Adding a Networked USB-2 Server

I like Gadgets and one site that I found for a wide variety of flavours is http://www.dealextreme.com.
I live in Ottawa Canada. I have received the nick nacks that I have ordered in a very reasonable time and always in good shape. Since finding this site I have placed several orders (They accept Paypal) from NDS-Lite accessories such as various flash cards, spare batteries and external charger to Bluetooth usb dongles and an extra battery for my AAO D250 Netbook. Some items appear cheaply made but at a few dollars Cnd each it is to be expected as long as they work.

I currently have a home network that has 2 desktops, and 3-4 Laptops (wifi) connected to it (The LAN). The main desktop is located in our basement. It has all externals devices connected to it as that is where the computer desk is. That said I have 2 ext USB-2 (3.5 inch) HDD's as well as an HP "All in One" F335 printer. If we wanted to access these componets via the LAN we had to power up the whole desktop environment down stairs. Now a days my wife and I use out laptops at the kitchen table. My daughter uses her laptop on her bed as her computer desk/entertainment center is always over flowing. That's what happens when you loose a desktop and go Lappy. This meant that she had to do a dig to access her printer and then run the cable to her Laptop.

I took a chance and ordered a Network USB-2 Server w/hub support for $38 Cnd (You add the 4 port powered USB-2 Hub). With the advent of this device we know longer have to boot up the basement desktop to access those resources and my daughter doesn't have to liberate her printer and run that cable.

My new NetworK USB-2 Server was ordered Jan 4 and arrived Jan 15 from Honk Kong. This order also contained 2 kinds of USB 2 - Sound cards (no bigger that a thumb drive). They basically looked the same but I guess run different chips. Both have Mic in and stereo audio out. There was also a little USB-2 X 4 port Hub(no power supply included) and a electronics tear apart/ put together kit (screw drivers and plastic pry tools for taking devices apart).

The USB-2 Network Server was the big item in this order.

It comes with it's own power supply 1 Cat 5 RJ45 patch cable, the device and a CD with the software. The unit is very small (2" x 2" X 3/4" approx). One end has a USB 2 port and the oposite side has the RJ45 jack and power jack. You just plug it into a Lan cable connected to your router and the other end takes any USB-2 device or if you plug in a powered USB 2 4X hub it will handle any 4 USB 2 device. I dug up my Creative Lab Webcam, All in One HP F335 printer and a 200 gig ext HDD. You have to install the "USB 2 Server software" on all pc's that you want to access these components. Install the drivers/app for these devices on all Target PC's, Accessing the device via the Server software to have it auto detect and auto get it's IP from your router and that's it. The server set up is only done once through one of your PC's (just like you did for the Router). Then it's just a matter of installing the Server software on each PC that will have access to the device pool.

It may get a little tricky installing the apps. sometimes the hardware has to be plugged in first and sometimes at a later stage in the app installation. So the procedure is as follows.

1) Connect up your USB 2 network server hardware to your home LAN. That's it just do it.

2) Plug in either a device or a powered up HUB and a device into the USB-2 Server hardware.

3) On your primary PC (Whether Desktop or Laptop with wifi) install the "USB 2 Server Software"

Just like managing your router you have access to various options/status via the HTM brower access so you may want to set up a password for access and modifying settings on the USB-2 server.

4) Once installed you will have access to the device via HTML access via your web browser. You do not need to set up wep security for this server as the proprietary software is needed to access the device. You may have to increase the number of IP's allowed if you have restricked them and thay are all taken.

5) start installing the appropriate software and check out you functionallity. Some device such as external HDD, thum drive etc. do not need extra apps and become usuable as soon as you request the connection be made. Warning: You still have to treat these devices (HDD's) as if they were connected to your PCand you want to uplug it. Use the safe removal procedure for USB devices before you release it for someone else to use. I would recommend turnning off buffered writing so that you do not run the chance of losing data.

6) Move to the next PC and do steps 3 - 5 But in step 3 you are just installing the USS - you do not have to play around with it. If you do need to reset the Server hardware it can be done via your browser and password.

