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8.2 General Questions About the Extender
Is it possible to use an interconnection cable longer than 300 meters (1000 feet)?
The Extender has been designed to produce acceptable results with SVGA resolutions
at the maximum cable length of 300 m (1000 ft.). Therefore, it
might
be possible
for you to run as far as 500 m (1640 ft.) at the standard VGA resolution, 640 x 480.
However, we do
not
recommend doing this and
cannot
guarantee that it will work.
Can Extenders be daisychained to allow operation across a distance greater than 300 meters
(1000 feet)?
Though we do not recommend doing so, you can chain two Extenders in order to
operate over longer distances. Using cascaded Extenders (CPU
→
Local Unit 1
→
Remote Unit 1
→
Local Unit 2
→
Remote Unit 2
→
monitor, keyboard, and mouse),
SVGA operation over 500 m (1640 ft.) and standard VGA operation over 600 m
(2000 ft.) is theoretically possible, though not guaranteed. In general, the first CAT5
cable segment (the one between the first Extender’s Local and Remote Units) should
be about 200 m (655 ft.) long and the remaining distance should be covered by the
second segment (the one between the second Extender’s Local and Remote Units).
Such applications require careful setup of the video equalizers. If you plan to cascade
Extenders, please contact Black Box Technical Support to discuss your application.
Can the Extender be used between buildings?
No. Ground loops could destroy the Extender and attached equipment.
Can I use multiple Local or Remote Units by swapping interconnect cables or switching the
interconnect link?
Because the Extender performs full keyboard and mouse emulation, it is possible
to swap or switch the Local-Remote interconnection to create, in effect, a KVM
matrix-switch system; you would just have to remember to always reset the active
Remote Unit (and, if it’s a Dual-Access model, the Local Unit; see
Section 7.3.1
)
after each such swap or switch. Please call Black Box Technical Support to discuss
your application before deploying such a system.
Is the Extender VESA DDC compatible?
DDC (Display Data Channel) is a two-way monitor-communication/configuration
scheme created by VESA (the Video Electronics Standards Association). CPUs and
DDC-compliant monitors pass configuration settings and other information back
and forth across dedicated signal lines in the video interface. Because the Dual-
Access Extender’s Local Unit passes these DDC lines through, your local monitor
can use DDC if it’s DDC-compliant. However, the Extender does not carry the
DDC signals across its interconnect cable, so the remote monitor can’t use DDC.
In general, we recommend that you simply turn DDC OFF and manually
configure your video card for your monitor.
CHAPTER 8: Troubleshooting