[AG-TECH] KVMs for AG?

[Mike Weaver]

We are using a Belkin OmniView Matrix 2x8.  We have the Display machine in
the conference/AG room w/ the audio equipment (Getner(s), amp, etc...).  The
audio, video & control machines are in a room across the hall to reduce the
required space as well as fan noise in the conf room.  It is approximately a
50 foot run.  Everything works, but the video quality on the Linux boxes is
a touch less than optimum - very usable, but I'm kinda picky about my video.

Having said all of that, I should mention that we are contacting Belkin as
we 'speak' to determine if our unit has problems.  It has been pretty flaky
at times.  We'll lose mouse or keyboard functionality on random channels.
The CAT5 extender units have reset switches on them so I'm thinking that
this may be a known 'feature'.  Unfortunately, hitting reset does not always
fix the problem.  Sometimes rebooting the attached PC does the trick.  On
some occasions, I've actually powered down all of the attached PCs, the
extenders and the KVM switch, reseated all cables and re-applied power to
all devices.  Once things are all working OK, they tend to stay that way,
but be careful if you reboot!  We've never had a problem during a session,
but the odds will catch up to us eventually.  We are also looking into a
replacement solution, but haven't found much yet.

Cabling is pretty simple.  As the audio & video machines are remote, we're
run the camera cables, RAT audio cables, network (CAT5) cables and the KVM
CAT5 extender cables all in the same wire run.  Because of cable connectors
we're using a 4" conduit, but the cables themselves would fit in a 2" run.
My recommendation is to use the best quality cabling that you can afford.


Hope this helps,

Mike

--
Mike Weaver
Sr. Network Administrator
US Department of Energy/SC-31
Voice: 301-903-0072
Fax: 301-528-2701
Email: weaver at er.doe.gov
----- Original Message -----
From: <bernholdtde at ornl.gov>
To: <ag-tech at mcs.anl.gov>
Cc: <bernholdtde at ornl.gov>
Sent: Tuesday, April 02, 2002 4:51 PM
Subject: [AG-TECH] KVMs for AG?


> Has anyone used cat5 KVM extenders in an Access Grid context?  Are
> there any issues compared relative to the traditional cabling?  Thanks
> --
> David E. Bernholdt                   |   Email: bernholdtde at ornl.gov
> Oak Ridge National Laboratory        |   Phone: +1 (865) 574 3147
> http://www.csm.ornl.gov/~bernhold/   |   Fax:   +1 (865) 574 0680