Netgear PS101 Mini Pocket Print Server

Average customer rating: 3.5

Avoid - setup is ridiculous
Works With Linux
Works great, although the first one was DOA
1 out of 3 works
Easy but ports wear out too quickly.

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Netgear PS101 Mini Pocket Print Server

Manufacturer: Netgear
Product Group: CE
Binding: Electronics
ASIN: B00006B9HK

Related Categories:

Print Servers

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Print Servers

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Amazon.com Product Description

The diminutive Netgear Pocket Print Server lets you share your printer connection with everyone on your home or office Ethernet computer network via its RJ-45 Ethernet port. With this device, you don't have to leave your PC on to let others use the printer, they can access it from their own computers. The Print Server runs at up to 10 Mbps and supports simultaneous print jobs, and can be managed using a remote, Web-based tool. Its on-board memory buffer gives you a quick printout delivery, and while it works with most laser and inkjet printers equipped with a parallel port, no expensive parallel printer cable is needed. <P> The Print Server comes with easy to install software for quick installation on your Windows-based PC. Network Link and Printer Alert LED lights let you know the status of your print job, and the Print Server is also upgradeable. The device comes with a 3-year limited warranty.

Product Description

NETGEAR PS101 - Now you can share a printer without holding an advanced certificate in network technology! The versatile PS101 mini print server allows multiple users to share a printer from anywhere on the network - without having to leave your PC running. Dimensions - 2.24H x 2.35W x 0.79D Weight - 2 ounces OS Compatibility - Windows 95, 98, NT, ME, 2000, XP Limited 3 year warranty

Customer Reviews:

Avoid - setup is ridiculous.......2007-06-03

I got a PS101 after having very good luck with a similar D-Link DP-101P+ pocket print server. We use Macs, which the setup software does not support.

No problem with the DP-101P, just used the Web Admin feature. The D-Link had a default IP address and was easy to connect to with a web browser. One-time setup with a fixed IP address. My only complaint is that the D-Link has no way to tell you what the new IP address is if you forget it. Some print servers have a button which will print a settings page when the print server is connected to a printer. There is also no reset button to return to factory defaults. Write the new IP address on the DP-101P itself so you have it handy.

The Netgear PS101 is another story.
1. As with the DP-101P, there is no button to print out settings, and no reset button. Even though the manual refers to a "diagnostic button" (print settings/reset button), which some other Netgear print servers have, there is not one.

2. The default IP address does not come with the manual.
The manual does not mention a default IP address. Instead it says the PS101 can come up with an IP address in a certain range:
"When NETGEAR PS101 Print Server is without an IP address ... and there is no DHCP server to automatically get an IP address, it will self-assign a unique IP address. The address range is from 169.254.0.1 to 169.254.254.254"
However support says there is a default IP address of 192.168.0.150.

3. BUT ...
you can only use the default IP address if you are not connected to a router (network) which assigns an IP address. My web browser could not access the PS101 at the default IP address when connected directly to it (computer to PS101 via ethernet cable), although that might work for some.

The networks I have used normally assign computers an IP address by DHCP. This is great for computers, but does not work well for a print server. The PS101 comes setup to get an IP address by DHCP. So if you connect the PS101 to a network to use Web Admin, you cannot connect until you figure out what IP address it got assigned. Very unfriendly.

4. Changing settings via web admin would not work.
Netgear has some odd terminology. "Reset" in the Web Admin means upload new setting that you have set and "saved" in the Web Admin screens. When I clicked on reset I lost my web connection to the PS101, so maybe it did reset. I have not been able to tell if this works, because ...

5. If you unplug the PS101 it reverts to the factory default settings. So it loses the fixed IP address you just assigned. For my purposes this effectively means I cannot use it with a fixed IP address. As noted by H. Oh in another review:
"Unplugging the cord will rest the unit to the factory default.
It means that you have to set it again on every power interruption.
A never-heard-concept in IT industry!! "

This is ridiculous.

The workaround seems to be to set your network's router to always assign the same IP address to the PS101 via DHCP. This involves specifying the PS101's MAC address in the router setup so the router knows when the PS101 turns up on the network.

Netgear support spent a lot of time with me but was not able to explain the above problems or help me get the setup done. The PS101 may work OK if you have a Windows computer and can run the Netgear Setup Wizard, but even then the reset on losing power makes this a poor choice.

Good luck.

- Winston

Works With Linux.......2007-05-19

I've had an excellent experience with mine. It's small, simple, and compatible with my HP Deskjet 812C. I've had no trouble with Ubuntu, Red Hat, CentOS, and Gentoo. Nor has my wife had trouble with Windows XP. I bought this to replace a huge external print server. I appreciate that this one is about so small. Very simple to use.

Works great, although the first one was DOA.......2007-04-25

Does the job. Installation was fairly easy. I suggest downloading the latest driver and installer. Works great, although it occasionally must be reset if the power goes out.

1 out of 3 works.......2007-03-29

Bought 3 for the company.
The 1st one works great w/ HP DJ 9800.
The 2nd one didn't.
It sees the printer, Canon D861, but nothing was printed.
Netgear said that it wasn't compatible w/ the printer.
The 3rd one printed only once on HP Color Laserjet 4550.
Now the supplied admin program does not see both 2nd & 3rd.

Overall intallation should be simpler.
The factory default static IP 192.168.0.150 is wrong choice.
No reset button.
Unplugging the cord will rest the unit to the factory default.
It means that you have to set it again on every power interruption.
A never-heard-concept in IT industry!!
I expect more professional solution from Netgear.

Easy but ports wear out too quickly........2007-02-09

I work at a company that has had a many as 10 of these installed at once. The problems were few at first, but over time you had to turn it off and back on to get it to start printing. Eventually, the ethernet port seemed to wear out. You had to "jiggle" the cat-5 cord to get the link light to turn on. The software is great, but the device itself is poor quality. We have begun phasing these PS101's out at our company and only have 2 left.

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