Black Box KV150A-R2 manual Planning and Installing an Expanded System Optional

SERVSWITCH™ MULTI

6.Planning and Installing an Expanded System (Optional)

If you are going to be setting up a keyboard/video/mouse-switching system that involves interconnecting multiple ServSwitch Multi units, you should follow the instructions in this chapter to design the layout of this system and install your Switch-to-Switch links (including Expansion Cards and expansion cables) before you install any Interface, Management, or Serial Cards in, or attach any computer or peripheral equipment to, any individual Switch.

This chapter will focus on the basic principles of ServSwitch Multi expansion, on installing expansion hardware, and on possible designs for expanded layouts that involve only the ServSwitch Multi EXP and SB (and, if absolutely necessary, the Base Unit and MX). For information about the ServSwitch Multi Hub (including how to install it and its modules) and on designs for expanded layouts including the Hub, refer to Chapter 7.

CAUTION!

Systems involving a large number of ServSwitch Multi units can be very tricky to set up, and if they are wrongly configured, it can be difficult to figure out where the problem is. Read this chapter carefully; if there’s anything you’re not clear about or not confident about, please call Black Box Technical Support before you proceed, and consult with our technicians for added assurance that your configuration will be correct the first time.

To expand your ServSwitch Multi system beyond the confines of a single unit, you will need to add Expansion Transmit and Receive Cards to your system. Connecting a Transmit Card in one Switch to a Receive Card in another melds those two Switches into one larger switching matrix; see Figure 6-1 on the next page. If you install Transmit Cards in the same ServSwitch Multi as a set of computers, those computers can communicate with consoles (user stations) attached to other Switches. Conversely, if you install Receive Cards in the same ServSwitch Multi as one or more consoles, those consoles can communicate with computers attached to other Switches. Regardless of whether or not any Expansion Cards are installed in a ServSwitch Multi, the console(s) attached to that unit can always access any computer attached to the same unit.

You will use one or more Expansion Cables to connect your Transmit Cards to your Receive Cards. Each of these cables can be up to 250 feet (76.2 m) long (although total cable length between a console and a computer can’t be more than 500 ft. [152.4 m]). Two ports are available on each Transmit and Receive Card for Expansion-Cable connections.

Refer to Section 2.6.4 for descriptions and illustrations of the ServSwitch Multi EXP and the Expansion Cards and Cables.

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