KVM Recommendation

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mikeblas

[H]ard|DCer of the Month - May 2006
Joined
Jun 26, 2004
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I have a Belkin OmniView SE KVM. It's always been a bit flakey, but now I'm getting completely sick of it. The main problem is that I frequently lose the mouse on all four computers. I have to turn them all off, unplug the KVM, power it on again, then reboot all the machines.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good PS/2 and VGA KVM?
 
I have had the same problem with Belkin, they work fine for a while and then start to crap out. I will never buy another Belkin KVM. I swithched to Raritan ( A tad more expensive) and have not had any problems.

~ Novensu
 
well I absolutely adore my IOGear eXtremes

All IOGear KVMs

I have 2 of these
MiniView eXtreme 4 port
4 x computers, 2 x 21" monitors (they support 2048 x 1536, only 3 of the computers actually have dual head AGP so I do attach a fifth, often a clients box it being used just for monitor switching with their own directly attached mouse\keyboard)

though you should note
Computers with USB or PS/2 connections (additional cables needed for PS/2 computers, USB peripheral ports won’t function when use PS/2 cables.)
Click to expand...
applies to the eXtreme

the only issue I have is the lack of USB 2 support, Im looking at a seperate USB switch right now for flash drives and memory card readers, there is a considerable difference, Im even considering a USB DVDRW and weighting that against upgrading the LAN to gigabit
 
Thanks for the recommendation, Ice Czar. The four-port MiniView SE looks great, except it doesn't have OSD.

I'm scoping out some auctions on eBay for big-time Avocent switches; if they don't hit, I'll use that IOGEAR unit as my backup plan.
 
yeh I was just looking at the new
Symphony

mine have been superceded, the ethernet switch is nice too a pity its not gigabit
 
you know, personally I wouldnt invest in a PS\2 switch
especially at that price point, sort of a dead end ;)

pretty cheap to upgrade to a USB, keyboard\mouse combo if the computers have the ports
you might need to direct wire a PS2 or serial for the first bootup till the OS is able to recognize but after that its smooth sailing
(on the odd occassion Ive switched the two USB cables around and nothing works till I get them back in the right ports, but thats an easy fix)
 
Ice Czar said:
especially at that price point, sort of a dead end ;)
Click to expand...

How so?

Thing is, I use the old clackity IBM keyboards (and refuse to use anything else). I don't want to fool with a USB-PS/2 adapter, and it's not like PS/2 ports are disappearing.
 
What a crappy article!

What are those percentages? A survey? Of whom, conducted when? Who are the people who are quoted? Just random folks? This author did nothing to give the reader any context about what he uses as the basis for his report.

The conclusion is laughable:

I was very comfortable with ISA sound cards and modems, had a bunch of them, and when I tried PCI sound cards and modems when they first came out, I had problems - just did not work right. Eventually, of course, things resolved, peripheral manufacturers got it right and PCI only boards are the rule.

I suspect the same will happen here, although I really like the idea about redoing everything from scratch.
Click to expand...

How could the switch to USB perhiperhals be initially buggy? Almost all mice are USB, as are almost all new keyboards. The electronics in some of those peripherals are smart enough to detect the port and switch protocols, so they can use an adapter.

Even if it is initially buggy, the initial migration is over; USB 2.0 is already wide-spread, so the teething pains were done with between USB 1.0 and USB 1.1.

Meanwhile, where's my BTX case?

I hope that guy didn't get paid for writing that piece!

Meanwhile, I still don't understand your advice, Ice Czar. Why do you think a PS/2-based KVM is a dead-end?
 
I have a Cybex Switchview (I think they go under another company now).

It's a nice little box. Tab bit expensive, though.

I like how you can control it with the keyboard. <ctrl> <ctrl> <D> <enter> Will bring me to my P233.

