| D-Link DP-311U Wireless Print Server, 1-USB Port, 802.11b, 11Mbps |
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Model: DP-311U
Brand: D-Link
Manufacturer: D-Link Systems, Inc.
Average Rating: 
(submit your review here)
Total Reviews: 32
Form factor: External
Hardware platform: PC
Data link protocol: Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b
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| Features: |
Supports all major network operating systems and protocols
Supports both infrastructure or ad-hoc wireless modes
Easy configuration with a web browser or Windows-based configuration program
Transmit to high-speed laser printers faster than a PC parallel port
Extremely portable and inexpensive compared to a PC-based print server |
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| Description: |
| The DP-311U Wireless Print Server is the ideal network printing solution for small offices, home offices, schools and other businesses that require printer sharing. With its high-speed USB port, accessing a network and sharing a printer device will be easier than ever. The DP-311U supports all major network Operating Systems and protocols. |
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| User Reviews (32 total): |
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Very poor product,and not even wireless, July 11, 2004
By unknown
Incomplete documentation. DEFINITELY do not buy this if you are not a 'techie'. And plus, its not even a wireless product! It has to be physically connected to the Wireless LAN router, so how is it wireless?
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If you have a mac, forget about it, May 27, 2004
By unknown
As others stated, the documentation was AWFUL to say the least. Unless you have XP, you are pretty much on your own. I was able to wrangle through and get the server hooked up to my PC (windows 2000). My two macs, however, will not function with the printer. It requres you have Post Script 3 on your printer. Mine is a laser printer that isn't too old, but doesn't have that feature (would have been nice to read that before buying)
Likewise, none of the administrative software works for a Mac, so if you have no machines running Windows, you are out of luck.Finally, and this was probably my ignorance and unrealistic expectation, but to me wireless means wireless. For mine to work, the server has to be physically connected to my wireless router via ethernet. If I have to do this, why don't I just use a physical connection in the first place? There are cheaper options for that. The picture on D-links site shows this happy little server floating in wireless space where ever you want to put it.
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Works for me, April 11, 2004
By veganMalcontent (Maryland)
It looks like lots of people have had problems with this print server, but I was up and printing in 20 minutes from Windows XP and Linux. I found the documentation sufficient and very straightforward. I guess it helps that the default IP address of the unit fit in with my NAT setup. My only complaint is that it is a bit on the pricy side, but a year from now when I'm still enjoying printing from all of my machines without having to keep a dedicated print serving machine on, I won't miss the few dollars difference between what this cost and what I think it should cost.
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Not plug-and-play, but works, January 13, 2004
By unknown
It took me (a computer engineer) a couple hours to figure out how to get this working. After trying DHCP (since the default IP address for the router isn't compatible with my cable modem's private sub-net) I couldn't talk to it at all through ethernet and had to by trial and error, figure out how to hard-reset it (power cycle while holding the reset button depressed). Then I could talk to it again, and just set its default IP address to one on my network (192.168.1.1). It's now been working great for weeks although I occasionally (3-5 days) need to power cycle it for some reason.
I was also irritated that they didn't include a bit of ethernet patch cable for the initial setup in the package ...
Never-the-less, a very useful product, just needs some work on automatic configuration.
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HORRIBLE customer service, January 8, 2004
By unknown
I will start by saying, I WILL NEVER BUY A D-LINK PRODUCT AGAIN.....
I bought this wireless print server and was assured it would work with my Microsoft wireless router. The instructions included with the server are absolutely worthless. The server has a default IP address. The book says that address needs to match the address on your computer but never tells you what to do if they don't. I called customer service- busy signal. Finally after hitting redial for 10 min, I got through only to be put on hold for 20 min and then get disconnected. This happened 3 more times. Finally, when I called really late at night, I got to talk to a "real" person. Possibly the dumbest person ever! He had less of a clue as to what was going on than I did. He took forever just to get my information. His speech was so bad I had to ask him to repeat himself every question. No accent, just mubling. Since I spent 55 minuets on hold and then another 10 minuets just to get my information, by the time we got to my problem, my phone was going dead. I gave him another number and asked him to call me back. Right...
I e-mailed my question and got a response saying I should directly connect my server to my computer. That really helps, thanks.
I have been stumbling with this server for two nights now. I feel I have a good knowledge of computers and networking, but apparently not enough. It is not as simple as they would have you believe. Maybe if you are connecting to other Dlink products it works better. But if you are trying to put it on a network with other brands, do not waste your time.
