NETGEAR print servers enable you to connect printers to the network for sharing among multiple PCs. Compared to attaching a printer to your PC, the print server gives you more flexibility in placing the printer, more cost effectiveness, better performance, and simultaneous support for Windows, Netware, and UNIX printing.
1 Works fine, but 4+ months to get wireless card!
The wireless card for the product arrived over four months after sending in the certificate! The product works fine as a wired print server. It was relatively easy to set up and has never crashed. Don't know if I'll ever bother to try it wireless now.
2 PS111WNA Works Great If You Install it Right
As long as you install it right it works great. One thing they don't tell you is that you have to turn off your firewalls to install it.With a firewall in your Router you don't need one on in your PC anyway.
After I did this the software installed it in about 5 minutes
I have three PC's on a wireless network and they all use the same printer with this Printserver. It works GREAT!!!!!!!
3 Catch 22!!!!!
purchased this for the rebate of the wireless PC card and still haven't been able to use it since the free card has not been sent yet. It's been 3 months!!! Netgear is totally un responsive. Can't return the item because I had to cut out and send in the UPS from this package to get the free card. Catch 22!!!! Stear clear of Netgear!!!!
4 It's OK
The main reason for picking up this unit was for the rebate on the free wireless cards. Still waiting for it by the way. I bought one for work and one for home. I use a Linksys BEFW11S4 router at home and a Netgear router at work with a Linksys WAP11. The print server took about 10-15 minutes to receive an IP address from the routers. Like other reviewers, Windows(98, 2000, and XP) seems to have a hard time locating the server for some reason even after receiving an IP address and using Netgears software.
I finally just uninstalled the software and took my chances by manually adding the server with Windows Add Printer Wizard. Except for the Win98 machine, it's been working fine for now. Tip: Manually install (Win XP)by going to Add Printer>local printer attached to this computer>create a new port, standard TCP/IP>type in the print server IP address>device type: standard, network print server (1 port) (there is no driver for the ps111w of course)>finish.
You should be good to go. Also another word of advice is to disable DHCP client when configuring through the browser. That way the IP won't magically change by itself, receive print error messages, and have yourself go frantic trying to find the server on your network. Good Luck!
Update on my wireless card rebate. As of 10/20/03, it was denied because I submitted the same receipt for the two servers I bought from amazon. I guess whoever does the rebates can't see there were 2 servers listed. I had to call wheresmyrebate.com and the rep. said she will resubmit it to her supervisor. I should know the status in another 6-8 weeks.
5 Netgear quality sucks
I purchased the Netgear wireless print server from another online retailer. The first one was defective. After a few hours with Netgear tech support and with online retailer tech support, returned the unit for another one. Second unit was defective as well. After a long time on the phone with Netgear and Online retailer, returned that as well. Retailer was nice enough to refund me the original shipping cost as well as the cost of shipping the defective items back to them.
Setup seems quite straightforward, if only the hardware would work. I would suggest buying it from a local retailer only, that way if it does not work, returning it will not be such a hassle.
6 It is cheap, but don't expect much
It works well as a basic print server. The ease of configuration may have been satisfactory a few years ago, but other companies have made the typical router configuration so easy that makes configuring this print server seem almost too technical. But once you get it going (it took 20 minutes for me), it works well. I bought it under the condition that there is a rebate to get a free wireless card for this box, but it has been 3 month, and nothing from Netgear. I am having second thoughts about Netgear's integrity.
7 15 minute Setup
I purchased this print server after returning the Linksys version out of frustration at the inability to get it to work (and the clueless customer service). Some folks here have complained about the Netgear manual and customer service - well I can't attest to the quality of the manual or CS because I have never needed to use them. I currently have a Netgear wireless access point/router, and am running two notebooks (wireless) and a desktop wired, and now the print server. With a gun held to my head, I could not explain the most basic TCP/IP, DCHP, or any of this terminology that goes with networking. I buy this stuff, install the software, plug it in and it works. Maybe I am lucky, but for me, Netgear is the way to go. As others have mentioned, the print process seems somewhat slower then with a direct connection, however, the ability to print from the notebook anywhere in my house is well worth the reduction in speed.
8 Does the job... maybe not for Macs
I use this print server on a home network. My primary machines are a Mac laptop and desktop, which posed a significant problem as initial configuration of this print server must be done from a Windows-based PC because of the proprietary software that Netgear uses. Virtual PC was my solution. Others may have to borrow a friend's PC laptop for an hour.
Once you have supplied an IP address to the print server, it may then be configured from a web browser on any computer.
Users of Mac OS X will find the free GIMP Print and GhostScript packages essential to use this device with anything other than a postscript printer.
As others have mentioned, this print server is slow, but it does its job well and the test-page function has been useful for diagnostics.
My main motivation for buying this box was that it was on sale dirt cheap and the free wireless card would cost as much as the print server did alone. It has performed very well since I installed it, with the caveat that the wireless 802.11b card has yet to arrive 2 months after I sent for it.
