Customer Rating: 
Summary: Good unit IF you can get it working
Comment: As others have said, the documentation is wretched. It has very clear screenshots of a Windows XP installation, but as has been noted by other reviewers, much is left out.
I was attempting to get the DP-311U to talk to an Actiontec DSL router supplied to my client by Qwest, but at first I could not even get the computer itself to bring up the management screen for the DP-311U through the Ethernet interface. The LAN link light stayed dark. On impulse, i tried a *crossover cable*, and the LAN light lit up and I was able to launch the management screen in a browser window. The straight-through Ethernet cable supplied by Qwest with the DSL router could not be made to work, even though it worked just fine in configuring the router.
The second wrinkle for me was configuring WEP. The DP-311U supports all the newer security protocols, including 256-bit encryption, but I used 128-bit WEP because I just needed to get this installation working and will fine-tune it later. Different units require the key to be entered differently; some, such as the Actiontec router supplied by Qwest, like dashes between the hex digits (as I recall). The DP-311U, will not accept a dashed key and will not tell you it's rejecting it; the key won't "take" and there is no error message. You only find this out when you start going through your settings one at a time and discover that WEP isn't active. The DP-311U requires that the encryption key be entered with no dashes or spaces. It would have been REAL NICE if either the documentation or the browser interface had given an example.
Other than crappy documentation, it seems to be an OK unit. The power transformer is skinny and probably won't keep you from using another plug right next to it on your power strip. it's light-weight enough that it's easily mounted (they did supply screws and mollys) on a sheetrock wall. And, has been noted, USB 1.1 is probably fast enough for most printing tasks.
Customer Rating:
Summary: a very good print server
Comment: My home networking is pure D-Link, router, adpaters, print servers, and even my USB bluetooth adapter. I already have a DP311U connected to a laser. 2 months ago, I bought another DP311U for an inkjet printer. I got the problem on how to differenciate the 2 same print servers. After some research, it just requires you to set the 2nd server to a different address. The original is 192.168.0.10. You then set the 2nd (or the 1st) to a differnt one, like 192.168.0.20 and everything will be just fine.
Seemed D-Link is dumping DP311U now because they have a 802.11g server (DP-G310) and sometimes you could find a < $60 DP311U. But believe me, you won't need a 11g for print server. 11b is fast enough. If you think printing is too slow, it's the problem of printer, not the PS.
D-Link's quality is good. My router (DI-624) never died for the past 1.5 years. I would recommend their products.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Don't Waste Your Money
Comment: I purchased this wireless print server from Office Max. Beware of purchasing any electronic item from them. They have a 14 day return policy. I have two Macs at home, one IMac and one Powerbook, as well as a Dell notebook. I tried to get the print server connected to a Brother Laser printer, but gave up after a couple of hours. After a few more tries, I called up the D-link tech service and tried all the things they suggested. When that did not work, I tried to return it, but it had already been 14 days, so Office Max would not accept it.
I called up D-link again and went through everything they suggested--to no avail. They finally declared the item defective. This meant that I needed to return it, AT MY COST, to D-Link. I would encourage you to stay away from this product. I wish I had read some of the other reviews on it at various websites. They are generally quite negative. Now I have spent over $100 on a pice of junk.
Customer Rating:
Summary: useful for Macintoshes
Comment: Having interfaced a QWEST ActionTec wireless DSL modem, a DirecTV satellite internet portal with a wireless router and then configured a Hawking wireless webcam, I figured I had a clue for getting a wireless printer server running for our Macs.
I'm sorry to say, I failed. I couldn't even figure out how to talk with this box. You might think they'd give it a number like 192.168.0.10 and let you connect to it, but it doesn't even connect via a wire.
While trying to figure out what was wrong, I found out the awful truth. The box doesn't even support IPP, so you can't use a Macintosh with a non-Postscript printer. I punted and returned the piece of junk.
P.S. The hint for the ActionTec modem: Rename your Macintosh COMPUTER when you are wired up to it or it will forget your settings when it reboots. (No I'm not making this up. Maybe all PCs are named COMPUTER or something).
Customer Rating:
Summary: sucks!!!
Comment: Stay away from DLINK if you expect ease of use or have mixed operating systems (XP and MAC)!!!
