Avocent PS-2 KVM User Manual

Single port PS2 KVM over IP

Single Port

PS/2 KVM over IP SWITCH

Preliminary

USER’S MANUAL

Rev 1.0

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. THE QUICK INSTALLATION GUIDE

2. INTRODUCTION

2.1 When the sever is up and running

2.2 When the server is dead

2.3 FEATURES

2.4 PACKAGE CONTENTS

2.5 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

2.6 SYSTEM REQUIREMENT

2.7 CABLE DIAGRAMS

PRODUCT DETAILS

3. HARDWARE INSTALLATION

3.1 Operation overview

3.2 Connecting PS/2 KVM over IP to the host system

4. CONFIGURATION

4.1 Initial configuration

4.1.1 Initial configuration via DHCP server

4.1.2 Initial configuration via local console

4.1.3 Mouse, Keyboard and Video configuration

4.1.3.1 PS/2 KVM over IP switch mouse settings

4.1.3.2 Host system mouse settings

4.1.3.3 PS/2 KVM over IP switch Video Modes

5. USAGE

5.1 Prerequisites

5.2 Login into PS/2 KVM over IP switch and logout

5.2.1 Login into PS/2 KVM over IP switch

5.2.2 Main screen

5.2.3 Logout from PS/2 KVM over IP switch

5.3 Remote console

5.3.1 Show remove console

5.3.2 Description of Remote Console Options

5.3.3 PS/2 KVM over IP switch mouse synchronization

5.3.3.1 Introduction

5.3.3.2 Auto mouse speed and mouse synchronization

5.3.3.3 Limitations of the mouse synchronization

5.3.3.4 Single and Double Mouse Mode

5.3.4 Video setting through the remote console

5.3.4.1 Video Settings through the HTML-Frontend

5.3.4.2 Video Settings through the remote console

5.4 PC settings

5.4.1 SSL settings

5.4.1.1 SSL certificate management

5.4.2 Mouse/keyboard setting

5.4.3 Video setting

5.4.4 User specific settings

Single port PS2 KVM over IP

5.4.5 Remote console type

5.4.6 Mouse hotkey

5.4.7 Button keys

5.5 Network settings

5.5.1 Dynamic DNS

5.6 Serial settings

5.6.1 Modern setting

5.7 User settings

5.8 Maintenance

5.8.1 PS/2 KVM over IP switch board summary

5.8.2 Maintenance Features

5.8.2.1 Event log

5.8.2.1.1 Event log setting

5.8.2.1.2 Log event assignments

5.8.2.2 Date/Time setting

5.8.2.3 Update Firmware

5.8.3 Reset function

5.8.4 Reset PS/2 KVM over IP switch

5.9 Access via Telnet

6. TROUBLESHOOTING

7. PIN ASSIGMENTS

8. CERTIFICATES

Single port PS2 KVM over IP

Single port PS2 KVM over IP

1. The Quick Installation Guide

Installation

PS/2 KVM over IP switch redirects local keyboard, mouse and video data to a remote
administration console. All data is transmitted via IP. PS/2 KVM over IP switch can be used in a
multi administrator and multi server environment as well. Besides this, PS/2 KVM over IP switch
is a KVM switch, which can also be used with a local console.

PS/2 KVM over IP hardware installation

Host

Console

Figure 1.1 The connectors of single port PS/2 KVM over IP Front and rear side

Please perform the following steps:

1. Connect the power supply on PS/2 KVM over IP switch

2. Connect the monitor to the PS/2 KVM over IP switch console side.

3. Connect the keyboard to the PS/2 KVM over IP switch console side.

4. Connect the mouse to the PS/2 KVM over IP switch console side.

5. Connect a VGA cable (15-pin HDDB Male / Male) with the Male side to both of the PC and
the host port of the PS/2 KVM over IP switch.

6. Connect one purple end of 3-in-one cable to the PS/2 mouse port on the computer, and the
other end of 3-in-one cable to the host PS/2 mouse port on the PS/2 KVM over IP Switch.

7. Connect one green end of 3-in-one cable to PS/2 keyboard port on the computer, and the
other end of 3-in-one cable to the host PS/2 keyboard port on the PS/2 KVM over IP switch.

8. Connect Ethernet and/or modem, depending how you want to access PS/2 KVM over IP
switch

Video modes

PS/2 KVM OVER IP recognizes a limited number of common video modes. When running
X-Window on the host system, please don’t use any custom mode lines with special video
modes. If done so, PS/2 KVM OVER IP may not be able to detect these. You are on the safe side
with all standard VESA video modes. Please refer to Appendix A for a list of all known modes.