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Set it up once and then forget about it!, January 6, 2004
By Chris Daniels (Chicago)
OK, first of all, the documentation for this product is really poor. If you were to follow the instructions step-by-step I'm pretty sure you would never get it working properly since they leave a lot of stuff out. However, if you are somewhat techwise (were you able to install the wireless network by yourself?) you should be able to get it running. Once you get it going though you never have to touch it again.I've got 2 laptops (one Win XP and one Win 2000) connected to a Netgear wireless network that can now print to our new Epson Stylus C84 printer. The performance is great and its a convenience to be able to place your printer anywhere you want and not have to attach it to a computer. I was able to get it to use 128 bit WEP and MAC authentication on our network. Pros:
good performance
convenience
configurable web interface Cons:
horrible documenation
Only USB 1.x support (would have liked to have seen USB 2.0 support) All in all, though, I am very pleased with this product. If you have an all wireless network with only laptops this is a great product to consider.
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unit works, but WORST customer service EVER, November 15, 2003
By Genie McB (Los Angeles, CA USA)
I will never buy another D-Link product. After buying this wireless print server, I followed all install instructions but couldn't get it to work. I assumed it was me, so I paid a PC technician to help me out. He spent 2 hours on the phone with D-Link tech support troubleshooting, and they decided the unit was faulty.
When I called customer service to find out how to exchange it, they sent me back to tech support and made me troubleshoot again before they would give me a return merchandise authorization (RMA). After I paid a skilled tech more than $100 to be on with their techs!!! Overall I had to talk to three people and spent 45 minutes on hold to get the RMA.
Finally I got my RMA and sent the unit back, with all documentation and accessories. When they sent me a replacement, it was just the unit, no manuals, no software, not even an AC adaptor. So I had to spend 20 more minutes with their excruciatingly annoying hold music to talk to customer service. They "promised" me the AC adaptor and manual, but who knows if I'll ever actually get it.
Add to that a complete lack of contrition over selling me a bad product in the first place, and I'm just really disappointed in the whole experience and feel like I've wasted a lot of time and money (price of the unit + tech guy). If I ever get the thing running (with my Netgear router and brother MFC6800 printer) I'll post again about how/if it works.Update: They did send me the AC power cord and I was able to get the thing up and running but only after blundering through on my own - I found the documentation unhelpful in that the instructions stopped 1/2 through the setup process. So, although I now enjoy having my printer remote from my computer, I still won't ever buy another product from D-Link.
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Easy Setup and Great Documentation, September 20, 2003
By montee4 (Roselle, IL United States)
My entire wireless network is composed of Linksys products, so naturally when I wanted to get a wirless print server I looked to Linksys. I went out and bought the linksys WPS11. It is a parallel port wireless print server. Got it up and running ok, but printing was really slow. Sometimes 1-2 minutes between pages on text documents. So then I went out and bought the PPS1UW print server. This is Linksys' USB version. Couldn't even get this thing going at all with my printer, which I thought was odd since my printer worked fine with the WPS11 and they have you install the same print server drivers.After spending about 3 days troubleshooting, I went back to the store and found the DLink DP-311U. Got it home, plugged it in and had it talking to my Linksys WRT54G wireless router with 128 Bit WEP encryption in no time. This print server processes my print jobs at the same speed as when I had the printer plugged in directly to the pc. I was also impressed with the detail of documentation as opposed to the documentation of some other linksys products I had bought. I definetly recommend this product if you are looking for a way to place your printer at a distance from your computer. Great Product.
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Poor documentation!, September 12, 2003
By Uncertain (Hillsborough, CA United States)
My DLink router and WiFi PC card, installed over a year ago, worked fine, with no installation troubles. Since then, I installed an Ethernet bridge for my PS2 and now, wanted to add the USB print server. Similar to D-Link's bridge, documentation is incomplete. I made the mistake of jumping ahead and mistakingly plugged in the power to the DP-311U before turning the printer on. Now, I have to get an RMA, send it to DLink, and wait for them to reset it, as there is no at-home reset option. DLink has an advantage with this product as there are no similar products from the major router manufacturers. Unfortunately, this translates to an expensive product with poor documentation and technical support (who could not answer if the product is compatible with my Epson product).
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Actually works as stated, July 30, 2003
By unknown
I don't have enough room under my desk to put my printers and wanted to shove one off in a closet. Anyways, I sent back a competing product when after multiple attempts to configure it (including trawling through badly written manuals and tech support websites), it still wouldn't work. So I didn't expect much here. However, this works perfectly. The configuration utility actually worked; the network was recognized and except for a couple of seconds delay between sending the print job and when it starts printing, there are no problems. Was up and running in about ten minutes.
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