NETGEAR PS101 Mini Print Server

by Netgear

Product Details

Product Manual [251kb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.8 x 3 inches ; 13.6 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00006B9HK
• Item model number: PS101NA
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #47 in Electronics > Computers & Add-Ons > Networking Products > Print Servers
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 21, 2002

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The NETGEAR PS101 Mini Print Server offers: An easy way to share a printer with multiple users on a network. A built-in parallel port eliminates the need for a cable. 10 Mbps Ethernet connection for fast data transfer. A 3-year warranty.

The NETGEAR PS101 Mini Print Server makes it easy for multiple users on a network to share a printer, letting you place the printer at a convenient spot for the entire office or out of the way altogether.

The PS101 attaches directly to your printer to save space and eliminate the need for a cable. View larger.

Built-in Parallel Port Connection for Easy Setup
The PS101 interfaces directly with a printer's parallel port; no cable is required. It works with most parallel port printers from HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark, and others.

Simply plug in the PS101 to the parallel port of your printer on one side and connect it to your network via an Ethernet cord on the other. The print server features a 10 Mbps Ethernet connection for quick data transfer and an easy-to-use web-based remote management tool.

Save Time, Energy and Money Using the print server eliminates the need to have a dedicated PC always-on acting as a print server, thus conserving energy and saving money. The print server supports simultaneous print jobs and an on-board memory buffer keeps prints coming out quickly.

The NETGEAR PS101 is upgradeable for future enhancements and is backed by a 3-year warranty.

What's in the Box
PS101 Mini Print Server, CD with installation software, administration programs and reference manual, power adapter, installation guide, resource CD, and warranty/support information card.

Product Description

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. Primary InformationNetworking Type :  Print server Form Factor :  External Networking Interface :  Parallel Networking / Ports Qty :  1 port Data Transfer Rate :  10 Mbps Transport Protocol :  TCP/IP; NetBEUI/NetBIOS Data Link Protocol :  Ethernet Connectivity Technology :  Wired Cabling Type :  Ethernet 10Base-T Interfaces & Connections :  Interfaces:1 x network - Ethernet 10Base-T - RJ-45;Connections:1 x parallel - IEEE 1284 (EPP/ECP) - 36 pin Centronics System Requirements / OS Required :  Microsoft Windows 2000 / NT4.0 Microsoft Windows 98/ME Microsoft Windows XP Width :  2.3 Inch Depth :  2.2 Inch Height :  0.8 Inch DHCP support UNSPSC CodeUNSPSC Code :  43201537 Product IDUPC:  606449023442Manufacturer Part:  PS101NA

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

90 of 93 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mac fans - this works, November 9, 2003

By 

A Mac and Windows User (North Babylon, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: NETGEAR PS101 Mini Print Server (Personal Computers)

After a herky jerky start, my rating of this product jumped from 2 stars to 4. Don't fret Mac owners. If you are trying to integrate your Mac OS X system to print to the Netgear PS101, there is a solution: configure your Mac for IP printing, set the printer type to LPD/LPR, enter the print server IP address, input the queue name, example HPLASER4L_P1 (netgear device name_printer port), and make sure you select the right printer model. If you select Generic or any other model than your printer you will waste paper. I hope this is helpful...

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Works as expected, September 15, 2005

By 

J. Findlay - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: NETGEAR PS101 Mini Print Server (Personal Computers)

I would have given it 5 stars, but the unit is too big to fit correctly in the back of a Laserjet 5MP. So I will have to buy a Centronics 36 M/F extension cable, but in the mean time, I have the printer cable cover off. It would have been nice if Netgear included a 6" cable extension.

It's very easy to get working without touching the CD and having to install any software. I can print from a W2K server and a XP workstation. The steps, I used were:

1. Get the MAC address from the back of the PS101.
2. Have your DHCP server assign a static IP address to the MAC address. I did these 2 steps as the DHCP server could assign a different IP address on the next power up as my system did not use a default value for the PS101. Either method is fine as long as the IP address for the PS101 never changes. But if you do not assign the IP address, you will have to figure out what it is. I assume that this is what the CD does for you, but I didn't want to install any software.
3. Connect the PS101 to the network.
4. Use print wizard to add a printer and select "Local Printer".
5. Then check "Create New Port" and choose "Standard TCP/IP Port", which will pop up the port wizard.
6. Type in the IP address assigned in step 2, for example, 192.168.0.12 and just use the default "Port Name".
7. For "Device Type", just use the default choice "Generic Network Card" as Netgear PS101 is not listed. Default settings for "Custom" also work.
8. Select the printer type, etc. and print a test page.

That's it, no software and works like a charm. Picked it up at a local store for $80 + tax - $50 rebate with 21 days to return so I figured I had nothing to lose and this solved the problem with my wife's XP computer not being able to see the network printer when using Cisco VPN. Granted there is something going on with the VPN as it would not work if the IP address was 192.168.0.x, but a different DHCP server using 192.168.1.x did work. But that's a problem with the VPN and has nothing to do with the PS101.

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Product, Wrong Solution, September 30, 2004

By 

Orion "orionca" (Riverside, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: NETGEAR PS101 Mini Print Server (Personal Computers)

I had my HP1100A networked to my LAN over a SOHOWARE Plug&Play mini port print server for the past 3 years. Product worked great out of the box except I had to build a special interface because the SOHOWARE print server has a standard Centronics-36 interface and the Laserjet has a Mini-Centronics-C connector. When I started upgrading my PCs to WinXP I found that this print server, while it worked under Win98/2000 perfectly, wasn't compatible with XP and had been discontinued by the maker anyway.

I selected the Netgear PS101 Mini Pocket Print Server as a replacement because it's XP-compatible and uses the same Centronics-36 interface so I could just swap it for my old SOHOWARE print server in my set up. I thought. While the Netgear may be XP compatible it wasn't compatible with my setup. My PCs installed and "see" the port just fine, they detect the printer and install the correct drivers for it but nothing actually prints, even from the Netgear Administration Webpage. Buried in the reference manual is the statement that the device is not compatible with the mini-Centronics-C connector used by HP. After fussing with it for a few days I replaced it with a D-Link print server and that worked perfectly right out of the box.

I'm giving it 3 stars because the documentation is good, the software loads and runs perfectly, and my LAN could install and run the print server w/o a hitch. It just isn't compatible with my printer even with an adapter and that's not immediately clear from the technical discription on Amazon.