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I have wireless router WRT 54GS with DD-WRT and USB printer. I was thinking about installing CUPS on my old WRT and using usb to ethernet converter to connect my usb printer to network.

Only part that I'm missing is which kind of connector to use? Can I use something like this? I'm familiar with kernel, compiling, adding packages on linux, just a bit weak on hw parts :)

http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-10-100-Ethernet-RJ45-Network-Adapter-Converter-/160453985661?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0#ht_2930wt_1139

http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-Female-Female-Ethernet-RJ45-Adapter-Converter-/400124747490?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2#ht_1417wt_1139

damir
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2 Answers2

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You need a Print Server. This acts as a mini computer that you plug the printer into. It handles sharing the printer to the network and spooling print jobs.

Chris Nava
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  • I know this option, but I'd like to use my existing equipment and not bring another set of wires around. – damir Aug 23 '10 at 14:33
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    @damir: No, you need a print server ( [example](http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-LPR-Printer-Print-Server-Over-Ethernet-LAN-Network-/220649978594?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0#ht_4102wt_1137) ). The adapter you linked to uses a PC which runs a driver for it. Neither the adapter nor the printer have this capability. A print server does. – Dennis Williamson Aug 23 '10 at 15:18
  • @Dennis (or Chris): why couldn't the router act as a print server? (Maybe because there just isn't enough RAM?) And why not some other box on the network? – Gilles 'SO- stop being evil' Aug 23 '10 at 17:58
  • @Gilles: The router would have to have a USB host port (I've only ever seen device ports on routers). As you know, another computer on the network could certainly act as a print server. You wouldn't need an ethernet adapter - you'd just plug into a USB port on the computer (which in turn would be connected to the network via ethernet). This is very common, as I know you're aware. Presumably, however, the OP wants to locate the printer somewhere that's not near a PC or has some other reason not to do that. – Dennis Williamson Aug 23 '10 at 18:44
  • Router + Print Servers do exist http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en#hl=en&source=hp&q=router+usb+print+server&fp=93c3c78db929eee0 but they have a USB port built in. A USB <=> Ethernet dongle will not cut it. – Chris Nava Aug 24 '10 at 03:43
  • @Dennis: I can see (now that I've had some sleep...) that damir's proposed connector goes the wrong way. (@damir: USB is strongly asymmetric. The dongle you link to is for connecting a host (computer) to an Ethernet network, it cannot be used to connect a device such as a printer.) I'm still surprised that there doesn't seem to be any cheap (as in, cheaper than buying a wifi wrt router with a USB device port) way to bridge USB over Ethernet with software decoding. – Gilles 'SO- stop being evil' Aug 24 '10 at 07:09
  • @Chris,@giles how about this one and why can't I use converter? I'm also surprised that this product doesn't exist, after all it would be 99% kernel driver's work to convert usb packets to ethernet packets and vice versa. http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-Female-Female-Ethernet-RJ45-Adapter-Converter-/400124747490?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2#ht_1417wt_1139 – damir Aug 24 '10 at 11:56
  • Damir, the print server that Dennis propses is the best option if you don't want to add a dedicated computer to the mix, or buy a printer with built-in networking (which is the same device that Dennis mentioned, just built-in.) – gWaldo Aug 24 '10 at 12:31
  • @damir: This adapter would work physically and electrically. But you'd still have to figure out whether you can get a driver to talk to your printer on the WRT router. USB has different protocols to connect to different devices, it's not just all packets like Ethernet. If you take your time into account (and perhaps printing speed as well), it's likely more cost-effective to get the kind of device Chris and Dennis recommend. (Or you could swap the WRT54GS with a different router that has USB and wifi, like the (discontinued?) WRTSL54GS.) – Gilles 'SO- stop being evil' Aug 24 '10 at 19:44
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Some WRT54 models have USB ports on them. If yours already has a USB port, then you can install CUPS into DD-WRT and connect the printer, and it will (probably) work. If it doesn't have a USB port, there may be a way to add one, depending on your model.

If not, you'll need a separate piece of hardware. As others have pointed out in comments, a USB to Ethernet converter will not work - it adds a USB NIC to a host, rather than letting a USB device talk over ethernet.

One other thing to be wary of is that your printer may not work with CUPS. Many cheaper USB printers require windows-only drivers, and if yours is in this list then you may be out of luck. Might pay to check that it's supported before going further, eg at www.openprinting.org or at www.cups.org

Daniel Lawson
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