Setup for Netgear WGPS606 Print Server
I recently purchased a Netgear WGPS606 ("606") wireless print server for use on our home network. I've long been looking for a print server that would permit us to hide our huge HP Deskjet 5150 printer in the closet. It is far too expensive in terms of how much space it takes up in relation to the frequency of use.
What made the 606 so attractive is that it is wireless (802.11g), supports WPA encryption, and can be used with Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. The only other wireless print server I've seen that supports WPA is from Linksys, but it is incompatible with Mac OS X. Since two of my computers are Macs, the Netgear won hands-down.
Installation of the print server was fairly easy, although someone less technically adept would encounter a lot of difficulty. First, my Linksys access point issues all clients IP addresses in the 192.168.1.x subnet; however, the 606 comes configured with a statically-assigned IP in the 192.168.0.x subnet. I had to manually specify the IP address on my desktop computer to place it in the 192.168.0.x subnet so that I could access the web-based configuration utility on the 606. Once I was in, I quickly configured the 606 to join my wireless network. I actually had to change my network configuration to use WPA2 with TKIP+AES, whereas I previously used strictly AES (more cryptographically robust than TKIP). Also, the 65-character key for my access point needed to be shortened to 63 characters for the 606. That was a bit annoying.
Once done configuring the 606 for network connectivity, I moved on to configuring the printer. I learned that the 606 print server can be used as a standard UNIX "Line Printer Daemon" (LPD). This is cool. The two printer ports have queues names L1 and L2, respectively. I installed the CUPS print drivers on my Macs and was printing immediately. The printing output looks great, and the queues look the same as if the printer were connected directly to my computer.
Another feature I plan to take advantage of soon is the Ethernet-bridging feature. The 606 has 4 switched-Ethernet ports on the back which can be used to connect 10-BaseT Ethernet systems to the wireless network. In my case, I have a PC running Linux that I would like to stash in the closet along with the printer. The PC would have complete network connectivity, all while being less of an eye-sore.