KVM Recommendations for 2002?

oolon asks: "I am in the market for a KVM switch, as my desk at home is really cluttered. Having never bought one before its hard to know which brands are best. Until recently it seems that most KVM switches didn't support 'large' resolutions, however there are new models that now claim such support: Belkin claims they support up to 2048x1536@85Hz @ 400MHz bandwidth on their SOHO range, for example. I only require output to one monitor, and a 4 host switch. The hosts under control will be a mix of PS2 and USB. Thought I don't require the hosts to share USB peripherals other than the keyboard and mouse. Naturally I want a switch that works with my 3 button Logitect mouse under Linux/XFree86, however most importantly I want the switch to support high resolutions, without ghosting, at a minimal resolution of 1600x1280 32bpp @ 85Hz. I am also interested in what cables I should use, brands etc, each host will need a run of 6 feet (preferably 10 feet is that possible at high resolutions?). The switch to monitor needs a minimal 3 feet run. As to price, I don't really want to spend more than 500UKP (750USD). Ideally I would prefer to a price all in of 2/3 that amount."

Comments

teamexcess.com has some great KVMs

[Zeio]

I like Outlook/Avocent/Apex KVMs. Cheap sucks. These ones can hot plug. Check out KVM switches here (4 and 8 port models there).

I have an older Belkin omniview pro, sucks. The newer ones that Belkin sells whith user upgradeable firmware look pretty nice, be sure to check those out.

Old adage that bodes well in any time: you get what you pay for, and KISS, keep it simple stupid, that Belkin SOHO looks like a deformed JU JU fruit. I like them old fashioned, boxy, sqaure.

I also thought that the Cybex branded KVMs were very crappy. The Avocent/Outlook ones are hot plug-able.

Monday and Tuesday mornings suck ;-).

Don't get a Linksys

[PD]

Their network stuff is great, but their 4 port switch at least doesn't work with Linux well at all. The software switching (through the keyboard) requires some kind of X key configuration which they helpfully did not document at all.

Also, the switch doesn't accept a key repeat modification. You'll be stuck at a repeat of 10.2 CPS with a .5 second delay. I tried forever to get the thing to do 30 CPS with a .25 second delay, but it won't work.

The switch works well with Windows however. I wrote them a couple e-mails for support, but they never responded to them.

Re:Don't get a Linksys

[rgraham]

I don't want to just pile on here but I've had the same experience with Linksys as well. Their products are usually very good but if you're using an OS other than Windows then you generally seem to be by yourself.

Cybex SwitchView

[dschuetz]

I've always liked Cybex SwitchView, though at least one person here doesn't like the Cybex-branded ones (they're now all Avocent, I think). I've used a bunch of them, all at relatively high (regularly 1600x1200, I once tried something like 1920xIForgetButItWasTooTinyToReadOnA19"Monitor, and it came through crisp (but tiny).

Also has MS Intellimouse support. Plus, the keyboard switching is easy and generally doesn't intrude into the computer -- while at least one brand (Belkin?) regularly leaked the display number (scroll-scroll-3, switches to display 3) into the current window.

Of course, as someone else points out, try getting something with USB support (if you wanna hook up your cool Dual-1G G4, for example), or DVI, you're mostly out of luck. And I have yet to find any name-brand normal-source (CDW or MicroWarehouse catalog) multi-head switch. I've even taken apart a Cybex, but the circuitry wasn't terribly obvious as far as tapping in to slave a second unit...if anyone's done *that*, that'd make for a quickly slashdotted website.

Belkin Experiences

[magician]

I have an older Belkin OmniCube 4-port. It supports 1600x1200 @ 60hz but ghosted a bit on my 21" monitor. I used higher end Belkin "gold" cables and cheapo keyboard/mouse cables.

However, I do have it doing Dual PS/2 and USB action. Belkin makes a cute little PS/2 to USB converter box that converts the PS/2 signals into usable USB signals. This way, I have my Sun Blade 100 working with my cordless PS/2 trackball and PS/2 keyboard. This may not be true of all systems, but I needed to do a little xmodmap'ing to properly map some of the buttons on my keyboard to their equivilents on the Sun.

My setup, way back when, cost me around $300. I'm pleased with it and I think that I can safely say I recommend Belkin KVM's. I'd go for higher end video cables to prevent artifacts and ghosting on your monitor.

Good luck!

interesting timing

[spood]

My KVM switch just arrived this afternoon. I purchased it for approximately 150 USD including 4 cables (6 ft). It is a Vastech 4-port job I purchased from a company I found on PriceWatch called CableTron. NOTE: I am in no way affiliated with CableTron. The switch claims to support up to 1600x1200 resolution.

I am using a Logitech wireless iTouch keyboard (PS/2), a KDS VS 21/e monitor, and a Logitech USB optical mouse wheel plugged into a USB-PS/2 converter (the switch does PS/2 only).

Here are my findings so far: the mouse resolution is OK, not perfect. Not adjustable. The keyboard support is a little flaky. It took a few seconds for me to be able to select kernels in RedHat's custom lilo, but I was able to before the 5 second timeout. One of my PCs does not seem to like the keyboard emulation. It is a pretty cheap motherboard from some bargain basement PC manufacturer. The BIOS of my ABIT KG7-RAID doesn't recognize it, either, but it at least boots. The other system just hangs.

The beeps it makes when powering on/off are VERY loud. I will probably open up the case to mod the speaker later. Supports keyboard switching or manualy switching, and beeps every time you switch. Standard SCROLL-LOCK SCROLL-LOCK # ENTER combo. The keyboard switching only seems to work when the OS recognizes the keyboard/mouse. It has a 10 second scan feature.

In some modes, I found that my monitor emits an extremely annoying high-pitched squeal. It seems to be OK in normal operation modes, but squealy when booting.

The switch looks fine up to about 1024x768 at 85Hz. Bump it up any more and it starts getting fuzzy. This works OK for me as I am too blind to see anything above this resolution anyway! :)

In summary, it is a pretty good bargain, and seems to work much better with newer systems, but it's definitely not the best switch money can buy. The old adage applies: you get what you pay for.