IOGEAR GCS1642 Users Manual

User Manual

2/4-Port Dual View Dual Link DVI KVMP Switch with Audio

GCS1642/GCS1644/GCS1642X

PART NO. M1087-g / M1088-g

www.iogear.com

©2018 IOGEAR. All Rights Reserved. PKG-M1087-g / M1088-g

IOGEAR, the IOGEAR logo, are trademarks or registered trademarks of IOGEAR. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. IOGEAR makes no warranty of any kind with regards
to the information presented in this document. All information furnished here is for informational purposes only and is subject to change without notice.
IOGEAR assumes no responsibility for any inaccuracies or errors that may appear in this document.

Table of Contents

Package Contents 4

System Requirements 5

GCS1642 Overview 6

GCS1644 Overview 8

Single Stage Installation 10

Quad View (DDC Mode) 15

LED Indication 17

Port Switching 18

Port Switching via Hotkeys 19

Auto Scanning 21

Hotkey Setting Mode (HSM) 22

Mac Keyboard Emulation 24

Sun Keyboard Emulation 25

Factory Default Hotkeys Settings 26

The Firmware Upgrade Utility 27

Before you Begin 27

Starting the Upgrade 28

Upgrade Succeeded 31

Upgrade Fail 32

Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) Statement

CE Statement 33

Limited Warranty 34

Contact 35

3

33

Package Contents

1 x 2/4-Port Dual View Dual Link DVI KVMP Switch with Audio
2/4 x Dual Link DVI KVM Cables (2 for GCS1642 / 4 for GCS1644)
2/4 x Dual Link DVI Cables (2 for GCS1642 / 4 for GCS1644)
1 x Power Adapter
1 x Installation Guide
1 x Warranty Card

Note:
GCS1642X does not include KVM and DVI cables.

4

System Requirements

Console

– Two displays with DVI inputs
– A Keyboard and Mouse

Computer

– Computers with DVI outputs
– An open USB port

Optional Audio

– Analog audio connections for speakers and mic.