9 It works - but it's SLOOOOOOW....
This print server works - but buyer beware: printing is slow if anything large (like photos or other graphic objects) are printed. All Netgear print servers have only 64 KB (!) buffer (according to their Web site), and this shows. So if performance is a primary concern, look elsewhere. The manufacturer's claim that this device would remove any bottleneck is FAR from the truth - in contrary, using a PC and sharing the printer attached to it gives MUCH better performance. Due to this, I'm still contemplating whether to return this thing or not. Luckily I got it much cheaper than the current Amazon price :-)
Another thing is that since the printer is hooked up through the print server, the printer status monitor does not work for some reason. So I can not see how much ink do the cartridges have, for instance. This is annoying, but I could live with it if printing wasn't this slow.
10 Buy cheap - Buy Twice
There's a reason why this product is so cheap. It is extremelly difficult to configure, and tech support are particularly knowledgeable. My first unit had a defect, second was impossible to set up. I switched to a Linksys product which was better but again no way near perfect.
Tech support had very long wait times
11 Incredibly Frustrating, and it never worked
I bought two of these, my first misatke, and neither worked. After LONG waits for customer support, I got someone in India who was essentially of no help. After more frustration, I got an RMA and sent them back. They sent me only one unit, and it didn't work either! What a headache! I should have returned these things right away.
12 Awful customer support... product never worked
I was persuaded to try this product after reading a couple of reviews here at Amazon from people who were using it with a Linksys BEFW11S4 DSL router. However, it just didn't work for me at all. Everything was connected properly, the print server's LAN light was on solid green (meaning that it could talk to router) and it could print its "test page" with all its configuration details (meaning that it could talk to the printer). However, no matter what I tried, I could never get the computer (running WinXP) to recognize that the print server even existed. I called Netgear support and after a very long wait I spent approximately an hour on the phone...until we were both equally clueless about what was wrong....Well, it's been 10 hours and I'm still waiting. I tried calling back to see if I could get more help, but their expected wait time was almost 30 minutes.
Also, Netgear's online customer support and documentation is atrocious. I tried to download this server's documentation from the website before ordering the product, just to make sure that it could do all I wanted. Well, the materials were just awful. In fact, the document was really a draft, which even included "comments" from one Netgear employee to the others. Even the "cleaned up" version of these documents that came with the installation CD was so "terse" that it wasn't much help at all. Nothing like the screen-by-screen shots that I'm used to getting from Linksys.
I've already repackaged this product and printed the UPS label off this site. It's going back to Amazon tomorrow.
13 easy setup, great value
We use this unit at work and it was a breeze to setup. After a great experience with it, we've picked up 4 more of these units for all the printers. Everytime, the unit was very easy to setup and everything was up and working in no time. For Windows XP machines, we didn't even need the setup CD; XP has the Netgear print server drivers support built in. Even Win2K could support the basic functions without installing the setup CD. For the cost of this unit, it is a great value. I did know that I had to send in for the wireless card, so that was no surprise.
14 very good for home use.
Easy to set up print server. It worked great within 15 minute had it up and running on my small home network. I got it so that I did not have to keep a PC on all the time for printing duties. It also has wireless option (the card is free when you send in rebate). It is not wireless out of the box.
15 Wired and Wireless Print Server
I bought this print server knowing that it was wireless ready, but you would have to send in a coupon to receive the free wireless pc card. I didn't immediately need the wireless capability, though, because I already have a Linksys BEFW11S4 Wireless 4-Port Cable/DSL Router, and I could use the 100 MByte Ethernet connection--but it would be nice to have the wireless option.
Installation was very easy--just plug it into the router, power it up, and pop the CD in my computer. It immediately recognized my HP Laserjet 6L printer, and worked great the first time. Now I don't need to start up my desktop computer to print wirelessly from my notebook computer.
This is a great product, and you can't beat the price or the Netgear name.
16 Less than 10 minutes to install and configure
I bought this print server after spending more than 3 hours trying to get one made by Linksys to work (and failing). The documentation is somewhat terse but since the installation process is fairly intuitive and the device actually works pretty well, I didn't have any problems. The configuration program that I installed on my PC (Windows 2000) was crisp and professional looking and a wizard walked me through the setup process for the print server. Buyers should be aware that this device requires the separate purchase of a Netgear 802.11b wireless PCMCIA adapter (MA401). FYI .. I am using the Netgear print server in wireless mode with a Linksys BEFW1154 DSL router/4-port hub/802.11b access point and a HP DeskJet 810c printer.
17 Could be better
I also bought this unit thinking it was ready for wireless right out of the box. I'm still waiting for the card to arrive in the mail. Does not work with my other wireless cards (Belkin). Wish it had more RAM. Really chugs along on more intensive print jobs.
18 Beware the words "Wireless Ready"
OK, I didn't read the specs carefully enough to realize this unit wouldn't work as a wireless print server out of the box. Rather than return the unit, I sent the rebate forms, barcodes, and receipts in for a "free" wireless card. Given this unit is only about $10 more than the card, it's a reasonable bargain.
Installation and configuration was quite easy, as with all Netgear products I have purchased. It performs as advertised. (I'm just grumbling it didn't work out of the box.)
