SUMMARY: Graphics Console Switches

From: Diane Dickinson <diane_at_wsu.edu>
Date: Tue, 26 May 1998 11:37:41 -0700

I got some interesting responses to my original question:

"We are interested in getting a switch device to share a graphics console
between several of our DU Alpha servers and some Windows NT servers. There are
several such devices advertised on the market, all claiming to work, but it
would be nice to know what some real life experiences are with these. Does
anyone have any to share? Thanks."

We will probably go with the Raritan Master Console if we can afford it. It
was disappointing, but helpful, to hear that one person had experienced
problems with the Rose ServeView 2X as this was one we were seriously
considering. The responses were not too lengthy, so I enclosed them below.
Thanks to all for the feedback.

======================================
From: Alex Nord <Alex_Nord_at_Jabil.com>

Cybex AutoBoot Commander 4XP. Push-button ease of use, expandable,
multi-platform support. I like 'em. :)

======================================
From: Everett Doner <Everett.Doner_at_oberlin.edu>

Diane --
Greetings from Oberlin College. Recently we purchased the Raritan
MasterConsole 8-port product and have been fairly happy with it. It was a
little on the expensive side, especially the propriatary cables that you have
to order, but once we installed it we've had no problems whatsoever. We
currently have seven DU Alpha boxes and one OpenVMS Alpha server connected;
from what I can see NT machines would connect exactly the same.
Hope this helps,
Everett

-- 
-------------------------------- 
Everett L. Doner 
Associate SysManager; Webmaster 
Oberlin College 
(440) 775-6561 
edoner_at_www.oberlin.edu 
--------------------------------
======================================
From: Brian Leverson <brian_at_aa.washington.edu> 
Diane,
Digital actually resells the Raritan Master Console for use with its 
AlphaServer line. 
-Brian
and:
Diane,
I am probably in the same situation as you -- shopping. We are purchasing 
14-16 Alpha workstations for a computational cluster and want a KVM-switch to 
facilitate management. The Raritan switch is ~$2000 for 16 ports and requires 
expensive proprietary cables which brings the total cost to ~$3000. Though 
this is a sure-fire solution, this is much more than we want to spend. 
I am currently leaning in favor of the 16-port ATEN MasterView Pro CS-1016 at 
~$1500. It too requires proprietary cables, but they are much less expensive 
than Raritan. The MasterView is limited to 1024x768 video resolution, which 
is no problem for us. Note ATEN also sells a Super MasterView which uses 
standard cables and supports 1600x1200. It is ~$900 for 8 ports.
Are your Alphas new enough to be using PS/2 keyboards and mice? This is a 
major issue as older Alphas use proprietary connectors. My understanding is 
that DEC's PS/2 keyboards/mice are compatible with all PS/2 KBM switches, or 
so they say.
-Brian
Brian Leverson, Systems Manager 
University of Washington e-mail: brian_at_aa.washington.edu 
Dept of Aeronautics and Astronautics phone: (206)543-6736 
Box 352400 FAX: (206)543-0217 
Seattle, WA 98195-2400
======================================
From: Dave Tetreault <davet_at_uriacc.uri.edu> 
We have used the Raritan system with PC servers and Macs. Should work 
with DU also. This system shares display, keybord and mouse.
======================================
From: Tom Webster <webster_at_ssdpdc.lgb.cal.boeing.com> 
Diane,
Single management console switches from Rose, Raritan, and Cybex all seem 
to work OK with AlphaServers 2100As and 4100s at least.
We did have a problem with Rose's SerView 2X4 switch (two consoles for 
four machines, wich is a very cool way to do things). The servers would 
not see a keyboard when booting unless they were on the port that was being 
monitored. This resulted in the switch being moved over to our Intel 
NT servers where it works fine. We have not tried Cybex's multiple 
management console switch yet.
Tom 
-- 
+-----------------------------------+---------------------------------+ 
| Tom Webster | "Funny, I've never seen it | 
| SysAdmin MDA-SSD ISS-IS-HB-S&O | do THAT before...." | 
| webster_at_ssdpdc.lgb.cal.boeing.com | - Any user support person | 
+-----------------------------------+---------------------------------+ 
| Unless clearly stated otherwise, all opinions are my own. | 
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
======================================
From: Robert Doub <RDoub_at_ADWAYS.com> 
Hi,
We have ordered from Dec a console switch with reference 2P-E1VCA-04 
in order to have a shared screen - keyboard - mouse for 3 alpha's.
Some pb still pending which Dec support: 
- they delivered a 2 ports version and seem unable to find a 4 
ports one 
- the keyboard emulation is weird , some keys (escape, ..) are 
not in the right place 
- on one of the machine, the mouse pointer disappears sometimes 
after a reboot
So my impressions are mitigated.
In fact the console switch has to be closely matched 
with the keyboard you are using : we are also using a "reduced Keyboard" 
for rack-mount integration which is not common in the Dec galaxy.
Hope this can help a bit.
Robert Doub 
======================================
From: Blake Roberts <BlaRob_at_HBSI.COM>
We use switch boxes for several of our NT servers without any problems. 
We even use the kind that you can use the same mouse and keyboard for 
several different NT servers. However, I cannot speak for what would 
happen with DU Alpha servers. We have a console for each of our 
servers. I inquired about it once, but I was told that the OS wouldn't 
like the fact that /dev/console is talking to a null device (once you 
switch to a different monitor).
I'll keep an eye out on the summary for that answer. But you will have 
no problems with the NT servers.
Best regards, 
Blake Roberts 
UNIX Systems Administrator 
HBS International, Inc. - Bellevue, WA 
blarob_at_hbsi.com
- Diane 

Received on Tue May 26 1998 - 20:38:27 NZST