IBM 1754 LCM8 and LCM16 Local Console Managers
7
Virtual media
The LCM8 and LCM16 support virtual media when the target systems are connected using the Virtual
Media Conversion Option Gen2 (VCO2), part number 46M5383. You can use virtual media support to
connect USB 2.0 media devices to the console switch using one of the four USB ports and make those
devices available to any connected system. With this feature, you can install software, install, upgrade, or
recover the operating system, update the BIOS code, or boot the target system from a USB drive.
Control of how the USB device is connected to the target system is managed through the user interface.
The user interface presents the following configuration options:
Virtual Media Locked: The locking option specifies whether a virtual media session is locked to the
KVM session on the target device. When locking is enabled (default) and the KVM session is closed,
the virtual media session will also be closed. When locking is disabled and the KVM session is
closed, the virtual media session will remain active.
Allow Reserved Sessions: Ensures that a virtual media connection can only be accessed with your
user name and that no other user can create a KVM connection to that target device. When the
associated KVM session is disconnected, the virtual media session may be disconnected according
to the Locked setting.
Write Access: With this option, you can specify whether the target system can write to the USB
device (assuming it is writable).
Encryption: You can configure encryption levels for virtual media sessions. The choices are None
(default), 128-bit SSL (ARCFOUR), DES, 3DES, and AES.
Note that USB ports are assigned to a single virtual media session and cannot be independently mapped.
This means you cannot map one USB device to one target system and another USB device to another
target system.
Use of smart cards to authenticate access
The LCM8 and LCM16 switches allow you to use CCID-compliant smart cards to ensure access is
authorized. Smart cards are pocket-sized cards that store and process information and enable Two Factor
Authentication (TFA). Smart cards such as the Common Access Card (CAC) can be used to store
identification and authentication to enable access to computers, networks, and secure rooms or buildings.
Smart card readers are connected directly to the switch via one of the USB ports.
Note
: For smart card use, the target device must be connected to the console switch using the Virtual
Media Conversion Option Gen2 (VCO2), part number 46M5383. Other conversion options such as the
VCO are not supported with smart cards.
The following figure shows how a smart card solution can be implemented. Here our Common Access
Card (CAC) reader is connected to the USB Passthru Port of the 19-inch Flat Panel Console Kit. The
CAC reader is effectively connected to the remote server by way of the LCM16 and the VCO2 conversion
option.
