KVM over IP

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servernewb

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Anyone got any good leads for a KVM switch over IP. I have a small budget (~100USD). Please advise a good solution. Currently using console, but its not very useful and sometimes gets stuck in bios etc.
 
For $100, not going to get anything usable.
And avoid the hell out of Avocent. Their licensing is complete bullshit - you have to license client software, which is several hundred dollars a machine.
 
AreEss said:
For $100, not going to get anything usable.
And avoid the hell out of Avocent. Their licensing is complete bullshit - you have to license client software, which is several hundred dollars a machine.
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Truth,we have a Raritan setup where I work, damn that thing sucks. Hardware itself is ok, but the windows software blows (the osx version is even worse).
 
I was about to recommend the Avocent DSR series but that won't even come close to your budget.

IRT AreEss: If you have a lot of them, you can work out an enterprise license agreement which saves you a lot of money.
 
That's nice. No you can't for 10 machines. Also, ~$130 versus $300 per client is still bullshit for something supposedly usable over the web, to put it mildly. To say nothing of the constant woes our very, very expensive Avocent DSR has presented. I cannot begin to list all of them, not the least of which being the "guess what module firmware works" game. In the meantime, the Raritan that cost far less per port and does work over the web couldn't care less that I just unplugged it from one machine and into a totally different one.
 
We have been rather lucky. We have 42 of them and nary an issue other than a bad batch of dongles. We use a concurrent user license, so it works out much cheaper than $300 per client. Also, you don't really have to use the management software, but it makes it much more difficult to manage them.

I've never used the Raritan units, but they do look interesting. I think I'll get an eval unit next week to try out.
 
servernewb said:
Anyone got any good leads for a KVM switch over IP. I have a small budget (~100USD). Please advise a good solution. Currently using console, but its not very useful and sometimes gets stuck in bios etc.
Click to expand...

Not going to happen :( The cheaper you get with KVM-over-IP it becomes more difficult to use. I have used some of the cheaper Belkin one's. Usable, but not without headache.
 
MatDef said:
Truth,we have a Raritan setup where I work, damn that thing sucks. Hardware itself is ok, but the windows software blows (the osx version is even worse).
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+1 for Raritan suckage. The actual console, not remote console, is not horribly too bad. But the windows software is /vomit. We only ever used it if all else failed and we couldnt get some poor smuck to drive in.
 
Just installed another avocent DSR2035 today, no problems what so ever. Have 11 of them across 4 sites managed centrally, works like a charm. Haven't used their IPDUs yet though, they do look interesting...
 
If you can use a software solution, LogMeIn works incredibly well, and is inexpensive/free. I manage about a dozen computers through it, and a friend of mine manages over 400 spread across the US, mexico, europe, and canada. It doesn't give you bios-level access though.
 
QHalo said:
+1 for Raritan suckage. The actual console, not remote console, is not horribly too bad. But the windows software is /vomit. We only ever used it if all else failed and we couldnt get some poor smuck to drive in.
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Maybe you should try on a real KVM instead of the MCIP.
 
You can barely get a regular KVM for $100, what do you people think of Dells? It's all we use at work so I know no different.
 
+1 for Avocent DSR, if you are going to do it, do it right.
The DSR2035 is our current lab standard, it allows 2 concurrent remote connections. The website software allows you to view multiple units from one webpage.
Overall it just works.
USB 2 dongles allow for virtual remote media, i.e. your usb CD-rom can boot the system on the kvm.
The only issue is you have to pay a bundle for it.

If you are looking for something cheap/free, you may have to live with some form of VNC or MSTSC.
 
we use several hundred avocent DSR's (mostly 2035's but some 8035's also)
but in 2 of our labs we use raritan...i love those labs so much that my UT3 name is RaritanFTL
 
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