Inside a control room, it is rare to find just a single PC/server. In fact, very often, there are multiple ones, equipped with individual peripherals that take up a lot of space on the workstation.
A KVM (Keyboard – Video – Mouse) system is designed precisely to overcome this issue, making the management of multiple PCs and servers within a control room easier and more efficient.
KVM: Remote Control of All Devices
A KVM system, in fact, allows for the remote control of all connected devices from a single workstation with just one monitor, one mouse and one keyboard.
In this way, the operator has the ability to:
- View screens in real-time;
- Manage active and inactive programs;
- Move active windows (for example, onto a Videowall);
- Access distant devices (such as a PC kept in another building or a server room) remotely.
Direct Connection and IP-based KVMs
It is important to note that there are primarily two types of KVMs: direct connection and via IP address.
Direct Connection KVM
The direct connection (or analog) KVM requires that all machines to be managed be physically wired to a matrix, which features a control panel that allows selecting the machine one wishes to control.
This places a physical limit on the maximum number of manageable machines, derived from the number of connections and the distance of the machines from the matrix.
IP-based KVM (Connection via IP Address)
The IP-based (or digital) KVM uses receivers and transmitters to connect machines to each other within the desired network. This allows, therefore, for the remote management of machines even very distant from the main workstation (server rooms, other buildings, disaster recovery rooms).
The transmitter captures the audio/video/USB signals emitted by the PC, encodes them, and then transmits them over the network to the designated receiver. Here they are decoded and applied to the desired PC.
Furthermore, the IP-based KVM system is capable of supporting multiple users, with different permission levels based on the role they hold.
An administrator, for example, could view and control the PC of a lower-level user, while a basic user might be limited to simply viewing the screens of other basic users but not the administrator’s.
The IP-based KVM allows for minimizing the clutter that would otherwise occur if every single machine needed its own peripherals, helping to keep the workstation tidy.
Particularly suitable for data centers and control rooms (but also companies or production plants), where it is necessary to control and manage a large number of PCs and other machines.
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