TRENDnet 2-Port Multi-Function Print Server TE100-MP2U
- LAN Ports – 10/100Mbps auto-negotiation UTP/STP Ethernet
- USB 2.0 Ports – 2
- LED Status – Power, link, status, USB1, USB2
- Certifications – CE, FCC
- TCP/IP protocol supports DHCP, SNMP, UPnP, FTP
Product Description
The 2-Port 10/100Mbps Multi-Function USB 2.0 Print Server (TE100-MP2U) is designed to transform virtually any stand-alone multi-function USB printer into a shared resource on your network. An intuitive utility application and a user-friendly configuration interface provide a seamless user experience…. More >>
TRENDnet 2-Port Multi-Function Print Server TE100-MP2U
When I saw a USB print server I thought – great! I left an old PC on all the time to work as a print server. This was supposed to reduce my electric usage. I have been unable to get it to work with a Dell injet printer and Windows XP or Vista. USB usually makes my life easier, but not this.
Rating: 1 / 5
First of all, ONLY use the install disc to extract the User’s Guide – do NOT install
the supplied utility. Go to the TRENDNet website and download the (zipped) ver. 2.51 Utility AND the ver. 2.5 firmware. Unzip, launch the utility installer, then open the GUI and upgrade to new firmware. Open User’s Guide to page 22 et.seq., and follow instructions to the letter to set up your printer for network use. Linksys router immediately recognised NEW DEVICE and placed it on the network map. N.B. for Vista users, it is NOT necessary to mess about with NETWORK/NETWORK AND SHARING/ADD PRINTER configurations as a part of the installation; without reading the User’s Guide thoroughly FIRST, I tried to shortcut the process by mucking round with the various NETWORK options, and wound up in a very deep black hole indeed. As long as the home network has been set up correctly initially, no further elaboration of settings is needed.
Also, if your All-in-one printer has functioning SCAN option, the SCAN button will then be enabled in the server Controller, and you can perform remote scans using the various dialogue panes.
IF and ONLY IF you follow the directions – and use the new utility and firmware – the device will function as required, without any problems. Now that my printer is on our home network, I am emboldened to also bring on board an external (USB) mass storage device containing all backed-up files. The User’s Guide has full documentation on how to achieve this, and I will forge ahead.
All in all, the install could have been a lot smoother had I done a bit more research and scrapped the disc-furnished utility, as the initial attempts at installation and integration with home network/HP AIO were disastrous! But, having said that, once all the updated software loaded, the TE100MP2U is working just fine.
I installed utility on both PCs on the network: a HP Pavilion laptop w/ 64-bit Vista, and an eMachines ET1810-03 desktop w/ 32-bit Vista. I’m hopeful a soon-to-be-performed upgrade to Win7 won’t cause problems!
UPDATE: Re: USB storage device for backing up files/folders. I should have read a couple of reviews of this product on Newegg, as users there pointed out that one CANNOT WRITE to a NTFS-formatted HD EXCEPT using TRENDNet’s proprietary NET-USB mode. Which is OK, if you don’t routinely transfer gigabyte-plus files. I did a timing test using Cobian9 backup utility, transferring a 2.56GB Program Folder by: (1) direct PC-to-ext. HD via USB connect; and (2) via the TE100-MP2U server and home LAN (completely spec’ed at 1000Base-T speeds). It took 10min 43sec for a “direct” transfer of the file, and 44min 58sec via server/network. Best here is to make a full backup of a PC on an external HD by direct connect, then do backups via server/LAN, as smaller files (photos, music) go reasonably fast.
Rating: 4 / 5
The print server setup was very easy. There were some issues with recognizing my HP All in One 7110 as a scanner (printing worked right away on both of my computers). I downloaded (from the trendnet site) and installed the latest firmware update for the print-server as well as the latest utility software for my computers. After that, I had full access to my HP All In One 7110 without any issues.
The only downside of the print-server is the documentation. Its not very detailed for troubleshooting or explaining the 3 types of interfaces that can be selected for printing. Again, I went online and found a manual for the print-server on trendnet’s site that provided extra information.
Overall, I recommend this print server if you have 2 USB multifunction printers or one multifunction printer and a USB Disk that you want accessible on your network.
Rating: 5 / 5
Please, I beg you. For your own sanity, you do not want to &*^$&^$# with this product. They have no documentation, and even less customer support. I threw in the towel and use it as a doorstop.
Rating: 1 / 5
Looked at several other options – I absolutely love my DLink stuff so I was really headed toward it. After reading the other reviews here, I decided to go with the TrendNet.
So far it seems to work fine. The manual was OK, I did find it odd that the spelling was pretty bad. I also found it odd how the recommended software defaults were not set during the initial install. The quick start directions said to change this setting and that setting – no reason why, no behavior to choose between – just make the change.
I have one Vista Business, Vista Home and 2 XP Pro, and again, it seems to be working with all the functions.
Rating: 4 / 5