Singapore Hardware Zone

ZOT 525 Print Server
Reviewed by CPU-ZILLA  (17 May 99)

Specifications

Netware

  • Full support for Novell Netware 3.x and 4.x
  • Suports Netware "Print Server" mode
  • Supports multiple Netware print queues
  • Windows-based setup utility
  • Automatic frame type detection
  • Power On Self Test (POST)
  • Automatically re-attaches to Netware file server after network recovery

Windows NT

  • Implemented as a standard Windows Print Monitor
  • Supports Windows Socket Specification
  • Supports IPX/SPX protocol
  • Supports NETBEUI protocol
  • Supports Windows NT Printers Pool feature
  • Supports multiple Windows NT servers, Printing on Demand
  • Power On Self Test (POST)

Windows 95

  • Implemented as a standard Windows Print Monitor
  • Supports Windows Socket Specification
  • Supports IPX/SPX protocol
  • Supports NETBEUI protocol
  • Supports Windows 95 peer-to-peer networks
  • Power On Self Test (POST)

Hardware

  • Embedded high speed microprocessor
  • Complies with ANSI/IEEE 802.3 Ethernet standard
  • 1 standard CENTRONIC port
  • 1 UTP port

<Introduction><The Good><The Test> <The Bad><Conclusion><Rating>

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Introduction

One of my favourite (and good) habit when I'm bored is to go shopping. Before you jump into a derogatory remark like, "What a girlish thing to do?!", let me say that I'm not one of those who shop for the purpose of vanity. I like walking into hardware or DIY shops and just browse around. Believe it or not, I can spend quite a lot of time just looking and studying the various kind of tools and products available in the market. If you are observant and resourceful enough, you may just find something that would help you work faster and smarter. I always remember the things I see, and whenever I am faced with any problem, I would automatically know where to find the right tools and parts to do the job.

It is always good to find out about anything, so that when the need arises, you know how to find the correct solution. You may not know what this product is all about, but hey, read on. Who knows?? One day you may need it, but for now, let's get on with the review.

This print server is manufactured by a Taiwan-based company called Zero One Technology (now you know where it got the name ZOT). It is founded in 1980 and is one of the leading worldwide manufacturer of network application servers. Its current product line also includes an Internet Sharing Server.

So, what on earth is a print server? To put it simply, it is a device used to connect your printer to the network. In that way, computers connected to the network by Netware or Windows can print to the printer via the print server. This avoids the need of using a data switch and huge chunks of thick printer cables running all over the place. Moreover, there is also a limit to the number of computers sharing a data switch. The print server is ideal for workgroups sharing a good laser printer in a networked environment. Of course, it would be more ideal to have an insane boss to buy each member of the workgroup a $3000+ laser printer...but that would be another story.

The package contains a printed manual, the print server, a DC power supply and installation software disks for Windows 95/98/NT and Netware.

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The Good

Installation of this little device is really fast. If you have all the cables and everything ready, it shouldn't take you more than 5 minutes. Just plug it to the printer's parallel port, attach the power supply to the print server, and plug a 10Base-T UTP cable to it and you're done. Yes, it is that easy. After powering up, you would see the green LED flashing, which indicates that it is talking to the network.


Connections at the back of the print server.

There's really nothing else that I can say about this print server except that installation was really easy. I ran tests on my Windows NT Server 4.0 (Service Pack 5) and it was problem free. I must say that it gave me a really good first impression.

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The Test

Since this is a networking product, I tested it with Windows NT Server 4.0 installed with the latest Service Pack 5. I doubt it really matters what motherboard and processor I use for the test, but just to make the review complete, here's the test configuration.

Test Configuration

Motherboard: Elitegroup P6BX-A+
Processor: Intel Celeron 300A (o/c to 450MHz)
RAM: 2 x 64MB Hyundai PC100 SDRAM DIMM
Operating System: Windows NT Server 4.0 (Service Pack 5)

Software installation was fast and easy. I was surprised that I didn't need to reboot the machine after installation. This makes setting up the software simple. After that, adding the printer to the server was just like configuring a new printer, except that the port is no longer your normal LPT port, but one defined by the driver.

Using the Zero One Network Port, the driver automatically sniffs out the network for all the available printer servers in the network. Fortunately, there was only one in the entire network, and so the process was faster. Identifying which printer server was easy too. Each print server is given a unique Node ID, and all you have to do is route to your particular print server.

Notice how easy it is to setup the printer server. Also note that you can use either IPX/SPX or NetBEUI protocol. After adding the port, all was needed was the installation of the printer driver and sharing the printer to the workgroup. I successfully printed pages of colour printouts on my inkjet printer without any hitch. In addition, printing through the print server took less CPU resources than connecting the printer directly to the computer by a printer cable.

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The Bad

The only bad thing about this print server is its inability to support other printing protocols like TCP/IP or DLC. However, if your network supports either NETBEUI or IPX/SPX protocol, then it is not really an issue. Besides, more features would translate into higher cost. It is silly to pay for features that you don't need. But for those looking for other features, you can find similar products like this out there in the market.

Other than that, I find that the printed manual could be further improved. It is quite a shame to read broken English in a professional product like this. If this product was manufactured in Singapore, we would all have understood the Singlish. But since it was manufactured in Taiwan, I think some of us would find it a little difficult to understand Taiwanglish?

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Conclusion

With its ease of installation and setup, the ZOT 525 print server is indeed a great product. Looking back, I had fun reviewing this product as it was problem-free during the tests, and this gave me a really good impression. However, its inability to support other protocols may limit its marketability. But, if your workgroup is getting larger and sharing a good laser printer is a definite must, then this may just be the solution you are looking for.

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PRINT SERVER RATING

Overall Rating (Out of a maximum of 5 Star)

Installation *****
Performance ****
Price ***
Material Quality ****
Overall Rating ****

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Product Proudly Sponsored by:

OMNI TECHNOSYS PRIVATE LIMITED
OmniTech

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Last updated February 25, 1999.

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