Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2007/08/03/usb2_net_server/
Wanna stick USB 2.0 to your network?
Server shares scanners, storage, printers and more
Posted in Channel, 3rd August 2007 13:50 GMT
Anyone fed up with having to plug peripherals into their laptop - or run a desktop PC as a peripheral server on the network - could find a USB network server useful, according to Keyspan.
The company has just announced its USB 2.0 Server, which lets users share many kinds of USB devices - printers, scanners, cameras, storage - over a wired or wireless network. It has one 10/100 Ethernet port and two powered USB 2.0 ports.
The device - which lists for $129, and looks likely to sell for around £75 in the UK - includes print server functionality, with bi-directional comms so users can monitor ink and paper levels, say. It can also be used with a USB 2.0 hard disk as a basic NAS system.
It works with both PCs and Macs, and by connecting USB devices over a LAN, it also avoids the distance limits of USB cabling. The only limitation is that USB audio/video gear is not yet supported, Keyspan claimed.
There are stacks of USB print servers and storage servers around, but only a few others - such as IOgear's multi-function USB server, which was also introduced very recently - can also support multi-function printers, scanners, data-loggers and the like.®