The Belkin F1UP0301 is a 2-port USB
Print Server that allows you to share up to two USB printers across
an Ethernet network. The attractive compact unit has 4 status lights
on the front:
- Power LED (Solid light indicates
unit is ON)
- LAN LED (Solid – connected to
Ethernet, OFF – Ethernet disconnected, Blinking – Transferring
data, Green – 10 Mbps connection, Amber – 100 Mbps connection)
- Status LED (Solid – OK, Blinking
– Attempting to obtain an IP address while booting or printing in
progress)
- Error LED (Red – Printer
disconnected or printer error)
The back of the unit has a power plug
for the included AC adapter, 2 USB ports, a 10/100 Ethernet port,
and a Reset/Test button (which allows you to reset the print server, print out a test page, or reset to factory default settings)
Physical setup was very easy. I
attached an Ethernet cable from the print server to my router. Then
I attached a USB cable from the print server to my printer (a new
Samsung ML-2010 Laser printer that I was also installing for the
first time) and finally, I hooked up the included AC adapter to the
wall.
Windows XP Installation
Installation on my Windows XP computer
was extremely easy. I was a little worried because I was installing
both the printer and the print server at the same time. The
instructions warn that you must be able to print to the printer
through the USB port before installing the print server. In other
words, you must install the printer locally to each computer before
installing the print server.
This meant that I had to lug the
printer to each computer in my house, install the printer locally
through the USB port before lugging the printer back to the print
server and then installing the print server on each computer. What a
pain! Luckily I found this to be untrue. I was able to set up the
print server without having to locally install the printer on each
computer beforehand.
The key is to be able install the
printer driver on each computer without having the printer physically
attached to the computer. Luckily the Samsung ML-2010's printer
driver has an option to install the driver without needing the
printer to be physically hooked up to the USB port. So, I left the
printer attached to the print server while I installed the printer
driver on each computer.
After installing the printer driver, I
ran the Wizard on the included CD (actually, I downloaded the latest
version from Belkin's website). The Wizard found the print server on
my network and added a new logical printer port (named BelkinXXXXXX)
to my computer. The print server listed the Samsung ML-2010 as being
the printer that was physically connected to it and the Wizard
presented a list of available printer drivers for me to select to use
with the printer. Since I had previously installed the printer
driver, the Samsung ML-2010's printer driver was among that list.
After the Wizard set everything up, I
was able to print out a test page to make sure everything was set up
correctly.
Windows Vista Installation
Installation on my Windows Vista
computer was a little less straightforward. Unfortunately, the
Wizard wasn't available for Windows Vista. According to Belkin's
website,
support for Windows Vista is “coming soon”.
Luckily, I didn't have to wait for an
updated Wizard in order to use the Belkin F1UP0301 print server with
Windows Vista. Most devices (NAS boxes, print servers, routers) that
attach to a network allows users to configure the device through a
web interface. This is also true with the Belkin F1UP0301 print
server. Looking at the DHCP client list on my router I was able to
determine which IP address the Belkin print server was using and I
entered this address into my web browser. I immediately entered the
IP Address page to disable the DHCP client so I could manually assign
an IP address. For some reason, when using Firefox I was not able to
change the IP address – it kept reverting back to the default of
192.168.0.10. However, with Microsoft Internet Explorer I was able
to change the IP address to my liking. Afterwards, I went to the
Print Server configuration page and enabled both TCP/IP and FTP
printing.
To enable my Windows Vista system to be
able to print to a TCP/IP printer, I went to Control Panel >
Programs > Programs and Features > Turn Windows features on or
off. I expanded the tab for Print Services and checked “LPR Port
Monitor”.
After the feature was enabled, I went to Control
Panel > Hardware and Sound > Printers > Add Printer > Add
a Local Printer. From there I selected 'Create a new port', and
chose “Standard TCP/IP Port” for the type of port.
I entered the IP address of the Belkin
print server in the “Hostname or IP address” field and the print
server name in the “Port Name” field. Afterwards, I got a dialog
box saying “Additional Port Information Required” which caused me
some concern. However, I decided to proceed with the installation.
With “Generic Network Card” selected as the device type, I hit
next and was presented with another dialog box to select the printer
driver. Since I had earlier installed the Samsung ML-2010 printer
driver, it was available in the list and I selected it.
Finally, the installation finished and
I was presented with the option to print out a test page. I pressed
the button and a few seconds later, I heard the printer in the next
room turning on and printing the page. Everything worked perfectly!
Windows Vista works perfectly with the Belkin F1UP0301 print server.
Overall, I am very pleased with the
Belkin F1UP0301 Print Server. My Windows XP and Windows Vista
machines can all share my Samsung ML-2010 printer on my network.
Installation and setup with Windows XP computers was very easy.
Installation and setup on Windows Vista took a little bit more work.
The great thing is that the Belkin supports standard TCP/IP printing
so it should also work with Linux based computers too!
I don't have any multi-function
printers (those are printers that also support scanning, faxing and
copying) to test with the Belkin print server but I would assume that
it probably doesn't work with them – most print servers don't
support multi-function printers. If you don't need this ability, I
think the Belkin F1UP0301 is a great little print server.