20
SERVSWITCH™ ULTRA
2.5 Cable Requirements
Many switches of this type have what seems like ten million connectors on their
rear panels: one for each CPU’s video cable, one for each keyboard cable, and a
third for each mouse cable. The potential for tangling or mismatching cables is
high.
By contrast, you can connect the ServSwitch Ultra to your CPUs with one CPU
Cable (also called a “CPU Adapter Cable”) for each CPU. This single cable reaches
the CPU’s video-output, keyboard, and mouse ports.
Likewise, to connect “submaster” (slave) Serv type switches, you need one
“ServSwitch-to-ServSwitch Expansion Cable” for each subsidiary unit.
Lastly, you can connect the ServSwitch Ultra to the shared monitor, keyboard
and mouse with a single User Cable (also called an “MKM Adapter Cable”).
The exact variety or varieties of these cables that you’ll need will depend on the
equipment you are connecting for your application. Refer to
Appendix B
for the
available types of these cables and the corresponding product codes. Also refer to
Chapter 1
or the Caution notice on page 23 for information about maximum
cabling distances.
NOTES
SVGA (over longer distances), XGA, and high-resolution Mac video
place special demands on cabling that the regular CPU Cables and User
Cables typically cannot meet. For these applications, you should use
coaxial cables that can carry video signals not only farther but also at
higher resolutions. See
Appendix B
and the Caution notice on page 23.
You’ll also need a “Mac Adapter for ServSwitch” for each Mac CPU
outputting high-res (greater than 640 x 480) video; see the Note on
page 23.
2.6 Equipment Requirements
If the CPUs you will be controlling through your ServSwitch Ultra are not all of the
same type—especially if your CPUs represent completely different hardware
platforms (IBM, Mac, etc.)—you will have to be careful to choose a common
monitor, keyboard, and mouse that adequately support all of the CPUs. For full
details, see
Section 4.1
.