1 November 2004
by Noah Kravitz
Reviews Editor

Keyspan sent us a sample of their USB Server, a pocket-size device that lets you put up to four USB devices on an Ethernet network and access them remotely. The USB Server is a straightforward box that, despite a few limitations, can add a great deal of flexibility to an office or home network environment in which multiple users share various USB devices. Though Keyspan doesn't offer support for all possible USB devices, I tested the server with a variety of gadgets from hard drives to a multifunction printer/scanner and found it to work quite well.

The USB Server installs by way of an included access/administration program, and setup was easy. The included documentation is in electronic form, which I've grown used to but some people might find a bit inconvenient. I didn't really need to consult the documentation to install the server on my home network -- a cross-platform environment supporting Wi-Fi and three connected USB devices -- but more complex network situations where firewall and port management is critical are well supported in the electronic manual. Note that administration clients for both OS X and Windows are included on the CD, and updates are available on Keyspan's website (as are firmware updates, which hopefully will further device support in the future).

I plugged the server straight into a Netgear MR814 Wi-Fi router, which is among the cheapest consumer-grade wireless routers out there, and it worked like a champ from the word go. Once I installed the Keyspan admin client on my iBook G4, I was able to print and scan on an HP All-in-One printer, access files on an external USB hard drive, and read/write to flash media via a USB card reader (Note that EverythingUSB.com was unable to use a USB Zip drive in their tests, so your mileage may vary on a case-by-case basis). The built-in Static/DHCP/Rendezvous IP addressing worked flawlessly for me, instantly recognizing all three devices when I plugged them in. I tried a variety of networking setups, and access was basically the same whether I connected directly from my Mac to the server via Ethernet, via wired access to the router, or over Wi-Fi. The setups worked just as well when I added an IBM ThinkPad running WinXP to the mix via Wi-Fi.

Accessing USB devices via the server isn't as simple as I might like, but it works just fine. Basically you must install whatever drivers/support software some with your device (i.e. the HP Director software that came with my printer/scanner) and the Keyspan Server software. You use the Server software to access a device, and the device then shows up on your computer as though it were directly connected via USB. This is a simple and familiar process, which is nice. The drawback, however, is that only one user may control a given USB device at a time. That is, if I'm printing, another user on my network can see the printer but may not actually access (use) it until I've released control of the device by clicking the Disconnect button in Keyspan's software. It's a simple process, don't get me wrong, but if I forget to relinquish control of the printer you can't use it.

The Server only supports USB 1.1 throughput, but though Keyspan doesn't officially support audio and video devices, I was able to play mp3 and AAC audio files in iTunes from a USB hard drive connected through the server. This was a nifty way to wirelessly access all those songs I've got stored on my external USB 2.0 drive. It's a shame this isn't a USB 2 device, as I'm really drawn to the idea of turning a USB hard drive into a networked storage device (especially as I play with more and more home media solutions). USB 1.1 really doesn't cut it for reading and writing large A/V files or streaming media across a network, however you could use the Server to set up a networked file server for small documents like HTML and Word files.

Overall, I liked Keyspan's USB Server, especially when combined with a wireless router. If you need to share USB devices across a network -- particularly legacy printers and scanners that still work for you but aren't networkable -- this is a flexible, easy-to-use solution. $130 ($100 street price) is a lot cheaper than shelling out for a network-ready printer and scanner, so give Keyspan a look if you've been searching for a way to share all those gadgets around your home or office.

Keyspan's USB Server is available from many online and bricks and mortar retailers. Check www.keyspan.com for retailer locations. Compare prices at PCPrices.

* * * *
Noah Kravitz runs the Technology and Culture blog Threebase.com. He is an educator, musician, and writer who now lives in Oakland, CA and is the author of Teaching and Learning with Technology.