Setting a Password for the Extender | Black Box ACU5010A, ACU5011A

SERVSWITCH™ WIZARD EXTENDER

4.4 Setting a Password for the Extender

There are many situations where access to corporate file servers or sensitive information needs to be controlled. In such circumstances, the ServSwitch Wizard Extender’s transmitter and the attached CPU can be locked away in a secure room or cabinet and controlled from the primary control station attached to the receiver.

The Extender also has a password that you can set to prevent unauthorized use. After setting a password, you can “lock” (disable) the receiver at any time by typing the hotkey sequence together with the letter “L” at the primary keyboard: [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [L] if the hotkey sequence is set to its default value, for example. While the receiver is locked, it doesn’t output video to the monitor or accept input from the keyboard or mouse. The receiver indicates that it’s locked by alternately flashing the Num Lock/Scroll Lock LED pair and the Caps Lock LED on the attached primary keyboard. The receiver can only be unlocked if a user types in the password followed by [Enter] at the primary keyboard. Locking the receiver has no effect on the operation of the transmitter.

The password is not case-sensitive and can be any combination of keystrokes, including function keys but excluding [Ctrl], [Alt], [Shift], and [Enter]. (For example, the password [F4] [F] [R] [E] [D] [Home] would be valid.) The length of the password can be from 1 to 40 characters, although for better security we recommend that the password be at least four characters long.

To set the password, first get into configuration mode by typing in the current hotkey sequence followed by [Enter] at the receiver’s keyboard: [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [Enter] if the hotkey sequence is set to its default value, for example. Then type [P], followed by [Enter], followed by the password characters, followed by another [Enter] to save the password to nonvolatile memory. (This type of memory does not depend on active power or even a battery backup, so it can persist indefinitely.) For instance, to set the password to “open sesame”, you would type in [P] [Enter] [O] [P] [E] [N] [Space] [S] [E] [S] [A] [M] [E] [Enter].

Don’t worry if you type the password incorrectly; you can always re-enter it, even if you’ve exited and re-entered configuration mode. (Of course, if you discover that you messed up entering the password or can’t remember what the password is only after someone locks the receiver, you will have to take these steps to recover: First power down the receiver, then move position 3 on the transmitter’s DIP switch to ON, then power the receiver back on. This will cause the receiver to power up directly into configuration mode, and you can then change or clear the password. When you’ve finished doing this, move position 3 of the transmitter’s DIP switch back to its default OFF setting so that the receiver will go back to powering up normally.