StarTech.com 1 Port USB Wireless N Network Print Server with 10/100 Mbps Ethernet Port - 802.11 b/g/n

Pros: Was easy to setup. I connected it to my network via data jack. By default it's on IP 192.168.0.10. I gave my PC a static IP and was able to access web interface. I was then able to configure it with static IP that matched my network.

Cons: None so far

Overall Review: Works great so far. Currently using it to connect a Rollo thermal printer.

Pros: Unit is easy to configure with included software provided your configuration computer shares the network subnet. Unit can connect to most any wireless network regardless of transmission methodology.

Cons: The WiFi capabilities of the unit make it a good fit for environments with only one wireless network subnet and SSID or where it's the only such device on a network such as a small home WiFi network. The problems arise in facilities where there is more than one active SSID, when channel hopping is required, or when DHCP connectivity absolutely has to work and static addresses can't be used.

The device does not reliably poll DHCP. In my case, I could not get it to hit the active DHCP server once, regardless of setup. No other devices on the large network where I'm employed have any issues obtaining DHCP provided addresses. Strike one.

No reliable DHCP capabilities means that I could only get the device to attach using a static address defined on the unit. That means the unit can't build a DNS record and one has to be built manually so no stateful naming. In large operations where there are dozens and dozens of printers this is a huge issue. Strike two.

The units are easily configured for WiFi networks with one caveat; no channel hopping. The channel must be defined along with the SSID and the encryption methodology. I verified that the device will lose all connectivity if attached to a WiFi network, then moved within the range of a different LWAP running on a different channel but using the same SSID or if the addressing LWAP changes channels to avoid interference. Strike three.

Overall Review: These units seem like they'd be perfect if one needs to add wireless connectivity to a printer in a small office with a very simple network or for a home printer. That said, most decent consumer grade printers come with WiFi options installed out of the box. Those options will usually be just as easy to install as the StarTech unit which makes me wonder what market StarTech is aiming for with these devices. They're definitely not robust enough to be used in large scale environments with their channel limitations and their unreliable DHCP polling.