Printer over ethernet or USB?

[advenbbs]

I'm using Asus stock firmware and try to connect my printer.
Should I use ethernet or USB? Which one is better?
I tentatively want to use USB as I need the scarcy 4 ethernet ports for something else, but I'm afraid the USB printing is not as clean and effecient as ethernet.
Any thoughts?

 

[RMerlin]

I'm using Asus stock firmware and try to connect my printer.
Should I use ethernet or USB? Which one is better?
I tentatively want to use USB as I need the scarcy 4 ethernet ports for something else, but I'm afraid the USB printing is not as clean and effecient as ethernet.
Any thoughts?

Ethernet will always be much, much better. USB support is very device-dependent, and might not yield the same performance either as using Ethernet.

If running low on ports then I recommend buying an inexpensive 4-8 ports switch.

 

[CaptainSTX]

WiFi

Another option is WiFi.

My Epson printer works as well on WiFi as when directly connected to a PC using USB. WiFi also works well when printing from Iphones and Ipads.

On the other hand a HP printer I had connected to my ASUS router occasionally dropped off line, but I also had problems when it was connected directly to my PCs USB port.

How your printer will work depends as much on the printer as the connection.

 

[advenbbs]

Ethernet will always be much, much better. USB support is very device-dependent, and might not yield the same performance either as using Ethernet.

If running low on ports then I recommend buying an inexpensive 4-8 ports switch.

Thanks for confirmation, that's exactly my concern.
I have a 8 ports Netgear DS108 hub, and it's only 10/100Mbps (not Gigabit)
So I have two more questions:
1. How much ethernet bandwidth does a 40ppm laser printer usually need?
2. Do I just plug the hub directly into my RT-N66U, and get dedicated IP for each extension port connection automatically? Or do I need a formal switch?

 

[TonyH]

Hi,
USB hook up could be very troublesome unless it is on the compatibility list. My printer is on WiFi w/o losing any functionality(scanning, printing) Printer is very slow device.

 

[RMerlin]

Thanks for confirmation, that's exactly my concern.
I have a 8 ports Netgear DS108 hub, and it's only 10/100Mbps (not Gigabit)
So I have two more questions:
1. How much ethernet bandwidth does a 40ppm laser printer usually need?
2. Do I just plug the hub directly into my RT-N66U, and get dedicated IP for each extension port connection automatically? Or do I need a formal switch?

Check your printer specs - there's a good chance that it's only 100 Mbits, so there would be no point in plugging it to a gigabit switch.

A switch works at a lower-level - there is no IP allocated to its ports. It's merely an extension of the existing ports.

Are you sure your Netgear is really a hub and not a switch? I haven't seen a hub being sold for the past 12-13 years personally...

 

[Deleted member 19960]

Printing
In general, any printer in a standard network in not going to need or use the difference between Gigabit Ethernet vs standard 10/100. Unless this is going to be a massive print server hit by lots of people all the time, don't worry about it.

Anybody who is using wireless (a/b/g/n) won't be approaching the Gigabit speed anyway, so it is only an issue at all for the wired folks.

IP Addressing
Using a standard switch or Hub behind the router is fine for DHCP. The RT-N66U (or any other standard DHCP server) will serve up addresses to the subsidiary switch's connections.

The only limitation is if the switch has one port that it wants to use as Uplink (or some similar term). If it has a special port for the Uplink, plug an Ethernet cable from one of the RT-N66U's LAN ports to the Uplink port on the switch, if it exists. I checked the docs on the DS-108. You have to connect the router to Port 8 on the hub and set the Normal/Uplink button to the Uplink position.

If it doesn't have a special port for Uplink, plug an Ethernet cable from one of the RT-N66U's LAN ports to any port on the switch. My preference has always been to use the highest number port on the switch, leaving all the lower number ports for workstations and printers.

Switch vs Hub
Your Netgear DS108 is ancient (circa 2000). It is a 10/100 hub vs a 10/100 switch. I checked. It will work fine for connecting the printer and a couple of light-duty workstations. The main difference between a switch and a hub is what happens when there is a lot of traffic from different devices. The more traffic going to and from different devices, the more the throughput decreases to all devices.

My suggestion would be to spend the $50 or so and get a new switch (or at least a newer one from eBay or something.)