5

GCS1642 Overview

Front View

1. Port 1 Pushbutton

2. Mode Button

3. Port 2 Pushbutton

4. Front Panel Console Mic. Connection

Dual Link Dual View

GCS1642

DVI KVMP SWITCH

5. Front Panel Console Audio connection

6. Front Panel USB 2.0 Peripheral Sharing Port

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32 4 5

6

6

Rear View

1. DDC Port (Daisy Chain Port)

2. DC Power Jack

3. Console USB Mouse Port

4. Console USB Keyboard Port

5. Console DVI Video Port B

6. Console DVI Video Port A

7. DDC Switch (Host/Client)

8. USB 2.0 Peripheral Sharing Port

9. Console Mic. Connection

10. Console Audio Connection

11. CPU2 DVI Video Port 2B

12. CPU2 DVI Video Port 2A

13. CPU2 USB Connection

14. CPU2 Mic. Connection

15. CPU2 Audio Connection

16. CPU1 DVI Video Port 1B

17. CPU1 DVI Video Port 1A

18. CPU1 USB Connection

19. CPU1 Mic. Connection

20. CPU1 Audio Connection

31 5 7

4

2

11 16 1813

8

14 19

6

9

12 17

10

15 20

7

GCS1644 Overview

Front View

1. Port 1 Pushbutton

2. Port 2 Pushbutton

3. Mode Button

4. Port 3 Pushbutton

Dual Link Dual View

DVI KVMP SWITCH

GCS1644

5. Port 4 Pushbutton

6. Front Panel Console Mic. Connection

7. Front Panel Console Audio connection

8. Front Panel USB 2.0 Peripheral Sharing Port

1

2 43 5 6 7

8

8

Rear View

1. DDC Port (Daisy Chain Port)

2. DC Power Jack

3. Console USB Mouse Port

4. Console USB Keyboard Port

5. Console DVI Video Port B

6. Console DVI Video Port A

7. DDC Switch (Host/Client)

8. USB 2.0 Peripheral Sharing Port

9. Console Mic. Connection

10. Console Audio Connection

3 5 11 16 21 267 8 13 18 23 28

1 2 4 6 12 17 22 279 14 19 24 2910 15 20 25 30

11. CPU4 DVI Video Port 4B

12. CPU4 DVI Video Port 4A

13. CPU4 USB Connection

14. CPU4 Mic. Connection

15. CPU4 Audio Connection

16. CPU3 DVI Video Port 3B

17. CPU3 DVI Video Port 3A

18. CPU3 USB Connection

19. CPU3 Mic. Connection

20. CPU3 Audio Connection

21. CPU2 DVI Video Port 2B

22. CPU2 DVI Video Port 2A

23. CPU2 USB Connection

24. CPU2 Mic. Connection

25. CPU2 Audio Connection

26. CPU1 DVI Video Port 1B

27. CPU1 DVI Video Port 1A

28. CPU1 USB Connection

29. CPU1 Mic. Connection

30. CPU1 Audio Connection

9

Single Stage Installation

Step 1

Please make sure your source devices and display are powered off before you start.

Step 2

Plug the power adapter into the power outlet and connect it to the DC power jack from the KVM.

10

Step 3

Connect the DVI cables from your monitors to the console DVI port A and B. Port A will be your main
monitor and Port B will be your extended desktop monitor.

11

Step 4

Connect your USB keyboard and mouse to the console USB keyboard port and console USB mouse
port.

12

Step 5

Connect a set of your Dual Link DVI KVM cable from the KVM switch to each of your computers – DVI
connection from DVI Port A to the DVI output and USB connection to open USB port from your computer.
Connect the audio and mic. connectors to your audio output and mic. input.

13

Step 6

Connect Dual Link DVI cables from DVI Port B of the KVM to your second DVI output of your computers.

Final Step

Turn on your source devices.

14

Quad View (DDC Mode)

To expand your installation from Dual View displays to Quad view displays, you can use the DDC Mode

port to connect two GCS1642 / GCS1644 units together. After doing so, you will be able to congure the

quad displays video settings on the computer in extended mode or Mirrored mode.

To set up DDC mode, power off all devices, refer to the installation diagram on the next page.

1. Connect all the computers to the Host as described in Hardware Setup, Cable Connection on page 18.

2. On the Client, using two custom DVI Dual Link cables, plug the DVI connectors into the DVI sockets A
and B in the same KVM port section of the switch.

3. At the other end of the two custom DVI Dual Link cables, plug the monitor cable into the respective
ports on the computer.

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for all computers.

5. On the rear of the second GCS1644, set the DCC switch to Client.*

6. On the rear of the primary GCS1644, set the DCC switch to Host.

7. Plug the console monitors into the DVI console ports located on the Host’s and Client’s rear panel.

8. Using an RJ-45 cable, connect the DCC port of the Host to the DCC port of the Client.

9. Power up the installation: plug in the power cord for the Host and Client, then power on both. After
both units are up, power on the computer/video source devices.

Note:

1. In DCC mode the Client’s front panel pushbuttons are disabled and it takes all commands directly from the Host.

2. Setting the DCC switch to Client will disable all front panel pushbuttons on that switch.

15

16

LED Indication

LED Description

Mode Orange Shows the pushbutton mode that the KVM is in

Online / Selected Dim Green A device is connected to the KVMP switch but the port is

Bright Green The specic port has focus on the KVM (Keyboard, video

Audio Green The specic port has focus on the audio

USB Link Green The specic port has focus on the USB peripheral sharing

not on focus

and mouse)

ports

17

Port Switching

Simply press the front panel Pushbutton from the multimedia KVMP switch or trigger hotkeys from your
keyboard.