I thought that this would automaticly manage access to each device but no - it's first come first serve. After your PC is up and running and you have access to your network (router) - you start the USB-2 Server app. Select the device you want to connect to (if you have more than 1) and then go ahead and use it as if it were right next to your PC. Once you have finished you should dis-connect so someone else can connect. The "USB-2 Server Software" (USS) in each active PC with the USS running will advise each user of the status and if you want you can request a release of a device. This action will generte a pop-up msg at the other end stating your request. When the device is disconnected at the other end you will be notified with a pop-up.

The big advantage with this system is centralize USB-2 devices that are shared and not having to have another PC powered up in order to gain access to the device.

I plan on leaving an "All in One" printer, 2 X ext HDD's and I may just point my unused Webcam down the street just to be nosey. Of course all components will be plugged into one good power bar with surge protection. With a couple of these devices you could pull out all your HDD's and DVD/CD burners from your desktop that doesn't get used as much and have everything shareable without paying for the extra A/C to drive a whole Desktop or two.

Lets see 1 HDD for music, 1 HDD for movies, 1 HDD for Back-ups and the printer

Current ownership time as of this post is less than 24 hrs. If any issues occur within the week I will post it here.

 

I tested out connecting my unused Creative Lab's Webcam Live IM Mod # VF0220 and plugged it into one of the ports on the connected USB-2 hub (powered Hub). I also had 2 HDD's and one AIO printer. I connected to the Webcam via my wifi laptop. I used Creative lab"s Live Cam Center to try the connection and was successful at getting a feed. The only device connected to my laptop from the server was the webcam even though I had other turned on devices in the other ports. The pc detected it and I was given the typical windows beep indicating the connection. The webcam software connected to the camera and I was able to adjust settings etc. I started experiencing connection drops for the webcam. The webcam software would lock up and the server software on the PC would have issues. The problem would always come back after recovery steps. Then I remembered getting a notification during the install that connecting via a Hub may cause an issue. So I connected directly to the server USB-2 port (taking the hub out of the picture) and the connection issue stablized. I did not have any connection problems with the other devices when I connected to them via the Hub.

So if using a Webcam it looks like you have to dedicate the hardware server to that device.

Ezeechair

 

I just confirmed that I can access the full capabilities of my "All In One" printer HP Model F335 from my laptop and connected to the printer via a hub plugged into the Network USB-2 Server. So not only will it print but I can scan pictures and Documents and have the supplied OCR software convert my scanned document into an editable text form. I expected to be able to print but being able to scan as well is a real bonus. My exact printer wasn't even on their compatability list.

Of course the "All in One" can also act as a Stand-alone copier. If you have the right software you can even fax using a modem. My Compaq Presario R3040CA has a built in modem but my Acer Aspire One D250 Netbook does not. Seeing as pretty well everyone has an email account you can just attach a copy of a scanned document even and mail that. I frequently use my Canon Digital camera Sure Shot A95 as a hand copier. Just put it in Macro mode and make sure you have enough light to beable to create a relatively steady shot. The nice thing is you can slip into view mode on the camera and zoom in to confirm the document quality before putting it away.

I my opinion this is a lot better than a dedicated Print server becasue I have 3 other ports that can take other USB-2 devices.
(with the exception of a webcam)

I just thought of another comparison point.

I use to have the printer shared through a Desktop PC on the Lan. This only gave us access to print. We could not scan or do OCR unless we accessed the printer on the Host PC. Plus if we were not at the Host PC we had to power up the whole station to get to the printer.

 

It is now Jan 29, 2010 and the Networked USB-2 server is still working great. I have two external USB-2 HDD drives attached as well as an HP F330 all in one printer. All devices plugged into a usb-2 powered hub - plugged into the server device.

I have been powering the individual devices on/off as needed. I am thinking of adding two timers so as have the devices power on automatically durng the peek time of use. I need to power up the Networked USB-2 server and Hub first and then the devcies after. This will allow them to be detected by the server. I tried bring everything up all at once and found that I had to remotely reset the server to pick up the devices.

 

which one from deal extreme did you buy just out of interest?

Cheers