Initial IP configuration

Initially the PS/2 KVM over IP switch network interface is configured with the parameters shown
in Table 1.1.

Single port PS2 KVM over IP

Parameter Value
IP auto configuration DHCP
IP-Address

—

Net-mask 255.255.255.0
Default-Gateway none
IP access control disabled

Table 1.1: Initial configuration

If this initial configuration doesn’t meet your local requirements, you need to do the initial IP
configuration. Use one of the following ways:

1. Connect the enclosed NULL modem cable to the serial interface on the rear side. The serial
interface needs to be adjusted with the parameters shown in table 1.2:

Parameter Value
Bits/second 115200
Data bits 8
Parity No
Stop bits 1
Flow Control None

Table 1.2: Serial parameters

Use a terminal software (e.g. hyper term or minicom) to connect to PS/2 KVM over IP switch.
Reset PS/2 KVM over IP switch and immediately press < ESC >. You will see some device
information and a ’=>’ prompt. Enter the command ’config’ and press < Enter >. After waiting a
few moments you may configure IP auto configuration, IP address, net mask and default
gateway. Pressing < Enter > without entering values does not change settings. The gateway
value must be set to 0.0.0.0 (for no gateway) or any other value. You will be asked if the
values are correct and get a chance to correct them. After confirming, PS/2 KVM over IP
switch performs a reset.

2. Use an crossover Ethernet cable to connect PS/2 KVM over IP switch to a subnet where a
DHCP server is available. After the DHCP server has assigned an IP address to PS/2 KVM over
IP switch you can use the web interface to configure the device.

Web interface

PS/2 KVM over IP switch may be accessed using a standard web browser. You may use the
HTTP protocol or a secure encrypted connection via HTTPS. Just enter the configured IP
address of PS/2 KVM over IP switch into your web browser. Initially there is only one user
configured who has unrestricted access to all PS/2 KVM over IP switch features:

Login name
Password

Please login and change the password immediately according to your own policies.

The Remote Console

The Remote Console is the redirected screen, keyboard and mouse of the remote host system to
which PS/2 KVM over IP switch is attached. The web browser which is used for accessing PS/2
KVM over IP switch has to supply a Java Runtime Environment version 1.1 or higher. The

Single port PS2 KVM over IP

Remote Console will behave exactly the same way as if you were sitting directly in front of the
screen of your remote system. That means keyboard and mouse can be used in the usual way.
Open the console by choosing the appropriate link in the navigation frame of the HTML fronted.
Figure 1.2 shows the top of the Remote Console.

Figure 1.2: Top part of the Remote Console

There are some options to choose from, the important ones are the following:

Auto Adjust button

If the video displayed is of bad quality or distorted in some way, press this button and wait
a few seconds while PS/2 KVM over IP switch tries to adjust itself for the best possible
video quality.

Sync Mouse

Choose this option in order to synchronize the local with the remote mouse cursor. This is
especially necessary when using accelerated mouse settings on the host system. In
general there is no need to change mouse settings on the host.

Video Settings in Options Menu This opens a new window with elements to control the PS/2

KVM over IP switch Video Settings. You can change some values, for instance related to
brightness and contrast of the picture displayed, which may improve the video quality. It is
also possible to revert to the default settings for all video modes or only the current one.

Single port PS2 KVM over IP

2. Introduction

Figure 2.1 Single port PS/2 KVM over IP

Thank you for purchasing PS/2 KVM over IP switch. PS/2 KVM over IP switch can save your
MONEY, TIME, SPACE, EQUIPMENT and POWER. PS/2 KVM over IP defines a new class of
remote KVM access devices. PS/2 KVM OVER IP defines a new class of remote KVM access
devices (see Figure 2.1). PS/2 KVM OVER IP combines digital remote KVM access via IP
networks with comprehensive and integrated system management.

PS/2 KVM over IP owes a convenient, remote KVM access and control via LAN or Internet. It
captures, digitizes, and compresses video and transmits it with keyboard and mouse signals to
and from a remote computer. PS/2 KVM over IP provides a non-intrusive solution for remote
access and control. Remote access and control software runs on its embedded processors only
but not on mission-critical servers, so that there is no interference with server operation or impact
on network performance.

Furthermore, PS/2 KVM over IP offers additional remote power management with the help of
optional available device.

PS/2 KVM over IP supports consoles consisting of PS/2 style keyboards, PS/2 style mouse and
HDDB 15 video output. PS/2 KVM over IP will automatically detect the current video mode of the
console, however manual fine tuning is recommended to receive the best video quality. PS/2
KVM over IP will accept video streams up to 110 MHz dot clock. This results in a screen
resolution of 1280x1024 dots with a frame rate of 60 Hz.

