S5 Connection Options

[GBuchwitz 0]

Hi.

 

I'm considering purchasing an S5 for work. For security reasons, our IA Department will not allow connections via Wi-Fi or the use of USB flash ("thumb") drives to transfer g-code from the PC to the printer. I understand that the S5 cannot be connected to a PC via a USB cable for control or file transfer.

 

This would appear to constrain my options to using a USB external hard drive or an Ethernet LAN cable connection between the S5 and the PC.

 

Can anyone tell me if either of these remaining options would work... or if there's an alternate approach? And if the LAN option would work, precisely how would that be implemented? Would I need a cross-over CAT5 cable and additional networking software beyond what's already available in Windows 10? I can't afford to buy an S5 only to find out that I have no way to connect to it.

 

Any advice would be sincerely appreciated.

 

Thanks!  - guy

[gr5 2,005]

How is a USB ext hard drive different from a thumb drive?  Wouldn't that also violate the same rules?  Anyway don't answer that.

 

An old/used network router would be a good solution.  Any old linksys - one with a WAN port and 4 LAN ports.  Leave the WAN port open.  Connect your pc and the printer to the LAN ports.  Connect to the admin web page of the router - most of these by default are either 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 or 10.0.0.1 so just enter those ip adresses into your browser and you should be able to connect to the linksys box.  Then login (google the default password and how to reset the box physically to default passwords - basically you hold down a reset button or stick a paper clip in the reset hole and power cycle it).  Set it up to use an address range *different* from your company so 10.3.2.1 for example (the Internet will never have addresses at 192.168.x.x nor 10.x.x.x but your internal company might so you can pick something in that range that is not conflicting with machines in your company).

 

Then turn on the ultimaker and it will automatically grab an ip address from the router through a process called DHCP (which you can also control on the router).  Your computer will grab another ip address.  Now you can talk to the printer.

 

The S5 has linux on it.  If you know linux you can configure the network in a plethora of configurations including the crossover method.  I think you just buy the crossover ethernet cable, then configure the printer to be at a fixed ip address outside the LAN space of your company (again like 10.3.2.1) and configure the port on your pc connected to the ethernet to be another address in the same space (like 10.3.2.2).  At that point they should be able to ping each other and you can connect to the S5's web page.

 

The hardest part would be configuring the ip address on the printer - you can't do that from the screen on the printer.  You have to first put the printer on your LAN somewhere (e.g. bring it home) and ssh to the printer and set this all up using the linux conman utility, then try the crossover cable.  If you aren't very experienced setting up networks and using ssh you would want to find someone who is.

[kmanstudios 1,120]

3 hours ago, gr5 said:

How is a USB ext hard drive different from a thumb drive?

I have had to work with people that have security issues, The external HD would be an in-house model you just cannot sneak in and out in a pocket. May also have other safeguards built into the drive by IT.

[GBuchwitz 0]

gr5,

 

Thanks for your prompt and very detailed explanation... which as a network-challenged person is exactly what I was hoping for.

 

I can't resist addressing your first question. I've no idea why an external USB hard drive might be acceptable to our IA Department, but a USB thumb drive constitutes an unthinkable security threat... even though neither the PC or the printer will ever touch the network. My dad's old saying, "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth" comes to mind. I'll gratefully accept whatever latitude they'll give me.  : )

 

Am I correct in assuming that there's nothing special about an "old" Linksys router with a WAN connection in your recommended solution... beyond the convenient prospect that we might have one laying around? What router functions/specifications would you suggest I should be shopping for?

 

I suspect that developing proficiency with Linux would require a significant investment of time and focus for the purpose of solving this problem, but I would be grateful for any suggestions on how I might quickly educate myself regarding networks.

 

Thanks again for your help!

 

V/r, - guy

[gr5 2,005]

Well the USB drive solution sounds like a good one.

 

I picked linksys because the seem to have produced the most routers back in the day. The features you want:

dhcp

1 WAN and at least 2 LAN ports

 

DHCP because without modifying the printer through ssh it will only accept ip addresses through DHCP.  Wan and Lan ports because if it has both then it's definitely a real router that will have dhcp built in and nat translation (but you don't need that) and can be configured to run with any ip address you give it as the sort of host of the network.  I mean the router will run the network.

[Dim3nsioneer 557]

The LAN cable (standard, not crossed) version works fine with Windows 10. Both laptop and printer will get a 169.x.x.x IP address. You can connect to the printer and use the full connectivity features.

If you are still worried, why not going with your laptop to your UM reseller and ask if you can try to connect to the S5 in the showroom?

[GBuchwitz 0]

Dim3nsioneer,

 

Thanks for your help. Am I correct in assuming that the standard Ethernet cables would be used in conjunction with a DHCP router?

 

Thanks for the suggestion to actually try out the connection at a showroom. Since what I know about networking could be written on a Post-it, and because I’m guessing that most showroom sales people aren’t authorized to experiment with merchandise (or to allow customers to do so) I was hoping that Ultimaker Tech Support would be willing to actually test an Ethernet and external USB hard drive connection between a Windows 10 PC and an S5. I’ll see if I can find a showroom in my area.

 

Thanks again for your thoughts.

 

V/r, - guy

[gr5 2,005]

GBuchwitz - what country/city are you near?  I'm in Boston if you want to do a test on my S5.

[GBuchwitz 0]

gr5,

 

Thanks for your very generous offer. I live in Southern California (Ventura County). I suspect there might be a store with an S5 in my area. I’ll see if one of them might have a floor model they’d be willing to let me test.

 

Thanks again for your help.

 

V/r, - guy

[XYZDesignPro 70]

My guess is the closest stocking dealer would be MatterHackers https://www.matterhackers.com/  in Lake Forrest (Orange county) California.  Really nice folks, but if you didn't purchase the machine from them, don't know how accommodating they might be.

[Dim3nsioneer 557]

@GBuchwitz, the LAN cable does connect printer and laptop directly. Windows takes over the role of the DHCP server. See also https://support.microsoft.com/de-ch/help/220874/how-to-use-automatic-tcp-ip-addressing-without-a-dhcp-server.

 

Edited July 17, 2018 by Dim3nsioneer

[WesleyE 14]

Hi @GBuchwitz, an external HDD would work just fine, assuming no extra drivers are needed for the disk. Any USB Mass Storage device will work. Keep in mind, you can also use the UM3/UM3 Extended to test with as the control hardware is mostly the same (except for the screen ofc). Can you post the HDD type so we are able to check the compatibility?

 

For ethernet; You can use any network cable For most modern devices, it does not have to be a cross cable. The device should auto-sense the pairs. My Mac automatically creates a DHCP server that gives the Ultimaker the IP address it needs. For Windows, this might be locked down by your IT department.

 

The last option might be just asking your IT department how you should use the machine, they might be able to set up a dedicated network, or come up with an option that let you do your work (as they should ? ).

[SandervG 1,518]

On 7/13/2018 at 6:18 PM, GBuchwitz said:

gr5,

 

Thanks for your very generous offer. I live in Southern California (Ventura County). I suspect there might be a store with an S5 in my area. I’ll see if one of them might have a floor model they’d be willing to let me test.

 

Thanks again for your help.

 

V/r, - guy

 

And, how did it go? ?