Blackbox KV7118SA, User Manual, Page: 12 / 72

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CHAPTER 2: Introductiom
2. Introduction
2.1 Overview
The ServSwitch Elite is another great space- and effort-saving solution in the
ServSwitch™ family of KVM switches from Black Box. It is 100% pin-for-pin
compatible with the current generation of KVM switches by Compaq
® and Hewlett-
Packard ® , so it’s just right for adding to your existing Compaq or HP ® environment.
It’s also “modular” in that it can be configured and installed in different
quantities and locations to suit the switching needs of a particular system. You can
use multiple Switches to expand the system and connect user consoles to any of up
to 64 computers.
With one single-user (our product code KV7118SA) ServSwitch Elite, users at a
single user console (monitor, keyboard, and mouse station) can access any of as
many as eight IBM
® PC, IBM RISC System/6000 ® (RS/6000 ® ), or HP9000 ®
compatible computers. With one 4x8 (KV7148FA) model, users at up to four user
consoles can access any of up to eight such computers. Both versions are enclosed
in space-efficient cases to save space on your desktop or in your rack: 1U (1.8",
4.4 cm) high for the single-user model, 2U (3.5", 8.9 cm) high for the 4x8 model.
And you can attach as many as eight “slave” units of either version to a “master”
unit of either version to create a cascaded system with a capacity for 64 computers.
Switching between (also called “selecting”) computers is accomplished by typing
a command at the keyboard. The selected computer receives characters typed at
the keyboard and displays its video output on your monitor. You can use the mouse
(which is optional) to interact with the graphic interface that the selected
computer displays on the monitor. The ServSwitch Elite works independently of
the attached computers’ operating systems, so it doesn’t matter if the computers
are running different operating systems.