2.1 When the server is up and running

PS/2 KVM over IP switch gives you full control over the remote server. The Management
Console allows you to access the remote server’s graphics, keyboard and mouse and to send
special commands to the server. You can also perform periodic maintenance of the server.
Using the Console Redirection Service, you are able to do the following:
I. Reboot the system (a graceful shutdown).
II. Watch the boot process.
III. Boot the system from a separate partition to load the diagnostic environment.
IV. Run special diagnostic programs.

Single port PS2 KVM over IP

2.2 When the server is dead
Obviously, fixing hardware defects is not possible using a remote management device.
Nevertheless PS/2 KVM over IP gives the administrator valuable information about the type of a
hardware failure. Serious hardware failures can be categorized into five different categories with
different chances to happen:
I. Hard disk failure 50%
II. Power cable detached, power supply failure 28%
III. CPU, Controller, main board failure 10%
IV. CPU fan failure 8%
V. RAM failure 4%

Using PS/2 KVM over IP, administrators can determine which kind of serious hardware failure
has occurred (See table 2.1).

Type of failure Detected by
Hard disk failure Console screen, CMOS set-up information
Power cable detached, power supply failure Server remains in power on state after power on

command has been given.
CPU Controller, main board failure. Power supply is on, but there is no video output.
CPU fan failure By server specific management software
RAM failure Boot-Sequence on boot console

Table 2.1:Host system failures and how they are detected.

2.3 Features

 Manage serves around the world

 KVM (keyboard, video, mouse) access over IP, ISDN or analogous telephone line.

 BIOS level access

 SSL encryption

 No impact on server or network performance

 Automatically senses video resolution for best possible screen capture

 High-performance mouse tracking and synchronization

 Port to connect a user console for direct analogous access to KVM switch

 Local Mouse suppression (only when using SUN’s Java Virtual Machine)

 Remote power management and remote system management

 Can be use with any standard KVM

 Low Density CAT5 cable to eliminate cable clutter at the rack

2.4 Package contents

Base unit- Single port PS/2 KVM over IP Switch 1 PCS

User’s manual 1 PCS

Installation and User Manual on CD-ROM 1 PCS

AC to DC Power Adapter 1 PCS

Rack Mount Kit 1 SET

Null modem cable 1 PCS

Single port PS2 KVM over IP

2.5 Technical specifications

Model No. Single port PS/2 KVM over IP Switch

PC Port 1
Console Port 1
PC Port Connector

(All Female Type)

Console Port
Connector
(All Female Type)

Serial Port(DB9 pin
Male)

LAN port(RJ-45 8P8C) 1

Reset port 1
Keyboard Emulation PS/2

PS/2 Keyboard Mini Din 6 pin
PS/2 Mouse Mini Din 6 pin
VGA HDDB 15 pin

Local Console: PS/2 Keyboard Mini Din 6 pin

PS/2 Mouse Mini Din 6 pin
VGA HDDB 15pin

Remote Console: RJ-45 8P8C
1

10BASE-T Ethernet uses Category 3/4/5/5E/6 UTP
100BASE-T Ethernet uses Category 5/5E/6 UTP

Mouse Emulation PS/2
VGA Resolution 1280 X1024
Bandwidth 200MHz
Housing Metal
Power Adapter DC 5V, 2.5A
Operation Temperature

Storage Temperature

Humidity 0~80%, Non-Condensing
Size Desktop
Weight (kg) 1700g
Dimension (cm) 156 X139 X27

0~50℃

-20 ~ 60℃

2.6 System requirement

Model No. Single port PS/2 KVM over IP Switch

Local console side One Keyboard, one Mouse and one

monitor

Single port PS2 KVM over IP

Remote Console
side

Computer side One PC or Server or the console port of

2.7 Cable diagrams
PS/2 Cable:

Mini Din 6 pin Male to Male

VGA Cable:

HDB15 pin Male to Male

AT to PS/2 keyboard adapter: (Optional)

Din 5 pin Male to Mini Din 6 pin Female

One PC is linked into the network

KVM switch unit

PS/2 to DB9 adapter (Optional)

Mini Din 6 pin Female to DB 9 pin Female

CAT5/5E/6 Straight Through UTP/STP Cable:

8P8C

Single port PS2 KVM over IP

3. Hardware installation

3.1 Operation Overview

Figure 3.1 shows the connections of PS/2 KVM over IP switch to its host, to peripheral devices,
to the power source and to the local area network.

Figure 3.1: PS/2 KVM over IP switch usage scenario

PS/2 KVM over IP switch redirects local keyboard, mouse, and video data to a remote
administration console. All data is transmitted via IP.

