Avocent, hands down. They are the OEM for HP KVMs and Compaq before them.
For a 16-port KVM I suggest the AutoView 2015. You can find it online for $640-ish. Be warned that it does not come with the server interface dongles (AVRIQ-USB for USB machines and AVRIQ-PS2 for PS/2 machines), and they cost $60 each. The dongles connect to the KVM via CAT5. An alternative to the Avocent AutoView might be a 16-port Avocent SwitchView 1000. It uses the traditional bulky KVM cables, but the KVM costs less and the cables are under $20 US. Ralph Smith wrote: > I’m hoping to get some recommendations on purchasing a KVM switch - > brands that are good or bad, features to look for, etc. > > What I have is a room with 10 servers, all Dell PowerEdge from about 6 > or 7 years old to new, different models. Some have USB 1.1, some 2.0, > most have PS2 ports, but a few do not. My office with two other IT > staff is about 75 feet down the hall. > > I have a 10 year old Belkin PS2 KVM switch now, but it doesn’t work > right with the newer servers (randomly the mouse and keyboard stop > responding), the older servers never seem to be a problem. For the USB > only servers I have USB to PS2 adapters, also not very reliable. > > It would be swell to be able to access the KVM remotely so I can > troubleshoot unresponsive servers (blue screen, post errors) from home, > but it’s not a must have feature. Of course budget is an issue – I will > have a hard time going over a grand. Looking online I see a wide range > of prices for 16 port switches, and lots of brands I’ve never heard of. > > Any advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks. -- Phil Brutsche [email protected] ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~