I do have hte odd time when the mouse decides to go on steroids. I just go <ctrl> <ctrl> <M> <W> <enter> and it resets the mouse.
 
mikeblas said:
Meanwhile, I still don't understand your advice, Ice Czar. Why do you think a PS/2-based KVM is a dead-end?
Click to expand...

not exactly, just less flexible than USB solutions but seeing as you like those keyboards....


that is quite an old "article" (2002)
it was simply a reaction and survey to the Abit IT7 MAX2
 
Ice Czar said:
not exactly, just less flexible than USB solutions but seeing as you like those keyboards....
Click to expand...

Sorry to be so dense, but now I'm even more lost. What's flexible about a keyboard or mouse interface? You plug it in, and it works. Why does a PS/2 plug need to be "flexible"?

I use the PS/2 port for the keyboard on all of my machines, and the usually use the PS/2 mouse interface with the USB adapter that's included with the mouses (all Microsoft Intellimouse products). That frees up my USB ports for whatever USB peripherals I want to plug in ... which hasn't been many.
 
mikeblas said:
Sorry to be so dense, but now I'm even more lost. What's flexible about a keyboard or mouse interface? You plug it in, and it works. Why does a PS/2 plug need to be "flexible"?

I use the PS/2 port for the keyboard on all of my machines, and the usually use the PS/2 mouse interface with the USB adapter that's included with the mouses (all Microsoft Intellimouse products). That frees up my USB ports for whatever USB peripherals I want to plug in ... which hasn't been many.
Click to expand...


its as it applies to the more complex KVMs you see
typically they are USB based, and like that first Miniview I linked often preclude both USB switching and PS\2 at the same time, or simply lack PS\2 altogether. Im not completely "tuned" to the industry, but it "seems" to me progress is being made "away" from PS\2
 
Ice Czar said:
its as it applies to the more complex KVMs you see
typically they are USB based, and like that first Miniview I linked often preclude both USB switching and PS\2 at the same time, or simply lack PS\2 altogether. Im not completely "tuned" to the industry, but it "seems" to me progress is being made "away" from PS\2
Click to expand...

I see. Thanks for the clarification.

I don't think I need to worry about USB disappearing either from motherboards or KVMs for the life of ths switch I'm going to buy. It would cost about $12000 to upgrade all the computers attached to the switch, so PS/2 ports are available on my machines for the forseeable future. And I can't imagine upgrading any to peripherals that won't work with even a PS/2-only switch anytime soon.

I think a PS/2-only switch will serve me for more than five years.
 
I got sniped on eBay and lost the bid for a really neat Avocent.

So I bought this IOGEAR model from NewEgg. I'm really smitten by the OSD display I have on my KVMs at work, so I'll fight with the USB-PS/2 adapter. Hopefully, it'll just work.
 
Just works? No such luck!

I received the unit today, and got it set up. It works with my Dell Power Edge 600SC server, my Tyan S2882 machine, and this old Asus CUVX-based machine.

I also have a Supermicro P6DGU box. If it is plugged into the KVM at boot, that box hangs after the SCSI adapter identifies all my drives. The keyboard works just great in the BIOS (and in the Adaptec CTRL+A utility) until that point. So does the mouse.

If I boot the machine with my PS/2 keyboard plugged into my PS/2->USB converter, then the converter plugged into the machine directly, it works fine. It's obviously a problem with the KVM switch itself!

I've enabled USB legacy support in the bios, including Port 60h/64h emulation. It doesn't help; it just hangs at that same point.
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817107602

Own it, paid like $15 for it with cables. Why do you need a OSD for a KVM? Switch with 3 key taps, 2 taps of the Home key I think it is and a tap of 1-4 and you switch. Supports up to like 1600 x 1200 res I know for sure, possibly higher.

Since it comes with 4 sets of PS/2 cables, it works great. For USB devices (like a mouse) I use a USB to PS/2 convertor. Never been an issue, solid through a good 1+ year of use and for the money you can't beat it.
 
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