Summary: Good unit IF you can get it working
Comment: As others have said, the documentation is wretched. It has very clear screenshots of a Windows XP installation, but as has been noted by other reviewers, much is left out.
I was attempting to get the DP-311U to talk to an Actiontec DSL router supplied to my client by Qwest, but at first I could not even get the computer itself to bring up the management screen for the DP-311U through the Ethernet interface. The LAN link light stayed dark. On impulse, i tried a *crossover cable*, and the LAN light lit up and I was able to launch the management screen in a browser window. The straight-through Ethernet cable supplied by Qwest with the DSL router could not be made to work, even though it worked just fine in configuring the router.
The second wrinkle for me was configuring WEP. The DP-311U supports all the newer security protocols, including 256-bit encryption, but I used 128-bit WEP because I just needed to get this installation working and will fine-tune it later. Different units require the key to be entered differently; some, such as the Actiontec router supplied by Qwest, like dashes between the hex digits (as I recall). The DP-311U, will not accept a dashed key and will not tell you it's rejecting it; the key won't "take" and there is no error message. You only find this out when you start going through your settings one at a time and discover that WEP isn't active. The DP-311U requires that the encryption key be entered with no dashes or spaces. It would have been REAL NICE if either the documentation or the browser interface had given an example.
Other than crappy documentation, it seems to be an OK unit. The power transformer is skinny and probably won't keep you from using another plug right next to it on your power strip. it's light-weight enough that it's easily mounted (they did supply screws and mollys) on a sheetrock wall. And, has been noted, USB 1.1 is probably fast enough for most printing tasks.
Customer Rating:
Summary: a very good print server
Comment: My home networking is pure D-Link, router, adpaters, print servers, and even my USB bluetooth adapter. I already have a DP311U connected to a laser. 2 months ago, I bought another DP311U for an inkjet printer. I got the problem on how to differenciate the 2 same print servers. After some research, it just requires you to set the 2nd server to a different address. The original is 192.168.0.10. You then set the 2nd (or the 1st) to a differnt one, like 192.168.0.20 and everything will be just fine.
Seemed D-Link is dumping DP311U now because they have a 802.11g server (DP-G310) and sometimes you could find a < $60 DP311U. But believe me, you won't need a 11g for print server. 11b is fast enough. If you think printing is too slow, it's the problem of printer, not the PS.
D-Link's quality is good. My router (DI-624) never died for the past 1.5 years. I would recommend their products.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Don't Waste Your Money
Comment: I purchased this wireless print server from Office Max. Beware of purchasing any electronic item from them. They have a 14 day return policy. I have two Macs at home, one IMac and one Powerbook, as well as a Dell notebook. I tried to get the print server connected to a Brother Laser printer, but gave up after a couple of hours. After a few more tries, I called up the D-link tech service and tried all the things they suggested. When that did not work, I tried to return it, but it had already been 14 days, so Office Max would not accept it.
I called up D-link again and went through everything they suggested--to no avail. They finally declared the item defective. This meant that I needed to return it, AT MY COST, to D-Link. I would encourage you to stay away from this product. I wish I had read some of the other reviews on it at various websites. They are generally quite negative. Now I have spent over $100 on a pice of junk.
Customer Rating:
Summary: useful for Macintoshes
Comment: Having interfaced a QWEST ActionTec wireless DSL modem, a DirecTV satellite internet portal with a wireless router and then configured a Hawking wireless webcam, I figured I had a clue for getting a wireless printer server running for our Macs.
I'm sorry to say, I failed. I couldn't even figure out how to talk with this box. You might think they'd give it a number like 192.168.0.10 and let you connect to it, but it doesn't even connect via a wire.
While trying to figure out what was wrong, I found out the awful truth. The box doesn't even support IPP, so you can't use a Macintosh with a non-Postscript printer. I punted and returned the piece of junk.
P.S. The hint for the ActionTec modem: Rename your Macintosh COMPUTER when you are wired up to it or it will forget your settings when it reboots. (No I'm not making this up. Maybe all PCs are named COMPUTER or something).
Customer Rating:
Summary: sucks!!!
Comment: Stay away from DLINK if you expect ease of use or have mixed operating systems (XP and MAC)!!!
D-Link DP-311U Wireless Print Server, 1-USB Port, 802.11b, 11Mbps Reviews: Page 4 of 6
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