Do you have a USB printer connected to one computer that you would like to make available over a network? You may also have a web cam, scanner, external hard drive and numerous other devices that you would like to be able to share. This is what USB Network Gate enables you to do, with one computer acting as a server and other client machines connecting to it via TCP/IP to use the USB device that has been set up for sharing.

Devices can be shared between Windows, OS X and Linux machines and it can even be used in conjunction with remote access software to allow for connections from outside the network. Wifi access is also available so there is no need to be physically connected to the network, and there are a number of security options available that can be used to restrict access and encrypt data. But there is cost to bear in mind.

It is worth noting that the licensing structure that is in place for USB Network Gate is a little different to other software. While most programs require you to buy a licence per computer or per user, here you must buy a license for each device that you want to share. Buying a single license will enable you to share one USB device only, but with as many people as you want.

If you want to share more, you have to buy a 2, 10 or unlimited USB device license which will cost you $159.95, $399.95 and $699.95 respectively. For many people and companies, this is going to be prohibitively expensive. It would probably make more sense to invest in a piece of server hardware that can be extended to precisely suit your needs and offers a far more flexible solution at a much lower cost.

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