Black Box ServSwitch manual User Stations Attached to Same-Numbered Ports

MATRIX SERVSWITCH™

5.3 User Stations Attached to Same-Numbered Ports

When there are no more than two users in a Matrix ServSwitch system, both of these users have completely independent global access: that is, each of them can reach any computer in the system, and their actions have no effect on each other, unless one tries to select the same CPU that the other is using (see Section 5.4). This is true as long as the user stations are attached to different-numbered KVM ports: One user must be on KVM 1 and the other must be on KVM 2, even if the user stations are attached to different Switches.

In a daisychained Matrix ServSwitch system with multiple Switches, it is possible to attach additional user stations to the system, so that three or more users can share access to the Switches. This can obviously be very useful when more than just two people need to access your CPUs, or if your CPUs need to be accessible from more than one or two locations. What you must keep in mind when you do this, however, is that all of the users on KVM ports with the same number (all of those on KVM 1 and all of those on KVM 2) have to use the same keyboard/video/ mouse bus that’s carried from Switch to Switch over the Expansion Cables that connect them.

What this means is that as long as users on same-numbered KVM ports remain local users—that is, as long as they only select CPUs that are directly attached to their local Switch—they can continue to operate independently of one another. But when any of these users makes a global connection to a CPU on some other Switch in the system, they must make exclusive use of the Switch system’s KVM bus for their port (KVM 1 or KVM 2); all other user stations on the same KVM port receive a “video path cancel” message and are disconnected from any CPU they currently have selected. None of these users can select any CPUs until the global user relinquishes control of the CPU he or she just selected.

This being the case, we recommend that in any Matrix ServSwitch system with three or more users, you reserve one KVM port or the other (KVM 1 or KVM 2) for a single global user: Connect one and only one user to the ports with this number, and he or she will always be able to access any computer in your system. Let the other port number be for multiple local users who will normally work with the computers attached to their own Switch only, not making global connections to computers on other Switches unless it’s absolutely necessary.

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