Adaptec, Inc.

Maureen McMahon

Michael M Goshey

Disclosed is a system for transparently sharing peripheral devices over a network. The system includes a first computer having at least one peripheral device, and a second computer that is networked to the first computer. The second computer is configured to send a request to use the at least one peripheral device over the network, and the request is processed to determine whether the second computer has sharing privileges to use the at least one peripheral device. Furthermore, the first computer is configured to grant access to the request of the second computer if the second computer has the sharing privileges that enable access to the at least one peripheral device. In this embodiment, the first computer acts as a Server that can share its peripheral devices, and the second computer acts as a Client that access the Server's peripheral devices.

Method and apparatus for sharing peripheral devices over a network

Disclosed is a system for transparently sharing peripheral devices over a network. The system includes a first computer having at least one peripheral device, and a second computer that is networked to the first computer. The second computer is configured to send a request to use the at least one peripheral device over the network, and the request is processed to determine whether the second computer has sharing privileges to use the at least one peripheral device. Furthermore, the first computer is configured to grant access to the request of the second computer if the second computer has the sharing privileges that enable access to the at least one peripheral device. In this example, the first computer acts as a Server that can share its peripheral devices, and the second computer acts as a Client that accesses the Server's peripheral devices.

Disclosed is a method and apparatus for establishing communication to a remote peripheral device over a network. The method includes issuing a request to use a peripheral device to a remote communications dynamically linked list, and determining whether the peripheral device is a local peripheral device or a remote peripheral device. The method further includes sending the request over a network to a remote computer that has a server application when the peripheral device is the remote peripheral device. The server application is configured to enable sharing of peripheral devices that are connected to the remote computer. Preferably, the system registry of the computer making the request is altered to enable efficient communication with the remote peripheral device.

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Sunnyvale, CA, United States of America

Maureen McMahon