Which way to go?

[Paul Komski]

Networking is definitely not my strong point - as will be manifest.

Looks as if ADSL broadband is going to become feasible in the next week or two. Want to be capable of networking at least two desktops and one laptop and also going to be getting a new Laser Printer.

Using a wifi network with a router would seem an obvious way to go. So any pros/cons would be appreciated and any specific tips on how to avoid problems.

Also want to be be able to network the new printer so would it be better to attach it to one PC using a parallel or usb cable and then share it on the network from there or are there advantages of using an RJ45 port on the printer.

If using the RJ45 port, would the printer then need to "talk" to the network via a router or hub or would it connect with a cross-over or other ethernet cable directly to one PC.

All PCs would be using WinXP SP2 Pro or Home. Any suggestions and known pitfalls could be most useful.

TIA Paul

[Erik]

Sounds simple enough.

I still like to use wired whenever possible. So for the desktop and printer is it is possible to run CAT5 then I would do that and use wireless just for the laptop. Wired is still more reliable, secure, and faster. As for a router personally I like the Linksys WRT54G-L model. A pretty decent basic router with wired and wired functions and a whole bunch of options for third party firmware to add extra features.

There is a big point to consider with a networked/shared printer. If you just connect it by a parallel/USB cable to a PC tha PC will lways need to be on in order for you to print. If you get a printer with built in network support you just give it an IP address and print directly to it. They are generally more expensive though, so it is a bit of a tradeoff. I can only recommend whatever model you get try and get one with a display that you can program directly. Otherwise it is a pain to try and get it configured by finding what DHCP address it was given. You would just connect it using a regular CAT5 cable and preferrably give it a static IP address.

[Paul Komski]

Thanks for that bit of info - He He - everything is simple once you know it and have been there.
If you get a printer with built in network support you just give it an IP address and print directly to it.This is where I am a bit confused. There are say two desktops turned on and wired to the router. The network printer is then presumabley also wired to the router. How does it get its static or other ip address; automatically, or by setting it from one or the other or on both desktops in order that either can access it independently of the other desktop. Presumably when installing the printer on both desktops you would assign it a TCP/IP port as the mode of connection.

Have I also understood correctly that you can mix wired and wireless connections through the same router??

Afterthought; does ADSL2 use the same hardware as classic ADSL?

[PrntRhd]

Paul,
I agree with Erik in recommending a network-capable printer. You can leave the printer turned on so any computer with the loaded printer driver will send the job directly and independently to the printer. You just assign the printer a static IP out of the normal DHCP pool from the router.
For instance if your LAN addresses are 192.168.0.1,2,3 for the first PCs, you assign an address of 192.168.0.200 for the printer. The router will not assign any PCs that high of an address and so you never have a conflict.
When you add the printer you add it locally and create a new TCP/IP port for the 192.168.0.200 address, so all jobs sent to that printer find the device at that address, and print.

Wired or wireless, the PCs print drivers are set up the same way.

[Paul Komski]

Thanks again - its all beginning to fall into place but at the moment, without any hardware to hand, its all theoretical.

You just assign the printer a static IP out of the normal DHCP pool from the router.This makes sense but how, actually, is it done? The CAT5 cable would go from the printer to one of the available ports on the router but how then does one assign the IP address to that port (or the device on that port). Is this done in hardware (by say a push button arrangement and display on the router) or is the router accessed from a PC and programmed using software.

[PrntRhd]

The router assigns LAN addresses automatically by default.

The printer can be assigned a static IP address in the LAN range through the display that Erik was referring to in his post.

The router does not care what that IP address is so long as it does not conflict with the addresses it assigns to the PCs and the administrator address for the router itself (typically .254 or .255)

When I mention creating a printer port, I mean you create a TCP/IP port (path) in the PC to connect to the printer. You can plug the printer into any Ethernet plug in the router and the PCs in any Ethernet plug in the router and the PC will still find the printer and print to it.

[Erik]

Basically there are two ways of getting a printer configured. The easiest is when it has a little LCD display and you just put an IP directly into the printer. Otherwise you need to let it get one via DHCP, and figure out what it got. Then you can go to that IP in a web browser and it will let you configure it from there.

