Chapter 2. Hardware Setup
21
Multilevel Installations
The number of computers that can be added to your installation can be greatly
expanded by performing a multilevel installation. The KM0216 / KM0432
supports three types of multilevel installation:
Daisy-chained
Cascaded
Daisy-chained plus cascaded
Overview
Daisy-chaining
refers to connecting two KVM switches via dedicated daisy-
chain ports. The switches are strung together in a chain (see the diagram on
page 23), similar to the way children make chains of daisies by tying the end
of one daisy to the head of another.
When daisy-chaining, none of the switch's KVM ports are used to connect to
the next switch. The port capacity of a daisy-chained installation is the total of
all the KVM ports of all the KVM switches in the chain. For example, a
KM0432 has 32 KVM ports. On an installation with eight daisy-chained
switches the number of available ports is 32 x 8 = 256.
Cascading
involves using the KVM ports of a
Parent
KVM switch (one that is
above a switch linked down from it) to connect to a
Child
KVM switch. With
numerous Child switches linked down from the parent, the effect is reminiscent
of the way water cascades down over a waterfall. Cascading adds capacity to a
KVM installation, but the parent loses one KVM port for each cascaded KVM.
The KM0216 / KM0432 supports both daisy-chaining and cascading. In
addition, it supports combining the two – providing enormous capacity and
flexibility for expanding an installation. The following sections provide
information and procedures involved in setting up the various multilevel
installations.
Daisy-chaining
Up to 7 additional KM0216 / KM0432 units can be daisy-chained from the
first; each capable of supporting four independent consoles. The first KM0216
/ KM0432 is considered the
Master
unit; the daisy-chained KM0216 / KM0432
switches are considered
Slaves
.
In a complete daisy-chained installation, the two (KM0216) or four (KM0432)
consoles that belong to the Master switch can access and control all of the
km0216-0432.book Page 21 Wednesday, April 14, 2010 3:17 PM
