Chapter 1

Introduction

Overview

The KM0216 / KM0432 Matrix KVM Switch gives IT administrators in large corporations advanced control of multiple servers. Operators working at up to two (KM0216) or four (KM0432) consoles (keyboard, mouse, and monitor) can simultaneously and independently take direct control of up to 16 (KM0216) or 32 (KM0432) computers. With a combination of daisy chaining and cascading, up to 16 or 32 operators can access and control up to 1,024 or 2,048 computers.

The 2 / 4 consoles belonging to the master unit (the highest level KM0216 / KM0432) are able to access all the computers on the installation—those that are directly connected as well as those that are daisy chained and cascaded. The 2 / 4 consoles belonging to each of the Slave units (the daisy chained KM0216

/KM0432s), however, can only access the computers that are connected to them on the same daisy chain level (directly connected and cascaded).

The KM0216 / KM0432 features a console module design with automatic console conversion that allows any combination of PS/2 and USB consoles to control any combination of PS/2, USB, or Sun computers. The RJ-45 port connectors, combined with Auto Signal Compensation (ASC), allow signals to travel up to 500 feet (150 meters) away and still maintain high video resolution; eliminating the need for KVM extenders, and allowing the installation to take advantage of the internal Cat 5e and Cat 6 wiring built in to most modern commercial buildings. In addition, use of RJ-45 connectors saves precious IT real estate by allowing a full 16 or 32 KVM ports to reside in a single 1U system case.

Setup is fast and easy; plugging cables into their appropriate ports is all that is entailed. Because the KM0216 / KM0432 intercepts keyboard and mouse input directly, there is no software to configure, so there is no need to get involved in complex installation routines or be concerned with incompatibility problems.

Access to any computer is easily accomplished either by means of a powerful menu driven OSD (On Screen Display) system, or by entering Hotkey combinations from the keyboard. A convenient Auto Scan feature also permits automatic scanning and monitoring of the activities of all computers running on the installation one by one.

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