Wireless Print Server with WPA Encryption?

[testbenchdude]

Not sure where to post this, so here will do I guess.

My girlfriend's printer is in a different room from her laptop due to space constraints. If she wants to print something, she takes her laptop to the printer, which is becoming a pain in the you-know-what. So, I bought her a wireless USB print server and proceded to set it up.

Everything was hunky-dory until I had to set up the wireless encryption protocol on the print server. It only goes up to WEP-128, but I run WPA and I'm not willing to step down a level of encryption (besides she's ultra-paranoid about her wireless security). The print server I got is an Airlink101 APSUSB201w just so you know.

Can anyone recommend a decent, WPS-enabled device I can use? This one was pretty cheap ($40) but I'm willing to spend more for the added protection.

Thanks in advance,
TBD

 

[fredweston]

A quick Google search indicates that newer revisions of the D-Link DP-G321 support WPA.

 

[testbenchdude]

A quick Google search indicates that newer revisions of the D-Link DP-G321 support WPA.

Thanks for that, I'll look into it. I was kind of wondering if anyone could recommend one based on their experience with one though.

 

[youdidwhat]

ive never managed to connect a print server with WPA, it just wont authenticate. granted ive only dealt with maybe 40 or 50 print servers but my advise is just put the encryption to WEP and save urself a headache and $$$ trying to find a print server thatll work.

 

[blue68f100]

I don't recomend using WEP at all. You definately don't want to expose your computer due to a print server.

As for as a USB print server, do your research with your printer and see if its compatable. If its a HP printer, HP makes one that works with most all models. Drops support for card readers if equipted.

 

[brianb18]

This is WPA enabled, but I'm only using WEP.

http://h30094.www3.hp.com/product.asp?sku=2916984&pagemode=ca

I agree with Youdidwhat, but I chose WEP because some of the laptops in my office are still only on b, so they don't support the WPA encryption.

Personally, anything more than WEP for a print server is a bit ridiculous.

 

[Iceblue]

Personally, anything more than WEP for a print server is a bit ridiculous.

The point is not to protect the print server, but to attach a print server to a WPA protected network. It is the network and the computers attached to it that are protected, not the printer.

 

[brianb18]

True, but my situation is unique in that the clients in my office are already configured as domain machines from different companies and are merely accessing an internet connection to the outside world, so they are not "networked" per se, since you can't be both on a domain and in a workgroup at the same time.

I was then tasked with providing a printing solution. But since many of the laptops these people bring in are older, their wnics don't support WPA; some run on 802.11b only.

In my case, it's more important to provide a reliable, easy-to-connect wi-fi connection and printing solution.