Port Switching via Front Panel Pushbutton

Function Description

Switch all focus (KVM, audio and USB)

to a specic port

Switch KVM focus to a specic port Press the Mode button once (Orange LED will show you

Switch audio focus to a specic port Press the Mode button twice (Orange LED will show you

Switch USB focus to a specic port Press the Mode button three times (Orange LED will show

Press the correspond push button once for the desire port
that you wish to switch focus to.

are in KVM Mode), then press the correspond push button
for the desire port that you wish to switch focus to.

are in Audio Mode), then press the correspond push button
for the desire port that you wish to switch focus to.

you are in USB Mode), then press the correspond push
button for the desire port that you wish to switch focus to.

18

Port Switching via Hotkeys

Port Switching via Hotkeys

Hotkeys Description

[Scroll Lock] [Scroll Lock] [Enter] Switch all focus (KVM, audio and USB) to the next

[Scroll Lock] [Scroll Lock] [n] [Enter] Switch all focus (KVM, audio and USB) to port n*

[Scroll Lock] [Scroll Lock] [k] [Enter] Switch KVM focus to the next port

[Scroll Lock] [Scroll Lock] [n] [k] [Enter]

[Scroll Lock] [Scroll Lock] [s] [Enter] Switch audio focus to the next port

[Scroll Lock] [Scroll Lock] [n] [s] [Enter] Switch audio focus to port n*

[Scroll Lock] [Scroll Lock] [u] [Enter] Switch USB focus to the next port

[Scroll Lock] [Scroll Lock] [n] [u] [Enter] Switch USB focus to port n*

port

Switch KVM focus to port n*

Continue next page

19

Port Switching via Hotkeys

[Scroll Lock] [Scroll Lock] [n] [k] [u] [Enter] Switch KVM and USB focus to port n*

[Scroll Lock] [Scroll Lock] [n] [k] [s] [Enter] Switch KVM and audio focus to port n*

[Scroll Lock] [Scroll Lock] [n] [u] [s] [Enter] Switch USB and audio focus to port n*

*Note: n is an interval that stands for the Port number
k stands for KVM focus
s stands for audio focus
u stands for USB focus

Port Switching via Mouse

Mouse Port Switching allows you to use the mouse wheel button (clicking it twice) to switch between
ports. Mouse Emulation must be enabled in order for Mouse Port Switching to work. To enable mouse
port switching invoke HSM and press [W] (default setting is off)

20

Auto Scanning

You can either activate Autoscan Mode via front panel push button or hotkeys.

Function Description

Front panel
pushbutton

Auto Scan

Hotkeys

*Note: Autoscan Mode from front panel push button will be scanning a port every 5 seconds by default. If you
wish to have the Autoscan Mode be scanning with different time interval, please refer to trigger Autoscan Mode
from hotkeys.
**Note: n is an interval between 1 and 99 that stands for the time (in second) desire for scanning each port.

Press and hold port 1 and port 2 Pushbutton simultaneously for 2
seconds to activate Autoscan Mode*

[Scroll Lock] [Scroll Lock]
[a] [Enter]

[Scroll Lock] [Scroll Lock]
[a] [n] [Enter]

Activate Autoscan mode. It will cycle from
port to port every 5 seconds (default)

Activate Autoscan mode. It will cycle from
port to port every n seconds**

21

Hotkey Setting Mode (HSM)

Hotkey Description

1. Press and hold [Num Lock]
([Clear] key on Mac keyboard)

2. Press and release [-]

3. Release [Num Lock] ([Clear]
key on Mac keyboard)

Invoke HSM, then press [h] Change the HSM invocation keys from [Num Lock] to [Ctrl] and

Invoke HSM, then press [t] Switch port switching hotkey sequence between [Scroll Lock]

Invoke HSM, then press [F2] Enables Mac keyboard emulation

Invoke HSM, then press [F3] Enables Sun keyboard emulation

Invoke HSM, then press [F10] Auto-detect the keyboard operating platform (for PC compatible

Invoke HSM, then press [F4] Open a text editor such as notepad and the information will be

Invoking hotkey setting mode

from [-] to [F12]

[Scroll Lock] and [Ctrl] [Ctrl]

systems). Activates Pass Through Keyboard Mode (keystrokes are
sent directly to the computer instead of through the Mac emulator).

displayed after use the hotkey shown to the left.

