrintServer is comparable to parallel port LPT1-- however image quality is very poor. Linksys technical support first indicated I had a defective unit. I replaced the unit and had the same results. Now I'm told I should return the unit because it is incompatible with my Epson Photo Ex (sure, now tell me after I toss all the packing). Linksys documentation maintains compatibility with Epson but don't believe it!!
23 Beware if you have older printers
I use a Canon BJ 5000 on Win 98. The Print Server is incompatible with this model. After researching other user reviews, I discovered this Print Server doesn't play well with several older printers. I'm returning this server and pursuing other options.
24 Doesn't work with older printers
The print server works flawlessly with my Mac running OS X 10.1, however the Win98 Machines refuse to print. Printing to a Laserwriter Personal NTR (Apple printer, standard Cannon engine) the Windows machines get a "printer not ready" error. This may be to the fact the the printer only works if the PC's port is configured as "ECP", and (I believe) the port drivers use EPP. Any ideas? Drop me a note. mrattan@home.com
25 Great for those with some experience!
Works flawlessly with our plug and play printers. It could not find a non plug and play printer, though. I feel the user needs experience with network protocols and setting up IP addresses as well as a general understanding of print servers. It's an awesome deal for a combination switch and dual print server.
26 Really Bad
I am still not able to set up the server with my simple network. My network works well with my Net gear router but can not find the print server.
27 Not quite ready for Prime Time
The combination of a switch with a print server would have been great. The switch worked prefectly, 3 ports and an uplink, or 4 ports. The print server is not smart enough to handle bi-directional printers. Mine is an Epson 870, the printserver driver was a problem to install both on NT and W2K (3 tries to get some funtionality) and then it would generate errors indicating the connection from the printer to the PC didn't work. Still looking ...
28 Works well with Windows 9X/NT and Linux
This product is an excellent value. The print sever works well with my RedHat Linux, and Windows 9X/NT systems. Get Windows 2000 drivers from Linksys. I had just wanted a 10/100 switch, but why not get the printer server and switch for one low price. I would recommend using the print server in lpd mode for Windows NT/2000. On Linux/UNIX just treat is like a server running lpd. Note that you will need Windows to initially configure the product and to set an IP address for the print server. The two parallel ports are logically mapped to lpd printer queues called lp1 and lp2. There is a special driver that must be loaded for printing from Windows 9X clients. I do not have an Apple system, but it can also emulate an Apple print server and there is unsupported Apple configuration software is included on the CD-ROM.
29 Update on previous review
The trick with W2K is to NOT use the bi-direction utility. Get the W2k driver from the mfr website and install that. Ignore the manual's statements obut IPX/SPX, it works fine on only TCP/IP. After setting the devices IP address with the TCPIP utility, add your 'local' printer and select the port that that you set up. The documentation was terrible, but the unit functions very well.
30 Terrible with Win2000
I purchased this unit May 2001 and am ready to take it back. It may work well on older networks, but with a pure Windows Network and Window 2000, it is a loss. It does have full documentation for Netware, DOS and such, but there is no mention of Windows 2000 anywhere in the documentation nor a support page on the website for w2k and this unit. I did find a w2k driver at the mfr website, but no other information. The 16bit bi-directional utility promptly hung my normally super-reliable server system. The manual says you have to install IPX/SPX also, but based on other information in the manual, that may not be true. Also, if used with (really great) the LinkSys DSL router, it appears that if the system is not started up in the right order the IP address will change and you may have to re-set everything.
31 Works with HP OfficeJet 5xx Printers
This is an excellent product. It actually works with an HP OfficJet 570 printer that I bought years ago. I had initially bought an HP JetDirect External for use with this printer, but HP doesn't support this brand of printer with the JetDirect. This makes no sense. You would think that HP would have support for their own printers. Well anyway, sorry HP, you lost my money, and LinkSys got it!! This product is highly recommended for the home office environment.
32 Perfroms as advertised
I have used this model with my cable modem (MediaOne, now AT&T) for the past 6 months. Currently running 1.37 version of firmware. Able to securely access (ftp) archival files from my home NT server from work (great for traveling consultants!).
Would strongly consider 8 port model, which was introduced 6 weeks after my purchase, for additional QoS features and switching performance.
33 Very good, great value
Installed and configured this in a few minutes with no problems. It is a two port print server and 4 port 10/100 switch built into one unit for a great price. The extra switch ports are great - these are convienient for hooking up additional machines to the network at my printer's location. The performance is good and the price can't be beat - what else can I say?
