There are a considerable amount of choices when it comes to KVM Switches and KVM Extenders. All in all KVM switches are a staple of any good Data Center, Lab or Co-Lo. KVM’s provide “out of band access” to a wide variety of target devices (Servers, SAN’s, Network Switches, IPMI devices) and do it all without a footprint on the device.

KVM Signals travel in two basic ways analog and digital, each have their advantages. With KVM over IP you get greater flexibility, distance and scale. With Analog KVM you get higher resolutions and quicker switching times.

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Avocent/Emerson KVM over IP Switches

switchtryThe Avocent Universal Management Gateway appliance is the first converged management appliance that enables customers to remotely manage any device, in any location, from any vendor, at any time in a secure, centralized manner.

Exclusively, the appliance uses proven technology to deliver a single, unified approach for data center infrastructure management (DCIM). The appliance integrates Digital KVM, Serial Console, Service Processor and Environmental Management in a single U platform, enabling customers to experience complete data center access and monitoring.

The Avocent MPU MergePoint Unit switch is the fourth-generation KVM over IP switch from Avocent solutions. This switch provides IT administrators a complete remote management solution to access and control servers, networking equipment and other devices found in data centers and branch offices. The Avocent MergePoint Unity switch enhances the in-band management typically done through the NIC of IT equipment by providing secure and remote out-of-band connections directly to the physical KVM, USB and serial ports. This unified approach enables IT administrators a faster method to diagnose, reconfigure or restore equipment to meet SLAs and minimize downtime.

Raritan KVM over IP Switches

The Dominion KX III is Raritan’s flagship enterprise-class KVM-over IP switch that provides 1, 2, 4 or 8 users with BIOS-level remote management of 8, 16, 32 or 64 servers in a single switch.  With industry leading video performance, security, and enhanced reliability, the Dominion KX III outperforms the competition. With standard features such as DVI/HDMI/DisplayPort digital video, VGA analog video, audio, virtual media, smart card/CAC, and mobile access, the Dominion KX III is suitable for both general computer and dynamic broadcast applications.

Raritan’s Dominion KSX II is a combined KVM-over-IP and Serial Console Server appliance. It provides secure, remote management to all servers, storage, routers, switches and rack PDU’s in remote and branch offices. The KSX II offers award-winning, BIOS-level KVM-over-IP performance, true command-line serial console access and optional remote power control.

Adder KVM over IP

The A.I.M. management server is a control suite which transforms AdderLink Infinity extenders into a digital matrix solution. Using standard IP infrastructure it is possible to route any user station to any computer attached to the network without any compromises to video quality or control. It allows co–operative sharing of computers and the multicasting of video to any destination.