Customer Reviews

NETGEAR PS101 Mini Print Server

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

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...

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.

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.

Even though I really did need a standalone print server (4 computers running a smorgasbord of O/S's with removeable drives for different operationg systems)what prompted me to
buy this ($65/free shipping/no sales tax)was the mixture of reviews. I thought, this can't be that hard to setup. I believe
most people who have a problem with this is that they don't understand basic networking 101. I found using ME/2000/XP a breeze. I did not install any of configuration tools that come with it. I prefer to do everything manually. Just admin it through your browser, I think it was defaulted to 192.168.0.115,
then do the normal "add a printer" use network printer option and point to the correct IP address. I'm using XP with SP2 and firewall turned on with no problems.
Now Linux was a little more diffcult, I'm using Mandrake 9.3 and Redhat 9.3 It took a couple of tries to get a good test page to print, it's just a matter of using the right combination of lpr/CUPS but when it works it's a beautiful thing. I'm using an HP deskjet 932C printer.
Now, I've only had this for a couple of days so I will update sometime in the future.

I am disapointed in the Netgear PS101 in that it is not bi-directional. It will not report low ink cartridges, paper out, or other printer status functions. My printer is a Canon i550. Otherwise it works great and was very easy to set up.
My Canon i550 has a USB port as well. I set up the computer beside the printer to use that port and it is bi-directional, providing feedback on printer status. Printer seems to work well using both the parallel and USB.

Update on 09/12/2005.

My home network is growing now. I didn't mention in the original message was that I aslo used the SMC7004VBR Router. That baby only has 4 ports. It is not enough for me anymore. Recently I added a SMC EZ Switch 108FDT that has 8 ports. I aslo added another color printer HP Officejet 7100 to the network. Now my network carries (1)Win98 SE, (1)Win2000 Pro SP4, (5)WinXP pro SP2, (1)HP Laser Jet6L and (1) HP Officejet 7100. There is no any problems at all. I just don't understand why people got problems. Here is a quick hint for testing the network. After you installed everything, it just didn't work. Try just ping the printer, see if you can get response. If you get respons back but just simply doesn't print anything. You might have a bad luck , get a bad product. If you don't get respons at all, which means your network doesn't work at all. You have to make the network work first. I am very happy with the thing.

This is another awesome product from Netgear. I have no any problems to setup in my home network, which includes 5 PCs running (1)Win98 SE, (1)Win2000 Pro SP4 and (3)WinXP pro SP2 and a HP LaserJet 6L printer. All the PCs have Anti-Virus (McAfee 8i), Anti-Spyware (Spybot - Search & Destroy and Ad-Aware SE Personal Pro), Sygate Personal Pro firewall installed, and DHCP configured. The WinXP PCs have both default firewall (comes with XP) and Sygate firewall turned on. No problem at all. I read through all the reviews, a few people just said it didn't work, but didn't say anything about the network and the printer. Two things need to be checked out before you install the printer server: 1) Go to Netgear's web site at http://www.netgear.com/products/details/PS101.php,
you can find a link "List of printers that have been verified to work with this Printer Server" right above the picture. The last time updated is 03/24/2004. My printer is neither in nonsupport nor support lists. 2) Test if your network is setup correctly. If your network doesn't work, how you can except the printer server works. Here is a link for those who have no or a little knowledge about networking,
(...)
It tells you everything you need to know. After you make sure your network works, now you can install the Printer Server. You do need the CD, which contains the driver file of the printer server. You do need the booklet in the box, but you don't need the manual. It took me < 15 min to install on all my PCs. You should leave the DHCP configuration, let your network handle the IPs for you. You can assign the printer server a static IP (it is not a good idea). That might need the manual. If your network set up correctly, and you install the Printer Server correctly, you should directly print out from the printer, not through another computer. If you have to print through another computer, you did wrong.

This thing works perfectly with Netgear XE102 Powerline Ethernet Adapter (XE102US).

Original May 2, 2004
I run the IT at a medical office in a semi rural area. We wanted to add a second network printer. (Our existing printer is an HP2200DN). We could buy a stocked HP 2300 at a fairly good price but would have to order the HP network version which is an HP2300N and at List Price to get the built in print server. So instead, we got a Netgear PS101 to go with the HP2300. All I wanted was something that could work fairly well compared to the HP print server and we could save about $200.

The PS101 met my expectations.

Our network is one server running Server 2003, nine workstations running windows 2000, two workstations running windows XP, a hardware router/firewall (does the DHCP) and a DSL modem in addition to the printer previously mentioned. I installed the Netgear print server in the HP (It fit nicely), installed the Netgear software only on the server. I reconfigured the IP address on the print server to a fixed IP using the netgear adminstration software(this is what is done with the Hp server as well as being suggested by Netgear, so I didn't think it to be a problem). Straight forward.

On each workstation, I did not use the Netgear software to install the printer on the workstation. (I did not want to clog up the workstations with more proprietary software). I used the standard Windows local TCP/IP printer port installation using windows generic settings for the Netgear print server driver. I used the latest printer drivers for the HP2300 that I found on the HP web site.

No problems. Straight forward, out of the box. First time everything worked. Nothing was a redo. Works fine with server 2003 and 2000 and XP but then we don't use the XP firewall on a network (I really don't understand why one would. I thought that's what the router was for. But if i did I would open the port used for printers - 9100.)

I have dealt with Netgear service with a router. They can't help you. They ARE a waste of time. In all fairness, telephone support is a difficult job. But what do you want for a $80, $70, $65? Much better help is available on forums on the web where my router problem was quickly identified and resolved by someone who already solved my identical problem. (An unusual problem related to our common DSL provider though we were 2000 miles apart)

I have read of Netgear hardware problems for several years but have never personally experienced any on the three Netgear routers and netgear print server i have used on the four networks I maintain.

My suggestion is that one should either have access to a web forum or have some understanding of TCP/IP protocol before taking on these projects. My impression is that disappointed people appear to have neither.

Added 5/19/04
I still haven't had any problems. Even with large files.

Apparently, the method I used for software installation as I described above (i.e. use the standard windows stuff rather than Netgear's printer installer) is the suggested method by Netgear (See Netgear website, support, 1st item under trouble shooting) when one has problems with large files OR one has HP equipment (or several other problems). I had done this with the HP2200DN so it just seemed like the obvious thing to do at the time of PS101 installation particularly when one does not want to load up on proprietary software. Others having problems have not stated whether they tried using a standard Windows installation.

I do not work for Netgear. I just have not yet had any problems with routers or print servers that could not be handled, even without any help from Netgear. I would still suggest access to a web forum for those having problems.

I'm buying another one for home.

I had this set up and working very quickly. i have a netgear wireless router (802.11 b) and two Windows 98 machines - a desktop and a laptop and both work fine with this print server. I could not get it to work with my Mac OS X desktop, but did not try very hard. I was not expecting it to work with OS X--I don't think it's supported officially, so I was not bummed out by this.

I've got about 10 print servers on our Unix network and 3 of them are these little boxes. I've had no problems using them with laser printers, dot matrix and barcode printers.

Great product. Fit perfectly onto my printer and was easy to install. The only problem came when seting up the computers to access the server. First you have to turn off the firewall in XP or it won't find the server. I turned it off then got a free copy of Zone Alarm firewall and it works great. The other thing is to rename the computers workgroup to the same as the print servers workgroup. After figuring these things out, it works great. The problems were minor, and considering the price I would recommend this product.