[ale] Any Small USB KVMs that actually.........work?

[Ron Frazier (ALE)]

Hi Neal,

My experience with IoGear has been better than yours.

I have owned a 2 port vga / usb kvm from them and a 4 port model for several years.

I have the 4 port model attached to a 1920 x 1080 display, and the 2 port model attached to a 1280 x 1024 display.

I routinely have 3 or 4 computers attached to the 4 port model and 2 computers attached to the 2 port.

One of the computers I have on the 4 port unit is a Dell Laptop that is a few years old.

I even have the switches ganged together, in that, the Dell Laptop video output can drive either switch via a VGA splitter cable.  The USB cable from one switch is connected to a USB port on the Dell, and the USB cable from the other switch is connected to another USB port on the Dell.

Thus, on my keyboard and monitor, I can switch among any of the 3 - 4 computers I have attached, including the Dell.

On my wife's keyboard and monitor, she can switch among her work computer and the Dell for personal use.

Should we both attach to the Dell at the same time, we both see the same picture, although somewhat dimmer.  Both keyboards and both mice are active at the same time.

The only trouble I've had is that Ubuntu 11.04 running on the Dell mischaracterizes my 1920 x 1080 monitor and forces me into 1024 x 768.  I've tried it even without her monitor attached, and it still happens.

Other than that anomaly, I've been very happy with the IoGear switches.

Sincerely,

Ron



Neal Rhodes <neal at mnopltd.com> wrote:

>Any wisdom regarding USB KVMs for multiple linux servers that actually
>work? 
>
>I've had reasonable reliability with a PS2 Belkin unit for the last
>decade, but now find that I've got to put in a 4 port USB switch for me
>and a 2 port USB for my wife. 
>
>I had considerable heartbreak with IoGear units in the last year and
>took them back.   I'm reading that quite a few of the basic ones are
>terrible.   
>
>All I'm trying to do:
>
>        Switch VGA 1920x1080, Keyboard, Mouse.    (it would be swell if
>        I could keep my trusty ps2 keyboard and mouse) 
>
>With
>
>        HP Netvista running Centos 6.x
>        IBM Netvista running older Fedora
>        Dell Notebook running Win7
>        
>
>>From what I'm reading, Startech.com seems to be a bit more expensive
>but
>actually work a bit more reliably. 
>
>Regards, 
>
>Neal
>
>
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--

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Ron Frazier
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