Home > Consumer Reviews > Linksys EPSX3 EtherFast 10/100 3-port PrintServer

The hardware installation was easy connected to my network with no problem. Software instalation and server setup could be a little more complicated if you did not have any knowledge of networking and the use of IP address and DHCP servers and what there fubcions are. The instructions need to be read carefully to get all the hidden items. I just installed the driver on all my Windows machines and the Printserver manager on one PC per the instructions.

If you use DHCP to give out IP address the print server has to have a permanent address. The networking protocol should be set to TCP/IP.

I have a Brother HL1250 laser printer, Panasonic KX-P2123 pin printer and a Canon BJC600e inkjet connected to the printserver.
Each printer is set to its own port.

I am able to print from the followwing PC operating system with this print server, Novell 5.0, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows 98se, and SuSE Linux 6.4.

The Linux setup setup was much more complicated as printer definition files had to be reconfigured but any good Linux user should be able to do this with no problem, I am a novice Linux user.

This is a solid product. It is the best printserver I have ever had. The documentation could use a little more work.

The Linksys EPSX3 EtherFast 10/100 PrintServer3 is used for making your printer independent on the 10BaseT and 100 Mbps networks. You hook up your printer/printer cable to the Linksys EPSX3 EtherFast 10/100 PrintServer3 and your network cable to the RJ-45 port.

It comes with it's owm AC plug-in power supply, Status and Error Lights.

Hookup is easy but when it comes to software, you need to install the driver for the printserver on each PC that need to use it. You also need to select SC811326_p1 Printserver port and install your printer driver on each PC. Remember to select "LOCAL" printer port because the instructions tell you to do it.

Overall, after the software is install the right way, this Printer Server is the best thing that I bought because it makes the printer independent. Any PC can now print reguardless of other PC's.

I have three computers at home, two running XP Professional and one running XP home. I decided to purchase the EPSX3 so that I wouldn't have to leave a computer on to work as a print server.

Now, keep in mind that my job involves the setup and use of the computers on a daily basis. Therefore, the setup of this print server should have been a snap. Wrong!

Evening one consisted of hooking up the print server to my Linksys BEFW11S4 Wireless Acess Port. Hey, two Linksys products should work well together, right? I ran the setup program as specified in the instructions, but no matter how hard I tried, the print server remained invisible. I got the same result on all three computers. I gave up after about two hours.

Evening two, I spotted the review submitted [on Amazon.com]. [They] mentioned that there is an issue with the Windows XP firewall. I disabled the firewall, and I was able to access the print server.

To sum it up, if you want to use this print server under Windows XP, I believe these steps should help to get you there:
1. Disable the XP firewall. If you do this though, make sure you've got some other means of protection for your system.
2. Make sure that you've already installed the driver for the printer(s) you want to use.
3. This print server defaults to DHCP. Therefore, you don't have to disable DHCP to use it.
4. Run the setup program as described in the instructions provided with the router.
5. Once you get to an option that says "Add Printer", this option won't work under XP. However, because you should have already installed the driver for your printer(s), you should be able to select it.
6. Select "Finish" and you should be good to go.

Good Luck!

After spending a lot of time fiddling with this I had mixed results. I was able to get an OKI printer to work, but not my HP Deskjet 720C. I went to HP's site to learn how to disable bi-directional printing, which I did and tried again - still no luck. I finally got a hold of Linksys tech support (1.5 hour callback), only to be told that the 720c was an unsupport printer. They don't have a list of unsupported printers available anywhere except within Linksys (why not on the web?). The docs were also weak on explaining how to use the unit with a DHCP server, and the information on the Dip switch settings is 100% incorrect! They documented the switches upside down and the real information is available from their support page.

I'm taking it back and trying something else...

After reading the reviews posted by other users I was a little nervous about whether or not this would work OK with Windows XP, so I called Linksys prior to purchasing to find out if my three printers would work. They confirmed they would, although they didn't sound too sure about it. I have the following printers:
1. HP LaserJet 6P
2. HP LaserJet 5P
3. HP DeskJet 722C.

I connected the hardware, as per the Quick Set-up guide, and then ran the Configuration Wizard from the CD on my three machines:
1. Server running Windows Server 2000
2. Desktop running Windows 2000 Pro
3. Desktop running Windows XP Pro

The print server was quickly detected on my PC running Windows Server and the printers were added quickly and easily. On the other two PC's I had to install the three printers I wished to use as local printers, but this is also covered in the Quick Set-up guide.

All-in-all it was a quick and easy set-up, probably about forty minutes from start-to-finish. One thing I must mention though is that I do not have Windows XP's Internet Connection Firewall enabled as I am using a Linksys WRT54G Wireless router as a firewall. Once I had the system up and running I turned on the Internet Connection Firewall and could no longer connect to my printers. So if you are a Windows XP user you MUST turn off the Internet Connection Firewall in order to use this product.