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CHAPTER 5: On-Screen Functions, Same-Slot Users, and Connection Modes
If your application requires that more than the normal maximum number of
users be able to independently access any computer in the system at all times, you
might want to consider adding ServShare switches to your Affinity system
(although the additional investment in hardware would not be trivial). These
switches are designed to allow multiple users to share a single computer, so if you
attach one of these to each computer in your system as shown in Figure 5-5, users
can contend for access to the computers through the ServShares instead of across
the bus.
While it is true that this kind of installation can be used to create large switching
matrices with many users, administering and maintaining such a hardware
configuration can be very challenging. Before installing an advanced configuration
like this, please call Black Box and discuss your application with a technician.
Figure 5-5. A 16-user-by-8-computer Affinity/ServShare system.
*Linked units can all be configured from the same station, but port numbering and selection are not as simple.
CPUs
Optional*
2-Port
ServShares
8-User
ServSwitch
Affinity 2
8-User
ServSwitch
Affinity 1
User
stations