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Asante LPT & USB Network Print Servers
Tech
Lab Staff Review
September 16, 2002
The print servers Setup Screen should come up, now follow the direction in the manual as appropriate for Windows and/or s Mac's AppleTalk network (you can have both simultaneously as long as your printer is PostScript compatible).
TIP
2 - If you have a WLAN
Here's a health TIP for the IT Manager or home network engineer.
When setting up either print server use a Ethernet "crossover" cable directly
from a Desktop or Notebook computer (PC or Mac) to the print server, so
you won't have to disconnect your Airport Base Station or other type of
WiFi Access Point. It has been known that disabling a WLAN during work
hours at a business, or homework hours at home, has caused serious physical
injury and sometime death to network managers by WLAN users. The setup
procedure will be the same as if it were done through your network.
TIP
3 - An IP Address for your Asante Network Print Server
Once you setup the server as your needs require and it has successfully
recognized your printer, change it's IP address to one within the range
of your Network. Obviously if you have a LAN with all fixed IP addresses
you won't assign the address that your bosses Notebook is using, unless
you're ready for a job change. Don't forget to also assign your existing
LAN Subnet Mask numbers to the Asante Print Server's setup.
If you are using DHCP
on your LAN and WLAN to assign IP addresses, it isn't wise to allow the
Print Server to run under DHCP, which it can, unless you like the idea
of continuously reinstalling that printer on every computer in your office!
Under DHCP, there is no way of knowing what IP address the print server
will be assigned if you turn off your network server and then restart
it.
On this HTML page you will setup your IP Address &
Submask
It is far better to
use a low number for your network server that issues IP addresses under
DHCP. Use 10.1.1.1 for the Router/Gateway, then assign a fixed IP address
to the Asante print server that is much high than the one DHCP will ever
assign. If you have 50 computers on your LAN, DHCP address assignments
are unlikely to be higher than 10.1.1.51, so assign the Print Server 10.1.1.100
and if you have a second or third Print Server, 10.1.1.101and 10.1.1.102.
Just do not go higher that 254 on the last segment, that number is the
limit.
AppleTalk,
it just works -
Setting up the Asante Printer Servers for your PostScript printer is just
too easy, it takes nothing more than just entering the AppleTalk Zone,
the Printer Object Type and selecting Binary print option.
On your Mac, whether you are using OS 9.x or OS X, you would select the printer just as you would any other network printer. Of course you will have to install the appropriate printer drivers.
Simply stated, for AppleTalk print applications, it just works . . . perfectly!
Setting
up Windows to print -
There are three ways that you can print to the network print server; SMB,
Server-based Print Queue and PtP. Unless you're an old hand at SMB and
SPQ, choose PtP.
The CD ROM that comes with each Asante network print server contains a folder called "Ptp_95nt", which is within the "Drivers" folder. This is your "Peer to Peer" Windows print application. It is used to locate the Asante print server on your network and install a printing port on each computer on your network. PtP will work on Windows 95 through XP, but some "coexisting" will be necessary with X, so read TIP 4.
We installed PtP on a Windows 98 SE, Win ME, and NT system with no deviation from the manual's instructions. It works as advertised. But, because this version of PtP was not written for Windows XP, some work a round is necessary but not difficult.
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