Cascading
Another way of adding capacity is to cascade additional KVM switches from the KM0216 / KM0432’s CPU ports. Up to 16 (KM0216) or 32 (KM0432) additional switches can be cascaded. Unlike daisy chaining, however, cascading does not increase the number of consoles that can be used to control the computers.
Note: 1. While you can daisy chain KM0216 / KM0432s, you cannot cascade them.
2. Switches cannot be cascaded beyond the second stage.
In a cascaded installation, the KM0216 / KM0432 is considered the First Stage unit; cascaded KVM switches are considered Second Stage units. The KM0216 / KM0432 supports two types of cascade: 1) Protocol Interface Cascading (see the installation diagram on p. 22), and 2) Physical Interface Cascading (see the installation diagram on p. 25).
Protocol Interface Cascading:
Protocol Interface Cascading refers to cascading to a second stage KVM switch (such as the eight port KH88) that uses the same data transfer protocol as the first stage KM0216 / KM0432.
With this type of cascade, all of the separate switch OSDs are integrated so that when the KM0216 / KM0432 consoles bring up the OSD, it lists all of the computers connected to all of the units. In a full cascade, 128 or 256 computers can be controlled from a single KM0216 / KM0432 (8 KH88 ports x 16 or 32 KM0216 / KM0432 ports = 128 or 256 total ports).
To set up a Protocol Interface Cascade, refer to the installation diagram on p.
22 and do the following:
1.Make sure that power to all the devices you will be connecting up has been turned off.
2.Use Cat 5 cable to connect any available CPU Port on the First Stage unit (the KM0216 / KM0432) to a PS/2 style KVM adapter cable (as described in the Cables section, p. 4); plug the adapter cable’s KVM connectors to the Keyboard, Video, and Mouse Console ports of the Second Stage unit.
Note: The distance between the Second Stage unit and the KM0216 / KM0432 must not exceed 150m (500’).
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