Home Networking / Router / & WiFi Gateway Help

[bpkilgore]

Hello all, I have a wired network with 4 computers, ( XP and Vista), and a D-Link DIR-655 router that is also has wireless capabilities, ( b,g,and n). I would like to connect a wireless printer to the network. The printer does not have an Ethernet port, just usb, but it is wireless g enabled. will I be able to print to it from all the computers, even though they are wired to the router and do not have a wireless card in them??

[FishMan]

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bpkilgore wrote:
Hello all, I have a wired network with 4 computers, ( XP and Vista), and a D-Link DIR-655 router that is also has wireless capabilities, ( b,g,and n). I would like to connect a wireless printer to the network. The printer does not have an Ethernet port, just usb, but it is wireless g enabled. will I be able to print to it from all the computers, even though they are wired to the router and do not have a wireless card in them??

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Yes. Just add the printer to your network as though it was just another computer. You'll need to set it to get an ip address automatically. Follow the instructions at the top of the Home Networking forum to see how to set up wifi networking. Then on each computer you will need to "add a network printer". The computers will find the wifi printer on your LAN once it is set up.

Message Edited by FishMan on 08-21-2009 10:43 AM

[bpkilgore]

I was thinking I could but wasn't sure, should I set it up with the usb and then move it, or will it just be "found" on the network wirelessly?  

[FishMan]

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bpkilgore wrote:
I was thinking I could but wasn't sure, should I set it up with the usb and then move it, or will it just be "found" on the network wirelessly?  

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Do not use the USB. If it has wifi and the router has wifi it will find the wifi signal if your router is broadcasting. Make sure you set up the wifi security per Baric's posts.

[bpkilgore]

ok great,  thanks for the help.

[MelvinTheGrate]

I'm going to disagree with FishMan here. If you've got a primary machine that's close to the printer it's OK to connect that machine to the printer with a USB cable and let your other machines connect via your router and the printer's wireless networking capability. I've been using my HP printer like that for some time, using USB to one machine and a wired ethernet connection to my router for the others. Works flawlessly. For wireless in particular, configuring the printer's networking via USB and the printer's GUI interface is quite a bit easier than using the printer's control panel and tiny display (for me, anyway -- my WPA passphrase is pretty long). Also, if the printer is an all-in-one multifunction device, you may find that some functions initiated from the printer's control panel are somewhat feature-limited when interacting with a computer via the network vs. using a USB connection.

Message Edited by MelvinTheGrate on 08-21-2009 03:52 PM

[FishMan]

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MelvinTheGrate wrote:
I'm going to disagree with FishMan here. If you've got a primary machine that's close to the printer it's OK to connect that machine to the printer with a USB cable and let your other machines connect via your router and the printer's wireless networking capability. I've been using my HP printer like that for some time, using USB to one machine and a wired ethernet connection to my router for the others. Works flawlessly. For wireless in particular, configuring the printer's networking via USB and the printer's GUI interface is quite a bit easier than using the printer's control panel and tiny display (for me, anyway -- my WPA passphrase is pretty long). Also, if the printer is an all-in-one multifunction device, you may find that some functions initiated from the printer's control panel are somewhat feature-limited when interacting with a computer via the network vs. using a USB connection.

Message Edited by MelvinTheGrate on 08-21-2009 03:52 PM

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You are welcome to disagree but a wireless printer connects to the router and becomes a node on the LAN. There is no need to have it connected to any computer, thereby requiring that computer to be on. I've been using a wifi all-in-one for several years. All my computers on my LAN, whether ethernet or wifi, connect to it without problem. When you print to a wifi printer the data is routed through the router to the printer, there is no need for any computer, other than the one you are printing from, to be on.

Forget for demonstration purposes the wifi. Assume the printer only has ethernet. What you are saying is to connect the printer via ethernet to a computer and print through that computer instead of connecting the printer's ethernet to the router and printing through the router.

Why would you want to connect a network capable printer, ethernet or wifi, to a computer rather than to the router?

I've never experienced limited functionality. You do it your way, I'll do it mine

Message Edited by FishMan on 08-21-2009 02:06 PM

Message Edited by FishMan on 08-21-2009 02:26 PM

[MelvinTheGrate]

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FishMan wrote:

You are welcome to disagree but a wireless printer connects to the router and becomes a node on the LAN. There is no need to have it connected to any computer, thereby requiring that computer to be on. I've been using a wifi all-in-one for several years. All my computers on my LAN, whether ethernet or wifi, connect to it without problem. When you print to a wifi printer the data is routed through the router to the printer, there is no need for any computer, other than the one you are printing from, to be on.

Forget for demonstration purposes the wifi. Assume the printer only has ethernet. What you are saying is to connect the printer via ethernet to a computer and print through that computer instead of connecting the printer's ethernet to the router and printing through the router.

Why would you want to connect a network capable printer, ethernet or wifi, to a computer rather than to the router?

I've never experienced limited functionality. You do it your way, I'll do it mine

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No, I'm not saying "print through that computer". The printer, as least the one I have, is perfectly capable of using both interfaces. Just because one machine is connected through the USB interface does not mean that other machines cannot access the printer directly through the network, regardless of whether the USB-connected machine is powered up. And yes, the printer can take care of the case where it is busy with a job from the USB port when another machine tries to connect via the network. That's really no different from two machines trying to print simultaneously via the network.

If you wish to ignore some of the capabilities of your device, that's your decision. I'll stick with mine.

[Baric]

My opinion is: it doesn't matter how you connect it, the benefits of one or the other (or both) depend on your usage and specific printer.  I would personally just follow the instructions that came with the printer to connect to the wifi network.  If those instructions say do that over USB, okey dokey.  If the printer is capable of being configured through its control panel and requires no physical connection, great too.  Whether the printer works through both the USB and wireless interfaces at the same time is going to depend on specific model.  If it were me, I'd use it only through the wifi interface, unless you're going to send a huge amount of data and print a lot, there's no real benefit to using both interfaces and possible disadvantages.  The biggest advantage to the USB interface is the manufacturer might provide an app for config and control that makes it easier to manage/setup vs the control panel on the printer itself, or if you're wireless environment is questionable.

[bpkilgore]

Actually the router I am using has a usb port on it for NAS, Printer, etc. ( D-Link DIR-655 ) but I have heard it has bugs, so I forget its even there. I would like to use the printer by the wireless connection, so all computers have print capabilities.

[MelvinTheGrate]

Now that you mention huge amounts of data, my printer also includes a memory card reader, and unloading a multi-Gigabyte card goes a lot faster over the USB connection than it does via the printer's 802.11g or 10/100 ethernet inerface.

[Baric]

Again, that's going to be printer specific.  In terms of raw speed, the USB2.0 interface running at full bore is faster than a 100Mbps ethernet interface, but still only half the speed of a gigabit ethernet interface.  Factors like card reader speed, printer design, driver design will make make the max speed less.  In terms of print data, which is not huge usually, you're not going to notice any appreciable difference between the various interfaces.  It's a matter of what fits best in your environment.