3 THINGS YOU MUST KNOW OF PS121, read review

First off, a network print server is a MUST-HAVE if you have a Home/Office LAN or Wireless-LAN, an exising USB printer, and several LAN users/PCs that want to share same printer INDEPENDENTLY from each PC.


Ok, 3 THINGS YOU MUST KNOW ABOUT THE PS121
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1. MULTI-FUNCTION PRINTERS CAN ONLY PRINT,
but scan/copy/fax functions are NOT supported. Also, advanced printer functions like low-ink-warning are NOT supported.
Netgear.com publishes a list of supported printers, follow this link:
http://www.netgear.com/products/details/PS121.php ,then see link that says "List of printers that have been verified.." link.

2. YOU MUST DISABLE WINDOWS/OTHER PC FIREWALL FOR FEW MOMENTS PRIOR TO SETUP.
This includes disabling --only during the setup-- any PC Firewall products like Norton Firewall, PC-Cilin Firewall, etc.. The Netgear SETUP program will NOT recognize the PS121 if you have a firewall. Of course, Once the PS121 is setup and has been added/configured to each PC as an IP printer port you can then safely turn back ON your firewall. I've had no need to "open up" any firewall ports after setup was done.

3. ON OCASSIONS IT MIGHT SEEM THAT PRINTING STOPPED WORKING.
SYMPTOMS: ever experience that print jobs fail (i.e: the Printer Status box may show "Printer spooling" or similar message before an error says Printer is Busy/Not Available). If you get this it is probably the PS121 rebooted itself and came back up under different IP network address. Ok --I will get a little technical here, if you cannot follow explanation, just print this page and take it to your local network guru to have you back and running in no time.

TECHNICAL JARGON warning.. Ok then, turns out that by default PS121 is set to request a dynamic IP network address from the network DHCP server. This is good and bad. It is good since it simplifies setup, bad since the Netgear SETUP configures the PS121 Printer "Port" using that specific IP network address in use at that time. So when/if PS121 reboots (or powered down by user) it can come back on and register itself under new IP network address --the "Port" configured by Netgear will no longer work!!!!

Fix is simple, well sort-of it requires you to know little bit of networking. I did two things to fix this issue: a.) I ran once again the Netgear Print Server Setup Wizar version 1.02 that came with CD-ROM (remember to disable that firewall during setup!!), during setup I requested that the print server use a FIXED IP address, I used 192.168.0.110, but depends on your network --ask your network guru! Ok I finished setup and it added a NEW printer port named something like IP_192.168.0.110.. whatever main point is it is named after specific IP address. b.) Next I went to my DHCP serer (which happens to be a Dlink-524 Wireless 802.11 Access Point in my case), and I requested the DHCP server to always give fixed IP address to the PS121 MAC Address. My Dlink has a nice interface that let me "clone" the PS121 MAC address and I entered a fixed IP address --192.168.0.110 --the same I'd used in the SETUP.
Ok, now no matter how many times the PS121 reboots, it will come back and request same Ip address which guarantees my "port" will always work.


Overall I'm very pleased with the convenience. I no longer have to power up my main PC just to print from a laptop in my living room!!! That alone is worth gold to me and my wife. I print more also. And whenever I print large files, or pictures, I occassionally connect USB directly to my main PC (it is not automatic! if you do this you MUST manually go to "Printer" properties, and select "USB" port. Oherwise it wont work at all!!).