Black Box ServSwitch ACU2228A Specifications download pdf (Page 4)

KVM Buyer’s Guide

724 - 746-5500

ox.com/go/KVM

Analog VS. Digital KVM

Common KVM switch features

• Platform — The type of computer platform

a KVM switch can handle. In addition to PCs,

KVM products can be linked to Sun

, Mac,

SGI

™

, RS/6000

, HP9000

™

, and others.

• Number of ports — The number of

computers you can connect directly to

a single KVM switch.

• Cascading/scalability — Many advanced

KVM switches support the cascading of units

to increase the number of computers to more

than 1000. Control via IP is also possible with

newer models.

Analog vs. digital KVM switching

A KVM switch enables you to control multiple

servers and other equipment from one keyboard,

monitor, and mouse workstation. KVM switches

give you the flexibility to access servers that are

down the hall or around the world. How you

access your servers depends on the type of switch

you use. There are two types of KVM switches:

analog and digital.

How analog and digital switches work.

Analog switches were the first type of KVM

switch and are still the most prevalent. Analog

KVM switches work by sending analog KVM

signals over dedicated cabling to specific attached

servers. Digital KVM switching works using the

Internet or LAN and is called KVM switching over

IP (Internet Protocol), or KVMoIP. Digital switches

take analog KVM signals and convert them to

digital packets. These packets are compressed so

they can be transmitted over the Internet or LAN.

Stay put or roam the world.

Analog KVM switches are often confined to

one specific location. They are usually set up with

dedicated cabling from the KVM workstation to

the servers and equipment and often have distance

limitations imposed by the cable. Analog KVM

systems are limited in the number of user ports

and are more difficult to expand.

Because digital switches work over IP, they

give you the freedom to control servers over large

networks with multiple locations. This also gives

your network managers the ability to manage

devices easily, no matter where they are.

Digital systems enable access to an almost

unlimited number of users and are easy to expand.

Digital switches also enable you to leverage

your existing cabling infrastructure and require

far less cabling than analog systems do. Analog

switches use a dedicated cabling system often

requiring a large number of cables and a system

of cable management.

In-band or out-of-band management.

Analog KVM switches have an out-of-band

management system, which has a few advantages.

One is network independence. If your network

fails, you can still control your servers. But because

digital KVM switches work through in-band

management, server control is gone if the network

goes down.

Out-of-band management systems offer strong

security because they are physically isolated.

However, in-band digital systems can use highly

effective DES, SSL, and other Web browser-based

security systems.

Another advantage of out-of-band manage-

ment is that it provides the best video quality

and mouse synchronization. Because video is

compressed and converted in digital in-band

management systems, video quality can be

degraded. Video signals also use a lot of

bandwidth, which can negatively affect video

quality and network performance. Mouse latency,

in which mouse control lags, often occurs, too.

• Maximum resolution — A measure of the

video bandwidth supported by a KVM switch.

If you use graphics- or video-intensive

applications, the higher the resolution support,

the better.

• Additional features — Emulation, distance

to keyboard/monitor/ mouse and computer,

on-screen menus, and number of users.

See the KVM glossary, p. 5.

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Black Box ServSwitch ACU2228A Specifications Page 4

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