Linksys(R), a leading provider of broadband, wireless and networking hardware for the home, small office/home office (SOHO), and small/medium business (SMB) corporate environments today announced plans to incorporate the Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) open networking architecture into its line of popular selling broadband Cable/DSL Routers, Print Servers, Network-Attached Storage and upcoming line of Residential Gateways solutions. Linksys’ UPnP implementation makes it easier to set up and administer a home or business network because it allows for the automatic addition and removal of equipment on a network.
UPnP allows users to connect their UPnP-enabled broadband router, print server and other devices right to the network with zero-configuration — meaning easier setup for installing the device on the network. The automatic discovery feature enables the device to obtain an IP address, present and describe itself to other devices and PCs on the network without having to install drivers, and then configure and use those devices. Basically, once you plug the hardware onto the network, it will take care of preparing itself for use.
“We see UPnP as a significant value add to our line of networking products. It will enable our users to much more easily set up and manage their network,” said Linksys Strategic Program Analyst, Ross Fujimoto. “With the tremendous growth of networking in the home and small/medium business, we are striving to constantly improve on the usability of our hardware. The UPnP Forum and Linksys have the same goal — to make connectivity easier for our home and business customers.”