PS/2 KVM OVER IP can be used in a multi administrator and multi server environment as well.
Combining one or several PS/2 KVM OVER IPs with a KVM switched matrix allows to access
multiple servers on a single remote console.

3.2 Connecting PS/2 KVM OVER IP to the host system or Multi-port KVM Switch system

In order to connect the PS/2 KVM over IP switch of the host system perform the following steps:

Step 1

Connect the power supply on PS/2 KVM over IP switch

Step 2

Connect the monitor to the PS/2 KVM over IP switch console side.

Single port PS2 KVM over IP

Step 3

Connect the keyboard to the PS/2 KVM over IP switch console side.

Step 4

Connect the mouse to the PS/2 KVM over IP switch console side.

Step 5

Connect a VGA cable (15-pin HDDB Male / Male) with the Male side to both of the PC and the
host of the PS/2 KVM over IP switch.

Step 6

Connect one end to the PS/2 mouse port on the computer, and the other end to the host PS/2
mouse port on the PS/2 KVM over IP Switch.

Step 7

Connect one end to PS/2 keyboard port on the computer, and the other end to the host PS/2
keyboard port on the PS/2 KVM over IP switch.

Step 8

Connect Ethernet and/or modem, depending how you want to access PS/2 KVM over IP switch

3.2.1 Connecting the External Reset/Power Option

Please refer to the manual of the PS/2 KVM over IP 8/16/32 port external power switch option or
a third party external power option to connect those external devices to one of the serial interface
on the rear side of PS/2 KVM OVER IP. By the date of printing this manual supported options
are:

Single port PS2 KVM over IP

 . Avocent.SPC1 800/1600
 . Sentry In-Line Power Module
 . Leuning ePowerSwitch

3.2.2 Connecting Ethernet

The rear side of PS/2 KVM over IP switch provides a RJ-45 connector for Ethernet. The
connector is used either for a 100 Mbps 100BASE-TX connection or for a 10 Mbps 10BASE-T
connection. The adapter can sense the connection speed and will adjust to the appropriate
operation mode automatically.

3.2.2.1 10 Mbps Connection
For 10BASE-T Ethernet networks, the Ethernet adapter uses Category 3, 4, or 5 UTP
cable. To establish a 10 Mbps connection, the cable must be connected to a
10BASE-T hub.

 Make sure that the cable is wired appropriately for a standard 10BASE-T adapter.
 Align the RJ-45 plug with the notch on the adapter’s connector and insert it into the

adapter’s connector.

3.2.2.2. 100 Mbps Connection
For 100BASE-TX Fast Ethernet networks, PS/2 KVM over IP switch supports
Category 5 UTP cabling. To establish a 100 Mbps connection, the cable must be
connected to a 100BASE-TX hub.
 Make sure that the cable is wired appropriately for a standard 100BASE-TX

adapter.

 Align the RJ-45 plug with the notch on the adapter’s connector and insert it into the

adapter’s connector.

4. Configuration

4.1 Initial Configuration

PS/2 KVM over IP switch’s communication interfaces are all based on TCP/IP. It comes
pre-configured with the IP configuration listed in Table 4.1.

Parameter Value
IP auto configuration DHCP
IP-Address —
Net-mask 255.255.255.0
Default-Gateway none
IP access control disabled
LAN interface speed auto Auto
LAN interface duplex mode Auto

Table 4.1: Initial IP configuration

In case this initial configuration doesn’t meet your requirements there is an initial IP configuration
necessary in order to access PS/2 KVM over IP switch for the first time. This chapter describes
different possibilities to accomplish that.

4.1.1 Initial configuration via DHCP server

By default, PS/2 KVM over IP switch will try to contact a DHCP server in the subnet to which it
is physically connected. If a DHCP server is found it may provide a valid IP address, gateway
address and net mask. Before you connect the device to your local subnet be sure to
complete the corresponding configuration of your DHCP server. It is recommended to
configure a fixed IP assignment to the MAC address of PS/2 KVM over IP switch. You can find
the MAC address on the outside of the shipping box and labeled on the bottom side. If the

Single port PS2 KVM over IP

DHCP connection fails on boot up, PS/2 KVM over IP switch will not have an IPv4 address.

4.1.2 Initial configuration via serial interface

PS/2 KVM over IP switch has a serial line interface at its rear side. The connector is compliant
to RS 232 serial line standard. The serial line has to be configured with the parameters given
in Table 4.2.

