Internet Printing?

[bsi]

I just bought a USB print server (Trendnet TE100-P1U) which advertises IPP printing. I installed my HP laserjet 1010 to this server and it works fine in the house.

I set up the port as a standard TCP/IP LPR port as per the instructions. The server is now called "Trend1" and the port is called "U1". I am using DHCP and it assigned 192.168.0.105 to the print server.

I am on Rogers. I am using a D-link router.

So, I have two questions:

1) How can I make this visible on the internet? My internal IP is 192.168.0.105 but I do not know what data a remote person needs to know. I guess I am asking what the URL should be for the remote person.

2) If I stuck an external USB hard drive on this server and typed in the above IP, would this function as an NAS drive? Would I see the drive contents and be able to open or move files?

TIA

PS, if I can get this to work, my plan is to set up a remote printer at my parents house and print stuff there when I want. I am assuming whatever solution I get here will be transferrable. I realize the Rogers IP will change from time to time but that seems like 3-4 times per year.

 

[hunter001]

You can share 192.168.x.x address over the internet. The 192.168.x.x are not tranmitable addresses some RFC (foget). That is why people use 192.168.x.x for their home lans or 10.x.x.x

I don't know the d-link router but you can setup virtual server that will allow others to access that your Rogers Ip and a port number. Read the documentation or call Rogers (j/k that won't help).

You could also consider setting up a dmz but that would leave the server open to everyone on the internet.

Cheers.

 

[l69norm]

I just bought a USB print server ...
1) How can I make this visible on the internet?.....my plan is to set up a remote printer at my parents house and print stuff there when I want....

...You could also consider setting up a dmz but that would leave the server open to everyone on the internet.

If you make a printer available to everyone on the internet, someone else will eventually find it and print all kinds of wierd stuff to it for kicks. I wouldn't want that happening on my parent's printer.

It's probably easier to just e-mail the stuff to your parents for printing if it's only 2-3 times a year.

...2) If I stuck an external USB hard drive on this server and typed in the above IP, would this function as an NAS drive? Would I see the drive contents and be able to open or move files?

No, printer protocol (rprinter) is very specific and quite different from NAS protocols (NFS/CIFS/FTP). There is a different type of server required for this:

http://search.ebay.ca/search/search...=compare&copagenum=1&coentrypage=search&fgtp=

Again, you'll run into the same problem. If it's available on the internet, someone else will find it and start using it.

What are you trying to do? Have just remote file storage where you have seperate login and manually transfer the file or have a remote drive mounted on your pc like a D: or E drive?

 

[bsi]

If you make a printer available to everyone on the internet, someone else will eventually find it and print all kinds of wierd stuff to it for kicks. I wouldn't want that happening on my parent's printer.

It's probably easier to just e-mail the stuff to your parents for printing if it's only 2-3 times a year.



No, printer protocol (rprinter) is very specific and quite different from NAS protocols (NFS/CIFS/FTP). There is a different type of server required for this:

http://search.ebay.ca/search/search...=compare&copagenum=1&coentrypage=search&fgtp=

Again, you'll run into the same problem. If it's available on the internet, someone else will find it and start using it.

What are you trying to do? Have just remote file storage where you have seperate login and manually transfer the file or have a remote drive mounted on your pc like a D: or E drive?

Wow, this sure is NOT the experience that the packaging suggests

About the printing, I just want to learn the process. The topic of internet printing seemed interesting. From my google search and the small number of replies, I deduce that it cannot be done for a normal layman user on a residential connection. I thought that the solution would involve entering a url like http://bsiplace/trend1/192.168.0.105 but the syntax eludes me.

About the external drive, I was hoping to have it available as an F drive or whatever without a specific PC hosting it. I have about 8 of these drives with various content on them and I learned the hard way that if you plug more than a couple of them into a hub, the computer either abruptly powers off or (once) fried the motherboard. And that was with all externally powered hard drives and USB hubs.

 

[bsi]

Hey, just tried that e-bay link and those Quantum snap servers are very close to what I had in mind!

Thanks!

 

[thewheelman]

What you are trying to do is to tell your router to allow certain requests from the Internet on specific ports to go to your print server.

For internet printing, you will need to configure your router to forward port 631 TCP and UDP to 192.168.0.105. You will need to check the print server instructions for all ports that require forwarding.

You then add a network printer to your PC/notebook using the URL or IP of your WAN connection, not your print server. You can find your WAN IP by going to http://whatsmyip.net/

 

[freshbreath]

you have to create a VPN (google for ways of setting one up)
then, you give access to your VPN to people you want

they can then log onto your network as if it was in the same building as them, and use your network resources

 

[bsi]

Thanks. There are a few ideas in there that I can start with.

This sure isn't for the faint of heart. Without a resource like this, a typical user would have no way to figure this out.

 

[l69norm]

you have to create a VPN (google for ways of setting one up)then, you give access to your VPN to people you want...

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1533857&CatId=584

These are cheap routers for setting up a VPN with. You can make both your parents' PC, printer and your PC's, NAS server, etc appear to be on the same network; all connected via an encryted tunnel across the Internet.

In theory, you can use a VPN client to connect to one of these routers from a laptop on the Internet to securely access your NAS server as an F: drive.

 

[l69norm]

...For internet printing, you will need to configure your router to forward port 631 TCP and UDP to 192.168.0.105. You will need to check the print server instructions for all ports that require forwarding..

Just for kicks, theres about 20 people scanning for printers on the Internet (rprin or 631)

http://isc.sans.org/port_details.php?port=631&repax=1&tarax=2&srcax=2&percent=N&days=40
http://isc.sans.org/port_details.php?port=515&repax=1&tarax=2&srcax=2&percent=N&days=40

For comparison, there's 22,000 people scanning for webservers

http://isc.sans.org/port_details.php?port=80&repax=1&tarax=2&srcax=2&percent=N&days=40

 

[bsi]

Just for kicks, theres about 20 people scanning for printers on the Internet (rprin or 631)

http://isc.sans.org/port_details.php?port=631&repax=1&tarax=2&srcax=2&percent=N&days=40
http://isc.sans.org/port_details.php?port=515&repax=1&tarax=2&srcax=2&percent=N&days=40

For comparison, there's 22,000 people scanning for webservers

http://isc.sans.org/port_details.php?port=80&repax=1&tarax=2&srcax=2&percent=N&days=40

Yikes, maybe this is not such a great idea. I will play with VPNs instead.

Thanks guys

 

[l69norm]

Yikes, maybe this is not such a great idea. I will play with VPNs instead...

For Windows drive shares (F: drive, etc), there's about 30,000 people (or PCs) scanning the Internet for them:

http://isc.sans.org/port_details.php?port=445&repax=1&tarax=2&srcax=2&percent=N&days=40

A Windows drive share on the Internet is definetly not a good idea.

 

[canucklehead]

http://www.hamachi.cc/

try Hamachi