Cisco-Linksys PPSX1 EtherFast 10/100 1-Port PrintServer

My client's print server on his copier died. Parallel port was the only option so I picked up the PPSX1. I had it installed in 15 minutes including testing three PC's. It printed fast and they were happy. I used the existing LPR setup that the dead print server was using and everything went smoothly. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was that the admin install gave an error on a DLL which I ignored. It worked however and I was able to set the IP address. The only other complaint was I wasn't able to spend more time there for billing purposes. :-)

I wanted to share my Canon Inkjet printer with both my home computers. The manual was quite unhelpful and very poorly organized. According to their website the dip switch settings in the manual are exactly backwards. I bought this box because it says that it supports bi-directional printing but on page 88 (of 91) of the manual, it tells me, "For best results turn off the printer's bi-directional function..." I interpret this as saying that it works with bi-directional printers if they aren't working bi-directionally. I'll call their support line first but I think this item is going back where I bought it.

As a fan of Linksys network devices, I'm very disappointed in this one. For starters, figuring out how to configure the unit to do CUPS-like printing was very difficult - it took googling to figure out the exact path to the printer, because the documentation I got was outdated. While the server allows disabling older printing protocols like NetBEUI and AppleTalk, it will not disable NetBIOS and the ilk. As a result, it generates more traffic than necessary (every 2 seconds), polluting the network. Finally, the decent web-driven configuration interface that Linksys is known for has been replaced with something quickly thrown together, so that while you can set a password to protect the unit, anyone on the LAN can modify the settings.This unit is a sub-par product, at best. Disappointing, because I'm used to better devices from Linksys.

We are very satisfied with our product. We needed this specific one and it was delivered within a week. Great service!!

I installed this device simply by accepting all the defaults in the setup. I'm using an Epson 900 Stylus ink printer. It's the default printer for all the computers on my network. It's attached to a 10BaseT hub that is connected to a Linksys 4-port DSL/Cable modem router. DHCP is enabled in the router and the print server uses that for an IP address. It's all working with no problem.

This unit took nearly no time to set up: the DHCP server on the network gave it an address instantly. It happily supports JetDirect (port 9100/tcp) printing, but performance is lousy. Even on a 100mbit network, it did no better than 58kbytes/second throughput measured during careful tests. Our application included >22 megabyte image files to a color printer.For low-volume printouts (say, text reports from an accounting system), this looks like a winner, but for anything requiring any real throughput, it's not going to be too useful. The same image that took two and a half minutes using this device took eleven seconds to a real HP LaserJet 4100 printer.

I purchased this for use in a client's small home network to share their printer; Laptop running wireless downstairs, Desktop hardwired upstairs. Every thing was a peice of cake and works like a charm. Everyone is happy, especially me - the paid geek.

Overall the PPSX1 was a breeze to set up. It took about 10 minutes it up on a NT4 three-machine home network. No problems after the first day.However, the product photo displayed here on 2/10/00 is wrong. The PPSX1 model that arrived had the parallel port on the back and the 10BaseT and power connections in the front making it impossible to stack or put on a desktop... a silly design... I decided to hide it under a desk. But for 80 bucks it's a good deal.