how to set up a print server?

E

erikv11

Registered
Newbie.

I'm wondering if I can add a print server to my working wireless setup. The catch is, the server is prehistoric equipment. Here is what is working great:

dsl modem (arescom)
Linksys befw11s4 4-port wireless router
G4 800 TiBook (wireless), 10.2.6
G3 bronze Pbook (wired), 10.2.6
Epson SC600 via USB to the G3. (gimp-print)

I want to make the G3 wireless too, which should be easy once my card arrives from Asante. So I'd like to put the printer on a server next the router and free up both laptops.

I have a Dayna Etherprint-3 (ca ~1998 (?)), can this server be hooked up to the router? I tried treating the router port as an active Ethernet connection then using Classic and following the documentation I could find (from Intel website) for the print server, but no go (printer misbehaves upon connection to server, unable to see printer through server configuration software). I figure if Classic can't do it I'm not interested (I don't want to start in 9); what about X?

So are there OS X ways to get this connected? Any suggestions? I don't even know where to start. I fear someone is going to tell me that the Linksys router just can't handle IPX (the control panel in the old software is called MacIPX) so it is hopeless ...

Sorry to be a little vague, remember my opening word:

Newbie.
 
You were just vague enough that I'm not sure which printer you are talking about the Etherprint for - does the Epson sc600 also use localtalk? or parallel? Is the Etherprint an appletalk/localtalk device? Or an ethernet device with it's own IP address?
Since you have the Linksys wireless router, you can answer this - does it pass appletalk packets? Can you do AppleFileSharing over your wireless to wireless connection? (I think no to both).
 
many thanks for giving it a try gsahli:

gsahli said:
You were just vague enough that I'm not sure which printer you are talking about the Etherprint for - does the Epson sc600 also use localtalk? or parallel? Is the Etherprint an appletalk/localtalk device? Or an ethernet device with it's own IP address? Since you have the Linksys wireless router, you can answer this - does it pass appletalk packets? Can you do AppleFileSharing over your wireless to wireless connection? (I think no to both).
Click to expand...

the sc600 printer has a parallel port and a serial port (the Apple 8-pin, that is serial right?). Right now I use a parallel-to-USB cable with my OS X machines.

I'm don't know what kind of device the Etherprint is, I am assuming it is an ethernet device. I know it was used for Macs in it previous history, probably back about system 8. I tried but failed to attach an image that shows the ports on the back; left to right I see:

serial (with a printer icon under it)
ethernet
what is this 15-pin, a row of 8 and a row of 7?
what is this round one (sorry I expected to attach an image)?
power

I was trying to use the port with the printer icon in my described previous attempts.

As for AppleTalk packets, according to Linksys FAQ section of manual:
"Does the Router support IPX or AppleTalk? No. TCP/IP is the only protocol standard
for the Internet and has become the global standard for communications.
IPX, a NetWare communications protocol used only to route messages from
one node to another, and AppleTalk, a communications protocol used on
Apple and Macintosh networks, can be used for LAN to LAN connections,
but those protocols cannot connect from Internet to LAN."

So maybe I can use the parallel port on the sc600 with some kind of cable that converts to that 15-pin port?

Really, thanks for any help sorting this out -

Erik
 
OK, got the picture. I think this device works for serial (15 pin) and localtalk (8 pin round), but not parallel. You can probably use it for the Epson, but we need to know if the Epson is serial or localtalk/appletalk. What the heck, just try it with the 8 pin to 8 pin connection. Are you using Jaguar or Panther? You need the Gimp-Print4.2.6pre3 drivers (included w/Panther) plus ghostscript for Jaguar:
http://gimp-print.sourceforge.net/MacOSX.php3
 
I am using Jag 10.2.6 with gimp and ghostscript (see my first post), works great. I currently can print to the Epson directly from either Mac (USB-to-parallel plugged into the Mac) OR I can use printer sharing over the wireless network: print from the wireless Mac when the printer is hooked by USB-to-parallel to the wired Mac. So a Mac can act as a print server, I'm trying to get the Etherprint to act as a print server instead.

OK, about your suggestion 8 pin to 8 pin:

When I plug Etherprint box into the router, how do I know if it is "recognized" ie properly on the LAN? Anyway, I just plug it into the router, easy enough.

When I then plug in the Epson by the 8 pin, the printer light starts flashing (as it does when accepting a print job) and the printer intermitently prints garbage; all this without a print job ever being sent. And the flashing only happens if the Etherprint box is also connected to the router when I connect the 8 pin. So the router is passing something to the Etherprint which then gets to the printer, but what? And why, if no print job? Somehow seems the box needs to be configured before the printer is plugged in?

Thanks again,

Erik
 
There's one more possibility - The etherprint is probably an Ethertalk-only, 10baseT only device. I have a similar device which isn't autodetected (speed), and get similar weird result when plugged directly into a router. Do you have an old 10baseT hub? Putting that in between router and Ethertalk device made it work right (the hub was correctly detected as 10baseT).
 
I got an Asante 10bT hub, plugged as you described, now I can get the Etherprint connected (green LED stably on, no flashing) and can connect the Epson without printing garbage. But neither Mac, wired nor WiFi, can see the Epson printer. I'm thinking the Etherprint is functional now but the WiFi router is refusing the AppleTalk packets. None of these cables are crossover, is that OK? I don't have one.

Is there some way I can put the hub between the modem and the router? Doesn't seem like it, but thought I'd ask ...

For that matter, is there a setup that *should* work, forget the WiFi for now, just using the hub, the Etherprint, the printer and a Mac? Then I would know if those parts are as expected.

Looks like a dead end, though I didn't try PhonNet connectors yet either.
 
Plug everything into the Asante hub, give the computers manual IP Nos in the 192.168.x.x range, turn on appletalk and try to ADD the printer via appletalk. Check that the hub (and appletalk) works by "connecting to server"/Apple File sharing between two computers.
 
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