Print Server for DD-WRT (hotplug version)

Hotplug is a set of scripts running upon certain predefined conditions. On today's Linux system, hotplug can do many things from auto mounting USB drives to pairing bluetooth devices to network configuration.

It's seldom mentioned, but DD-WRT does offer (very preliminary) hotplug support. With almost no info on the web, the job is done by digging though DD-WRT's source code and various Linux documents.

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Print Server for DD-WRT (simple version)

Since there's USB port on the router, any normal USB printer can become a network printer. As the router is usually on 24x7, there is no need to invest in a (usually overpriced) dedicated printer server.

The printer server program that we use here is p910nd. It's a very small (only 8KB) daemon which simply redirects all printing command from a PC to the printer. Setting up p910nd on the router can be a snap or very comprehensive, depends on the printer. The best scenario would be sharing a Postscript/PCL compatible one, which will be covered here.

Before we start, you'll need a USB hub if your router has only one USB port, because we now need to connect a USB drive and a USB printer. As I said previously, I recommend a self-powered hub to prevent any power draw issues.

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