Parameter Value
Bits/second 115200
Data bits 8
Parity No
Stop bits 1
Flow Control None

Table 4.2: Serial line parameters

When using the configuration with a serial terminal, reset PS/2 KVM over IP switch and
immediately press ESC. You will see some device information and a ’=>’ prompt. Enter ’config’,
press < Enter > and wait a few seconds for the configuration questions to appear.

As you go along you will see the following lines, which you have to answer or to which you
may provide the default value by pressing < Enter >. The default value is shown in square
brackets.

IP auto configuration (none/dhcp/bootp) [dhcp]:
IP [192.168.1.22]:
NetMask [255.255.255.0]:
Gateway (0.0.0.0 for none) [0.0.0.0]:

. IP autoconfiguration

With this option you can specify whether PS/2 KVM over IP switch should fetch its network
settings from a DHCP or BOOTP server. For DHCP you have to enter DHCP and for BOOTP
supply bootp accordingly. If you specify none then IP autoconfiguration is disabled and you
will subsequently be asked for the following network settings.

. IP address

The IP address the PS/2 KVM over IP switch should use. This option is only available if IP
autoconfiguration is disabled.

. Subnet mask
The mask of the connected IP subnet. This option is only available if IP autoconfiguration is
disabled.

. Gateway address

The IP address of the default router of the connected IP subnet. If you have no default router,
you may enter 0.0.0.0. This option is only available if IP autoconfiguration is disabled.

There may be default values which are enclosed in brackets. If you want to use the default
value of an option then you just need to press the Enter key.

You will be asked if the values are correct and get a chance to correct them. After confirming,
PS/2 KVM over IP switch performs a reset.

4.1.3 Mouse, Keyboard and Video configuration

There are two interfaces between PS/2 KVM over IP switch and the host for transmitting
keyboard and mouse data: USB and PS/2. The correct operation of the remote mouse depends
on several settings which will be discussed in the following:

4.1.3.1 Host system mouse settings

The host’s operating system also knows various settings for the mouse driver. While PS/2 KVM

Single port PS2 KVM over IP

over IP switch works with accelerated mice and is able to synchronize the local with the remote
mouse pointer (see Section 5.3.3), there are the following limitations which may prevent this
synchronization from working properly:

Special Mouse Driver - There are mouse drivers, which influence the synchronization process

leading to desynchronized mouse pointers. If this happens, make sure you
don’t use a special vendor-specific mouse driver on your host system

Windows XP Mouse - Setting Windows XP knows a setting to ’improve mouse acceleration’,

which has to be deactivated

5. Usage

5.1 Prerequisites

The PS/2 KVM OVER IP features an embedded operating system and the according
applications offering a variety of standardized interfaces. The functionality is exposed to the user
via these interfaces. This chapter will describe all of these interfaces and how to use them in
detail. All the interfaces are accessed using the TCP/IP protocol family, thus they can be used
equally over the built-in Ethernet adapter, over modem or over ISDN.

The following interfaces are supported:

1. HTTP/HTTPS: The most complete access is provided by an embedded Web server. Thus

the PS/2 KVM OVER IP environment can be entirely controlled by a standard Web browser.
Depending on the Web browser you can access the PS/2 KVM OVER IP card using the
unsecured HTTP protocol or, in case the browser supports it, the encrypted HTTPS
protocol. It is recommended to use HTTPS whenever possible.

2. Telnet: A standard Telnet client can be used to access an arbitrary device connected to

PS/2 KVM OVER IP’s serial port via a terminal mode.

Since the primary interface of PS/2 KVM OVER IP is the HTTP interface this chapter is mainly
concerning this topic. Other interfaces are explained in their according subtopics.

In order to use the Remote Console window of your managed host system the browser has to
come with a Java Runtime Environment version 1.1 or higher. But even if the used browser has
no Java support, for instance on small handheld devices, you are still able to maintain your
remote host system using the administration forms displayed by the browser itself.

We recommend the following browser for an unsecured connection to PS/2 KVM OVER IP.
 Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5.0 or higher on Windows 98, Windows ME and Windows

2000, Windows XP

 Netscape Navigator 7.0 or Mozilla 1.0 on Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000,

Windows XP, Linux and other UNIX like Operating Systems

In order to access the remote host system using a securely encrypted connection you need a
browser that supports the HTTPS protocol. Strong security is only assured by using key length of
128 Bit. Many old browsers don’t have a strong 128 Bit encryption algorithm due to former export
regulations of US authorities. For instance Internet Explorer 5.0, that comes as part of Windows
ME and Windows 2000 supports a key length of 56 Bit only. You can read about the key length of
your Internet Explorer under the menu points ‘?’ and ‘Info’. The dialog box shows also a hyperlink