KVM MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS
IP-KVM connecting your keyboard, video, and mouse ports to the network.
For daily server maintenance most sites depend on in-band software access services like VNC, RDP, Telnet and SSH. For out-of-band access, when dealing with outages, most servers today come with service processors such as the iLO or DRAC with embedded KVM facilities and have serial console access.
However there are many sites with legacy, blade and virtualized servers where there are advantages in deploying external KVM-over-IP switch solutions as part of the remote access strategy.
KVM switches enable a single console to connect to the Keyboard, Video screen and Mouse ports on target computers. This switching task has evolved over time from patch panel to the digital KVM switch, and with KVM over IP the cabling has also evolved so the KVM signal can be transported remotely over the IP network.
Advantages using IP-KVM
For small to medium size data centers that already employ a variety of KVM switches, the IP-KVM adds remote IP access without forcing any KVM switch inventory to be replaced.
The IP-KVM was designed to be a vendor independent IP device so it will work with all your installed analog KVM switches. To upgrade them so they can be accessed over the IP network simply connect the IP-KVM host side signals to the PS/2 or USB Local Console of the multiport KVM switch.
This delivers the most economical solution for businesses looking to add remote KVM control while still preserving existing KVM installation investment. And the IP-KVM also allows you to attach a local monitor and keyboard so you still have rack side management through the KVM switches to all the servers ... something you can't do if you were using a Lantronix Spider or Digi IKVM switch.
Advantages of Non-Blocking IP-KVM
Another effective alternative is to connect one IP-KVM device to each server. The IP-KVMs can be cascaded or connected individually back to an Ethernet switch.
Unlike traditional KVMs, this IP-KVM solution provides continuous availability to servers with 1:1 non-blocked BIOS-level access. So administrators are guaranteed access to mission-critical servers regardless of how many of them need remote access. They are not “locked in” to a fixed number of remote users. Each IP-KVM allows one or more people to connect to that server. So sixty IP-KVMs delivers simultaneous non-blocking connections to the sixty servers - and multiple users can be accessing each server simultaneously. |
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Advantages over High Density KVM switches
- With the IP-KVM you can add one port at a time. So you are no longer faced with 17 servers wastefully requiring a 32-port KVM over IP switch model
- As the IP-KVM will be adjacent to the server the quality of access is improved. There are no cable limitations or problems with image quality degrading with distance
- If a unit is disabled you lose access to just one server; and the IP-KVM is easily replaced. Whereas should a 32-port KVM over IP unit fail all access to those connected servers is lost
- The multiple IP-KVMs deliver guaranteed non-blocked multiuser simultaneous local and remote access to every server
Using a one port IP-KVM is not only a better design than high density units, it is less expensive than using a Raritan or Avocent multiport KVM over IP switch solution.
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