Hello Kelvin,
Having setup a number of HP LaserJets over the past few years
(including plenty of HP 5 series with Jetdirect cards), I can assure
you that an Ethernet bridge is not required. As long as the TCP/IP
settings are configured correctly, you can print directly from the PC
to the printer. So . . . what’s required? There are two parts to
this, software, and network settings.
NETWORK SETTINGS
First of all, you’re correct in your assumption that the printer's
default gateway address, subnet address, and IP address would be best
set to be in the same subnet as that of the rest of your internal
network.
There are two ways to change the IP & Default Gateway of the printer.
One way is to use the front panel to configure it. The other is to
use software on a computer to connect to the printer across the
network. The most common software connection is simply ‘telnet’ which
comes with Windows. (Jetdirect cards have a telnet server built in
and a menu interface to allow configuration changes.)
But before you change the configuration, can any of your PC’s get to
the printer right now? (Not necessarily print to it, but at least be
able to send data to the printer and get a response). To test this,
use the ‘ping’ network diagnostic utility which comes with Windows.
Try opening up a command prompt and typing ‘ping xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx’,
putting in the printer’s IP address for the x’s. If you get a reply
from the printer, you can print to it directly. If you don’t get any
reply (just timeouts), then the PC’s aren’t able to reach the printer
at all on the network. If you get a "file not found" error, change
directories into windows directory, where ping.exe is found, and try
again.
If you get a reply from the printer, you can try leaving the printer
at it’s current network address and simply install the network
printing software detailed in the software section below.
If you don’t get any reply from printer, then your PC’s aren’t able to
reach the printer on the network. If this is the case, then changing
the IP address and subnet of the printer will be required.
Try using the front panel first, as it’s the simplest method:
http://www.hp.com/cposupport/networking/support_doc/bpj02326.html#P191_10754
Using this method you can set the IP address, subnet and gateway (it’s
“GW BYTE” from the front panel)
While the configuration can be set using the printer’s front panel,
you may find it convenient to use ‘telnet’ to connect to the printer
from the network. To do so, you’ll need to try changing the PC’s IP
address temporarily to be in the same range as that of the Printer.
One solution might be to temporarily plug the PC to the hub, if the PC
has a non-wireless Ethernet card. (This avoids any NAT problems that
might arise when going through the RG-1000 and allows you to set the
PC’s IP and Subnet to work with the Printer)
The following document discusses TCP/IP setup and using Ping and
Telnet to communicate with an HP printer w/Jetdirect:
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=bpj02745&locale=en_US&docId=9701
Once your PC’s can successfully ping the printer, the TCP/IP network
setup should be correctly configured.
SOFTWARE
Next, the TCP/IP port issue. Windows PC’s generally won’t print to a
network printer directly (they’re much more accustomed to spooling to
a network queue on a server). To configure a Windows computer to
print directly to a JetDirect-enabled HP printer, you’ll need to
install some extra software. The CD that came with the printer may
have the Network Printer software, but you might do better downloading
the newest version of HP’s free Network Printer Wizard from HP’s
website.
The following document at HP’s support site discusses how to add an HP
TCP/IP port and also provides a link to the download page for the
software, which is available for most Windows versions including XP:
http://www.hp.com/cposupport/networking/support_doc/bpj06748.html
The wizard software will walk you through connecting the PC to the
network printer.
When researching this answer, I did several searches, both using
Google and using the search tool on HP's website, using terms
"directjet default gateway hp 5m"
I hope this answers your question and solves your problem. If not,
please don’t hesitate to post a request for clarification prior to
rating this answer.
Thanks,
duncan2-ga |
