D-Link’s SharePort Unwires USB Gadgets

An upgrade for select D-Link routers allows devices connected to the USB port on the back to be shared across a home network.

Giving home Wi-Fi users one less reason to buy expensive Wi-Fi-ready gadgets like printers and storage drives, D-Link rolled out its SharePort technology this week, which makes it possible to share ordinary USB accessories on a home network by simply plugging them into a router. A free firmware upgrade will enable the functionality in all of D-Link’s existing 802.11n routers, plus its new DIR-825 Xtreme N router.

Using new USB over TCP/IP technology, a single USB port on the back of the router can be accessed from any computer on the network, making it possible to share devices that never came with Wi-Fi functionality. A standard external storage drive, for instance, becomes a network storage drive that any user can read and write to, or a USB multi-function printer can print from and scan to any computer on the network.

The DIR-825, also introduced this week, uses dual-band transmission to create two networks simultaneously: one at 2.4GHz and one at 5GHz. D-Link claims this allows it to split up tasks between the two bands, like pushing VoIP traffic on one and game connections on the other, with different intelligent settings for prioritizing traffic.

The DIR-825 is available immediately for $200, while the DIR-655, DIR-855, DGL-4500 and DIR-628 can all be upgraded to include SharePort functionality for free.