Keyboard-video-mouse switches are increasingly being used to save space in server rooms. The switches aggregate signals from monitors and keyboards into a single console keyboard and mouse, saving the space that multiple keyboards and monitors would require. Two keyboard-video-mouse (KVM) switch makers, Raritan and Avocent, recently updated their switching lines to streamline connections and improve performance.
Raritan last week announced a new compact KVM device that replaces a traditional KVM switch and can control up to 42 servers without consuming any space in a rack. The device replaces traditional server-to-switch connections with a daisy-chained server-to-server arrangement.
The zero-U ZU4200 is available in coaxial and Category 5 cable versions and controls devices by means of Computer Interface Modules. These modules connect each server to the switching unit and provide dedicated, keep-alive keyboard/mouse emulation and fail-safe switch access to a user workstation. The ZU4200 uses a PS/2 or Sun keyboard and can control devices up to 1,000 feet apart.
A ZU4200 system configured to enable a single user to access eight PS/2 servers will cost approximately $2,000, while the cost to access and control a full rack of 42 PS/2 servers using ZU4200 will be about $11,000. ZU4200 systems will be available in the third quarter.
Avocent also recently enhanced its DS1800 KVM-over-IP switch, which lets network managers remotely access multiple racks of servers through an Ethernet connection. In addition, the company improved the performance of the switch by tweaking the video processing and compression algorithms, the company claims. Avocent also added DES encryption during transmission.
The DS1800 KVM supports a virtually unlimited number of servers, the company claims. It also works with Sun, USB and PS/2 keyboards and operating systems such as Windows 95, 98, NT, Windows 2000, Linux, NetWare and Solaris.
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Deni Connor is a senior editor at Network World covering storage, SANs, Novell and Novell-related products. You can reach her at dconnor@nww.com.
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