Actually I just had this happen to me yesterday. I was replacing an image drum on a printer in one of the locations I support. Tried a test page, nothing. Looked on my managment PC and it was showing as down. Luckily for me his is an enterprise network and I have tools at my disposal, so I looked at all IP leases and found the one that didn't belong, sure enough it was my printer. Without all of this though it usually is found by getting it to print out its own configuration, some crazy combination of buttons.

So a printer with a small display is a much easier way to go.

[FastLearner]

Kind of off topic, but what is your approximate budget for the printer?

For a laser printer, a good choice under the 1000 dollar range is the Hewlett Packard 2420 DN. I just installed one recently, and it was a cinch to configure and is network-ready out of the box. You just print out the configuration page (via the lcd display and push buttons) to find out its factory-given IP address, connect to it via your networked http client (a.k.a. web browser) and you can set it up however you wish. It also prints really fast in comparison with some of our older HPs. It is also relatively quiet and compact, so it won't take up your entire office space. :)

[Erik]

HP has plenty of other models cheaper than th 2420, especially if you don't have a really large volume per month.

Also HP uses printer names that tell you if it is network ready or not. It will be a number (2420) and then some letters for added features, n = network)

[Sylvander]

Have in front of me an article in this fortnight's "ComputerActive" [issue 228], explaining "Network-Attached Storage" [NAS].

It's a HDD with a network interface built into it [allowing you to connect it to a network router], and most of them have USB ports built in to which you can connect a printer for example, or yet another HDD.
This kind of thing [previously used by large corporations] apparently now makes sense for home use.
All the PC's on the network can make use of the HDD storage [and also the extra hardware connected].
e.g. The Iomega StorCenter holds 250 GB, costs £180, and is easy to use.
The Discovery program included searches the network for the StorCenter, and displays it as a device in "My Computer".
Backup program also included.
Each PC on the network can create individual user accounts to protect their files.
Folders can be public or private, so files can be shared or not.

[PrntRhd]

Paul:
Also want to be be able to network the new printer so would it be better to attach it to one PC using a parallel or usb cable and then share it on the network from there or are there advantages of using an RJ45 port on the printer.
One advantage of Ethernet vs USB is that the printer can be placed anywhere, you simply connect the RJ45 patch cable to it and the router. TCP/IP printing is fast and relatively easy to configure and works for most OSes the same way:
Unix/Windows/Linux/Macintosh.
Parallel printing is basically dead, way too slow and limited, many PCs no longer come with parallel ports.

[Whyzman]

My take on wireless or cable depends on the physical locations you plan on for each of the devices. And, along with that, ease of hardwire connection...based on where you plan on each to reside.

My home has plastered walls...not the best for hardwiring, especially since I wanted the HP 4500 (large laser color printer) downstairs. Wireless printserver was the obvious choice...

Hardwire LAN cards are also relatively inexpensive vs. wireless LAN. Especially, when you're talking wireless printservers...

[deddard]

Sylvander's suggestion above is something I'd go with if you don't want to shell out for a dedicated network printer.
A NAS device with a built in print server can prove a relatively cheap way to go, and you have a choice of upgrading part of the system later (the print server) as technology changes.
Wired is always going to be best for speed, but sometimes a wireless system is far more convenient.
My old system used to comprise of a combination of both, with only 1 floor wired, and a wireless access point so I could connect from other the other floor.
The speeds needed for printing are not monstrous, so an 11g card should cope ok if you need wireless.

I used a dedicated network printer (a Konica Minolta 2300DL) with an extra 128MB RAM, and never had any issues printing graphics from wireless.

Bear in mind that if you do use a print server built into a NAS, then you may find that you don't have all the features of the printer available to you - the monitoring options for toner/ink levels don't always work on usb/1284 printers as they need direct communication with the PC.

If I were to give a definitive answer to this, I'd say wire as much as possible - use thin trunking along the top of skirting boards or under coving (the smallest I've seen should take 3 cat5e wires) and work out the best way to bring them all together in an hidden area (a cupboard is great) before sending out any vertical wiring.
You could put a small switch on each floor (in a hidden area) and link the two by a single cat5e cable and still get full speed. (This is of course assuming there is more than one floor involved here!)
Then use your own choice of a dedicated network printer or a laser printer/print server combination.