Linksys WPS54G manual Introduction, Welcome

Wireless-G PrintServer

Chapter 1: Introduction

Welcome

Thank you for choosing the Linksys Wireless-G PrintServer. The PrintServer lets you connect a USB printer directly to your network, eliminating the need to dedicate a PC to print sharing chores. Using a PrintServer frees up your “print share PC” so you don’t have to leave it on all the time. It also removes the printing bottleneck, and sets your PC free to do more useful work.

The USB port is compatible with USB 1.1 printers, as well as printers that support the new high-speed USB 2.0 specification for even faster throughput.

How does the PrintServer do all of this? A print server is a device that allows multiple computers to share a printer over a network. You can connect the PrintServer directly to your network using an Ethernet network cable, or you can connect the PrintServer over Wireless-G (802.11g) at up to 54Mbps. The wireless option lets you put your printer wherever you want to, without having to run a cable. Whichever way the PrintServer is attached to your network, both your wireless and wired PCs will have access to it and its USB printer.

But what does all of this mean?

Networks are useful tools for sharing Internet access and computer resources. Multiple computers can share Internet access, so you don’t need more than one high-speed Internet connection. Using the PrintServer, you can access one printer from different computers. Plus, you can access data located on another computer’s hard drive and play multi-player video games. So, networks not only are useful in homes and offices, but also can be fun.

PCs on a wired network create a LAN, or Local Area Network. They are connected with Ethernet cables, which is why the network is called “wired”.

PCs equipped with wireless cards or adapters can communicate without cumbersome cables. By sharing the same wireless settings, within their transmission radius, they form a wireless network. This is sometimes called a WLAN, or Wireless Local Area Network. Your network router bridges wireless networks of both 802.11b and 802.11g standards and wired networks, allowing them to communicate with each other.

To guide you through the process of installing the PrintServer, run the Setup Wizard on the Setup CD-ROM (you can use the instructions in the Quick Installation or User Guide to help you). After you have installed the PrintServer, you can change its settings using its browser-based utility, which is described in this User Guide. These instructions should be all you need to get the most out of the Wireless-G PrintServer.

Chapter 1: Introduction

mbps: one million bits per second; a unit of measurement for data transmission

lan (local area network): the computers and networking products that make up the network in your home or office

ethernet: an IEEE standard network protocol that specifies how data is placed on and retrieved from a common transmission medium

802.11b: an IEEE wireless networking standard that specifies a maximum data transfer rate of 11Mbps and an operating frequency of 2.4GHz

802.11g: an IEEE wireless networking standard that specifies a maximum data transfer rate of 54Mbps, an operating frequency of 2.4GHz, and backward compatibility with 802.11b devices

browser: an application program that provides a way to look at and interact with all the information on the World Wide Web

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Welcome