22

Invoke HSM, then press [F5] USB Reset

Invoke HSM, then press [b] Toggle hotkey beepers on or off

Invoke HSM, then press [x] [Enter] Disable or enable port switching hotkey

Invoke HSM, then press [u] [p] [g]
[r] [a] [d] [e] [Enter]

Activate Firmware Upgrade Mode – Front panel KVM LED will ash

indicating Firmware Upgrade Mode is activated.

Invoke HSM, then press [r] [Enter] Restore default KVM settings

Invoke HSM, then press [d] Capture and store video information on specic port

Invoke HSM, then press [m] Enable or disable mouse emulation

Invoke HSM, then press [F1] Reset keyboard and mouse under some special OS’ that do not

support USB 2.0

Invoke HSM, then press [n] Toggles keyboard emulation on/off (default is on)

Invoke HSM, then press [w] Toggles mouse port switching on/off. To use this function, mouse

Invoke HSM, then press [c] Changes front panel push buttons to a hotkey of your choice

*Note: To exit HSM manually, press Esc or spacebar

emulation must be enabled

(GCS1644 only)

23

Mac Keyboard Emulation

The PC compatible (101/104 key) keyboard can emulate the functions of the Mac keyboard. The
emulation mappings are listed in the table below.

PC Keyboard Mac Keyboard

[Shift] Shift

[Crtl] Ctrl

[Ctrl] [1]

[Ctrl] [2]

[Ctrl] [3]

[Ctrl] [4]

[Alt] Alt

*Note: When using key combinations, press and release the rst key (Ctrl), then press and release the

second key.

PC Keyboard Mac Keyboard

[Print Screen] F13

[Scroll Lock] F14

=

[Enter] Return

[Backspace] Delete

[Insert] Help

[Ctrl] F15

24

Sun Keyboard Emulation

The PC compatible (101/104 key) keyboard can emulate the functions of the Sun keyboard. The emulation
mappings are listed in the table below

PC Keyboard Sun Keyboard

[Crtl] [t] Stop

[Crtl] [F2] Again

[Crtl] [F3] Props

[Crtl] [F4] Undo

[Crtl] [F5] Front

[Crtl] [F6] Copy

[Crtl] [F7] Open

[Crtl] [F8] Paste

[Ctrl] [F9] Find

*Note: When using key combinations, press and release the rst key (Ctrl), then press and release the

second key.

PC Keyboard Sun Keyboard

[Crtl] [F10] Cut

[Crtl] [1]

[Crtl] [2]

[Crtl] [3]

[Crtl] [4]

[Crtl] [h] Help

Compose

25

Factory Default Hotkeys Settings

Function Default

Port Switching [Scroll Lock] [Scroll Lock]

Invoking HSM [Num Lock] [-]

Auto Scan Interval 5 Seconds

Beeper On

Keyboard Operating Platform PC Compatible

Port Switching Keys Enabled

Mouse Emulation On

26

The Firmware Upgrade Utility

The Windows-based Firmware Upgrade Utility (FWUpgrade.exe) provides a smooth, automated process

for upgrading the GCS1642 / GCS1644’s rmware. The Utility comes as part of a Firmware Upgrade
Package that is specic for each device. New rmware upgrade packages are posted on our website as
new rmware revisions become available. Check the website regularly to nd the latest packages and

information relating to them: www.iogear.com

Before you Begin

To prepare for the rmware upgrade, do the following:

1. Go to our Internet support site and choose the
model name that relates to your device (GCS1642
/ GCS1644) to get a list of available Firmware
Upgrade Packages.

2. Choose the Firmware Upgrade Package you want
to install (usually the most recent), and download
it to the computer connected to port 1 on the
GCS1642 / GCS1644.

