Want to share a USB device but don't necessarily want to plug it into one PC? Perhaps you have an external USB hard drive that needs to be accessed by several computers at once. Sharkoon may have the device you need, offering the new USB LANPort device that adds USB support to a LAN.
Sharkoon offers the USB server two flavors: the USB LANPort 100 providing one additional USB connection, and the USB LANPort 400 offering four ports of USB fun. Despite all the USB 3.0 talk circulating the news, both units only provide USB 2.0 connections, so no SuperSpeed data transfers until Sharkoon churns out advanced models.
"With the USB LANPorts we introduce a simple yet effective way to integrate USB devices into local area networks," the company said. "Therefore the respective USB LANPort is connected to the LAN using a patch cable and the included software is installed. Afterwards any USB devices such as printers, external HDDs, USB sticks etc. can be connected to the USB LANPort and may be accessed from the local network."
Sharkoon's two USB servers are expected to hit Germany and the rest of Europe soon for 23 Euro ($35) and 37 Euro ($56). The company has not yet released details of a North American distribution, although they may become available via Tech Data soon.
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