Yes, it can be done as long as your cable router has the port (parallel or usb) already on it.

Print server:

Some routers provide a parallel port or an USB port for you to connect your printer directly on the router. This is really neat, because any computer on your network can use the printer without any fancy configuration. If you need to share your printer among all computers and you don’t buy a router with this option, the computer where your printer is attached to will need to be turned on in order to print something. This can be a hassle, for example, if the printer is connected to a computer from someone that is not in the office, it is turned off and he (or she) put a password on it. Also, by using a cable router with print server option you can save some money on your electricity bill, since you won’t need another computer turned on to use the printer. If you choose to buy a router with this feature, you need to buy one with the same connection type as your printer, parallel or USB:

Below is an image of a parallel port on a router with print server feature:

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/fullimage.php?image=2437

Installation:

So, all you will need to setup your network using a cable router is the router, of course, which is really cheap these days (they rang from $35 USD to $50 USD (depending on the brand and extra features), one pin-to-pin network cable for each computer you want to connect to the network (this cable can be bought already assembled and is also called UTP, (Unshielded Twisted Pair) you should also buy a cable called Cat 5, (which is usually blue or gray) and, of course, an available broadband connection (cable or ADSL).

Below is an image of a typical network cable:

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/imageview.php?image=2444

Your broadband modem (cable or ADSL) will be connected to a port labeled “WAN” on the router, while all computers will be connected to other available ports, usually labeled “LAN”. If you need more ports, you will need to buy an external switch and connect it to one of the available ports. You need to connect the other end of the cables to the LAN card located on the computers, of course. Nowadays all computers have integrated LAN port on the motherboard. If you have an older computer without this feature, you will need to buy and install a network card (also called 10/100 Network Card or NIC, Network Interface Card) on it.

Below is an image of a diagram showing you how to connect your router:

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/imageview.php?image=2445

The uplink button must be disabled. This button is used when you use a different kind of cable, called cross-over, which is not the case. The reset button can be useful in some repair situations. As you can see, you need to connect your router to its power supply.

Below is an example of a LAN port on a desktop:

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/imageview.php?image=2446

Below is an example of a LAN port on a laptop:

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/imageview.php?image=2447

You don’t need to worry about installing the network cable on the wrong jack: the network plug (which is called RJ-45) only fits the network card. After hooking everything, turn on your broadband modem, turn on your router and turn on one of the computers to access the router configuration panel. You will need to do some basic configuration – for example, choosing the type of connection you have, cable or ADSL.

Configuring the computers:

All computers on your network must be configured to obtain their network configurations automatically from a DHCP server (which is your router). This is the default Windows configuration, but is always good to check if your computers are correctly configured. To configure your computers, click on Start, Settings, Network Connections, the screen shown below will appear. Double click the network card that is connected to the router.

Network Connections:
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/imageview.php?image=2453

On the screen that will show up (IMAGE 1), click on Properties, then the screen shown in IMAGE 2 will appear. Double click on Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and the screen shown in IMAGE 3 will appear.

IMAGE 1: Status of the network connection. You should click on Properties.
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/imageview.php?image=2449

IMAGE 2: Network Card Properties:
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/imageview.php?image=2450

IMAGE 3: TCP/IP Configuration:
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/imageview.php?image=2451

On this screen you should select “Obtain an IP address automatically” and “Obtain DNS server address automatically”. This will cause your computer to ask your router which configurations it should use. (Don’t forget to click on Ok if you needed to change anything on this screen.)

Now that your computers are correctly configured, you should configure your router.

Router Configuration - The Basics:

The first thing you need to know is the configuration panel IP address for your router. This information is written on its manual. It is usually 192.168.0.1, 192.168.1.1 or 10.0.0.1. So, launch your web browser and open http://address here. The router used on the examples uses the address 192.168.1.1, so we would need to open http://192.168.1.1. Of course you need to change that according to the IP address used by your router.

All configuration options vary according to the router model. So, maybe you won’t find the options I am describing here with the exact same name, but they will exist, since we are talking only about basic options.