3. If you have a DCC mode installation, remove the
cable connected to the DCC port, which connects
the two GCS1642 / GCS1644 units, and set both
DCC switches to Host.

4. Shut down all other computers connected to the
GCS1642 / GCS1644 installation, except the
computer connected to port 1.

5. Invoke Firmware Upgrade Mode (see Firmware

Upgrade Mode, page 23). The front panel LEDs ash

together to indicate Firmware Upgrade Mode is in effect.

27

Starting the Upgrade

To upgrade your rmware:

1. Run the downloaded Firmware Upgrade Package le
– either by double clicking the le icon, or by opening

a command line and entering the full path to it.

The Firmware Upgrade Utility Welcome screen
appears:

2. Read the License Agreement (enable the I Agree
radio button).

3. Click Next to continue. The Firmware Upgrade
Utility main screen appears:

28

GCS1644 [MAIN] . .

The Utility inspects your installation. All the devices
capable of being upgraded by the package are listed
in the Device List panel.

4. As you select a device in the list, its description
appears in the Device Description panel.

GCS1644 [MAIN] . .

29

5. After you have made your device selection(s),
Click Next to perform the upgrade.

The rmware [Ver 1.0.] is not newer than the current rmware
[Ver 1.0.090] in device GCS1644 [MAIN]: 000

Continue the upgrade? [Yes/No]

If you enabled Check Firmware Version, the Utility

compares the device’s rmware level with that of the
upgrade les. If it nds that the device’s version is

higher than the upgrade version, it brings up a dialog
box informing you of the situation and gives you the
option to Continue or Cancel.

If you didn’t enable Check Firmware Version, the

Utility installs the upgrade les without checking

whether they are a higher level, or not.

As the Upgrade proceeds, status messages appear
in the Status Messages panel, and the progress
toward completion is shown on the Progress bar.

30

Upgrade Succeeded

After the upgrade has completed, a screen appears
to inform you that the procedure was successful:
After the upgrade has completed, a screen appears
to inform you that the procedure was successful:

GCS1644 [MAIN] . .

Click Finish to close the Firmware Upgrade Utility.

After a successful completion, the switches exit
Firmware Upgrade Mode, and reset themselves.

If you have a DCC mode installation be sure to
reconnect the cable connected to the DCC port,
and set the DCC switch back to Client on the
appropriate switch (See Quad-View (DCC Mode),
page 15).

31

Upgrade Fail

If the Upgrade Succeeded screen doesn’t appear, it means that the upgrade failed to complete successfully,
in which case you should do the following:

1. Power off the GCS1642 / GCS1644 by removing the power jack.

2. Invoke Firmware Upgrade Mode by holding down the Mode button on the front panel (see Mode button,

page 6 & 8) and power on the GCS1642 / GCS1644. The orange LEDs ash together.

3. Do the rmware upgrade procedure again.

32

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Statement

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant
to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful
interference in a residential setting. This product generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy
and, if not installed and used as directed, it may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
Although this product complies with the limits for a Class B digital device, there is no guarantee that
interference will not occur in a particular installation.

CE Statement

This device has been tested and found to comply with the following European Union directives: Electro­magnetic Capability (2004/108/EC), Low Voltage (2006/95/EC) and R&TTED (1999/5/EC).

33

Limited Warranty

Warranty Information

This product carries a 3 Year Limited Warranty. For the terms and conditions of this warranty, please go
to http://www.iogear.com/support/warranty

Register online at http://www.iogear.com/register

Important Product Information
Product Model
Serial Number

34

Contact

WE’RE HERE TO HELP YOU!
NEED ASSISTANCE SETTING UP THIS PRODUCT?

Make sure you:

1. Visit www.iogear.com for more product information

2. Visit www.iogear.com/support for live help and product support

IOGEAR

www.iogear.com
iogear.custhelp.com
[e-mail]

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© 2018 IOGEAR

®