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Chapter 4 Using the HMPS1A
4.1
Introduction
The goal of this product is to provide network support for USB devices. We developed a
new technology called “NetUSB” to achieve this goal. Basically, the “NetUSB” is a “USB
over IP” technology that transparently redirects all USB packets to a TCP/IP network
channel. “NetUSB” allows you to use USB devices as if they were connected directly to
your PC although they are actually remotely connected to the HMPS1A.
4.2
Connect & Disconnect
“NetUSB” allows you to use USB devices as if they were connected directly to your PC
although they are actually remotely connected to the HMPS1A. The “connect” operation
is a software operation that simulates an actual USB device plug-in. That is to say, when
you do a “connect” operation in the HMPS1A setup software, the PC can then detect a
USB device’s plug-in, even though you did not physically plug in a USB device to your
computer. Similarly, the “disconnect” operation is a software operation that simulates the
disconnection of the USB device. Once the connect operation is successful, the
operations to use that USB device are just the same as if the USB device is directly
connected to the PC.
If a USB device is “connected” by a PC, we say that PC has the ownership of the USB
device. Only one PC can get the ownership of a USB device at the same time. Therefore,
if a USB device is connected by one PC, no other PC can connect this USB device until this
USB device is disconnected.
4.3
Subnet Issue
Before using the NetUSB technology, you must first make sure that your PC can access
the HMPS1A via TCP/IP. The simplest way to do this is using HMPS1A’s setup software to
search for the HMPS1A server on the network and change its IP address to be the same
subnet as your PC. If the server and your PC are not in the same TCP/IP subnet, the
HMPS1A’s setup software will show the server in red, as shown in the following figure.
You must change the IP address (or use DHCP) of the server so that the server and your
PC are in the same subnet. The HMPS1A setup software will show these servers in blue,
meaning you can access these servers by the NetUSB technology.