Usually the very first configuration page asks you to choose between a quick setup and an advanced setup. Even though a quick setup is the best for setting up your network in less than five minutes, the very first configuration you should do is inside advanced setup: setting up a password for your router.

First screen on the router configuration panel:
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/fullimage.php?image=2452

As you can see, the router configuration panel is accessible from any computer on the network. Even though this may not be an issue on very small networks, the router control panel can usually be accessed from any computer located on the Internet. For example, let’s say that your real IP address is 69.69.69.69 (the IP address that your ISP assigned to your broadband modem). Any computer on the Internet can access your router configuration panel by simply opening a web browser and pointing it to http://69.69.69.69. This feature can be disabled on some routers. However, it is a very interesting feature, as you can repair or reconfigure your office or home network from any computer in the world. So it is up to you to enable or disable this feature, depending if you are going to use it or not.

Setting up the admin password:
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/fullimage.php?image=2458

On this router, the configuration is done at Advanced Setup, System, Administrator Settings. At this screen you can both setup the admin password and choose to enable remote management. On this router remote management is disabled, we could enable it and choose to enable it just for one specific IP address (for instance, the IP address from the home computer), so other computers won’t be able to access the router control panel remotely. Also, you can specify an access port. Using the router in the image above, you couldn’t access it by using http://69.69.69.69, you would need to open it as http://69.69.69.69:8080. This is a simple way of preventing wannabe hackers from opening your router configuration panel from their computer (serious hackers know that 8080 is a common used port and can also run a port scan to see which ports are open on your router). Of course you must click on Apply to make the changes effective.

Router Configuration - Basic Setup:

Basically, all you need to do is to choose the connection type you have: cable, ADSL with dynamic IP (i.e., the IP address given by your ISP changes from time to time – which is the most common type), ADSL with static IP (i.e., the IP address given by your ISP doesn’t change – usually available only if you requested it and usually it is more expensive) or VPN (Virtual Private Network – usually used on corporate networks).

Just go back to the basic setup and navigate through its screens. On the example router I only had to configure the time zone on the first screen, the modem type on the second screen and just kept clicking on next and accepted all default configurations, if you have a cable or ADSL connection (if you use a VPN connection, then you need to enter some information). Then I clicked on Finish on the last screen and that’s all I needed to do to make this network work.

Basic Setup, First screen (Time zone configuration)

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/imageview.php?image=2465

Basic Setup, second screen (connection type)

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/imageview.php?image=2466

Basic Setup, Third screen (WAN settings, just leave the default values)

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/imageview.php?image=2467

Basic Setup, fourth screen (DNS settings, just leave the default values) Click Finish:

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/imageview.php?image=2468

After clicking on Finish, try to access the Internet from your computer and from all other computers located on your network. If it doesn’t work, double-check all configuration steps. If it still doesn’t work, you will need to call you ISP support service and explain them that you have just installed a router and need them to “release your IP address”.

In case you are wondering what that means: when you use a broadband service, usually the public IP address (ex: 69.69.69.69) is assigned to the computer connected to the broadband modem. So the ISP locks the given IP address to the MAC address connected to the modem. MAC address is a serial number written on the network card. So, when you disconnect your modem from your computer and connect it to your router, the connection may be blocked because the ISP network is expecting the MAC address of your desktop, not the MAC address of your router, which is different. “Release the IP” means that the ISP will re-scan for the new MAC address connected to the modem.

That's pretty much it. If you want info on advanced router configuration (security, etc...) let me know... it's good to at least know, or have the information handy in case you may need it. Hope this helps!

the Micronet SP888B may not have a usb port but the Micronet SP888BP does
could be a simple hardware mod to add a usb port

For example, if WEB_SERVER=192.168.0.1 in your Test.config, you should use a URI such as http://192.168.0.1/ecommerce/index.php

if It supports wrt install wrt annd follow their instructions for printer sharing.
http://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/howto/printer?s=printer
Though I don't think it is. you can pick one up for arround 10$ on kijiji or some thing

I don't know if a serial to parallel will let you have a serial printer but most routers have serial port.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10414&cs_id=1041401&p_id=1134&seq=1&format=2#description