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 ;-).

I looked forever...

[HRbnjR]

With DVI (Digital Visual Interface) becoming more and more popular, and myself owning a LCD flat screen, I wanted a KVM that did DVI and USB. I looked forever!

I finally found one from Gefen. They charge $499 USD.

They also carry a lot of other unique and hard to find DVI products, such as splitters and long cables.

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.

Re:Cybex SwitchView

[crazyj]

I've got the IOGEAR GCS124U and I would NOT recommend it. I'm using it to split between a Powerbook Titanium, G4 Desktop, and a Red Hat 7.2 (2.4.9-20) box. The problem is that the Red Hat box does not see the USB stuff, making the KVM useless for that machine.

I contacted IOGEAR about it and was told that there would be a chip upgrade I could send the unit in for. 3 months later I contacted them again to find out what was up and was told that the problem was the kernel used in Red Hat 7.2. I've upgraded the kernel to the latest RPM release from Red Hat (2.4.9-20) and still no luck. I contacted IOGEAR again and was told that the chip upgrade was coming, but they didn't know when.

The good thing about IOGEAR is that they include really nice cables, but I found they were too short (two each 4' & 6'). They sell 10 footers on their web site for $40.

Something to Consider

[JabberWokky]

If you're using a cordless desktop system (I have several Logitech cordless mouses/keyboards, I love them), KVMs often do not sustain power to the keyboard through a switch - thus killing the connection (the reciever is powered off of the keyboard port).

After several, I've found Belkin seem to play nice with cordless keyboards/mouses. Just something to keep in mind.

--
Evan

Re:KVM or VNC?

[azephrahel]

I came to a similar solution myself, but remember, remote X is MUCH faster than vnc.

If you need fast/smooth graphics, kvm
If you need graphics and its a real OS, remote X
If its its a mac or windos, vnc.

So far I really havn't seen much use for running a vnc server on a *nix box, with telnet/ssh being so readily available, and remote x being so much faster than vnc.

Question 2

[4of12]

OK, I'd love to have a KVM capable of handling high resolution and high refresh rates (or, better, DVI).

But can any of those KVMs run over gigabit ethernet?

Re:Question 2

[MemRaven]

Avocent makes some which run over IP, and Belkin makes a KVM expander which will run over dark Cat-5e (i.e. no switching stuff in the middle). We use it here, and it works just fine for us so that when we need console access to the servers we don't have to sit in the cold, noisy server room.

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.

Re:belkin onmicube

[oolon]

I didn't quite understand what you said, does that mean you recommend buying a seperate svga, 2xPS/2 or USB a-b cable then using cable ties or buying an all in one cable they also supply....

Its hard to tell with Belkin which cables are better! In the cables section, they have gold plated ones, but they also have svga ones, (which are not gold plated) but seem to be better!

James

Re:use a Hitachi CM823F instead

[oolon]

I already have a dual input monitor, they keyboards are the main problem for me not the screen, a kvm would be Nice, infact my dual input monitor is my "ace in the hole", if they kvnm does not work well for my primary machine at the highest resolution, I will use the switch in the monitor to do the work.

James

Rose Vista from KVMswitch direct

[robin]

I just bought a Rose MiniVista KVM switch from KVMswitch direct. It arrived next day, works like a charm, but I'm not running high resolution video over it. Nice touches: it also switches audio, and is controllable from the keyboard. It is very tiny, but that's outweighed to an extent by the hydra of fairly inflexible cables sprouting from it -- I plan on Velcro-ing it to the underneath of the desk.

Re:Rose Vista from KVMswitch direct

[BMazurek]

I'm not running high resolution video over it.

I got the 4 port Vista, it doesn't come with USB or audio, but it does support 1600x1200x24bpp @ 75Hz nicely. I purchased mine from a distributor here in Canada and it came with four high quality KVM cables (3 cables moulded into one) (I think the cables were included by the distributor, and didn't come directly from Rose Electronics). I haven't noticed any ghosting on my 21" monitor at all.

The keyboard switching is nice (you tap a control key, and then the computer number (1-4) in the next 2 seconds and viola! You're there.) The only place the keyboard switching was annoying was while playing Diablo II: "No, I meant to stop running and drink a potion, not switch over to BSD!". (It'd be nice to have a switch on the unit to disable keyboard switching.)

Overall, I am very very pleased with the Rose Electronics Vista. Their customer service was exceptional (I had an odd video issue early on).

Re:Less expensive

[pangloss]

but limited to 15" displays, according to dr. bott. i remember looking at the moniswitch when i was thinking of getting the apple cinema display. no dice. i'm not sure i understand what the technical limitation is on the dr. bott switch. even a single link dvi can drive the typical 17" sxga displays.

gefen's doesn't mention any limitations (which isn't to say that it would work with high-res lcd's like the samsung 240t).