Vertiv Avocent 16-Port Rackmount KVM Over IP Switch with CAC & Local or Remote Access (AV3216-001)

KVM over IP Switch. Solid, Sturdy, and 100% metal

I need this to use at home with my laptops and computers. It is nice to have remote access feature. Working without any issue.

The unit functions, more or less. But mouse sync does not work on the KVM, which makes it unusable for all but emergency purposes. The web interface is pretty cheap and clunky. Don't expect a lot of options beyond the basics.

I've been toying with this KVM for a few weeks, trying out the various features that I can use. We have a small office, but do website design and some hosting. Most of our hosting is pre-deployment so customers can see and try the site before we publish to their ISP. We have a mix of equipment all in the same area, two are rack-mount, three are not. All are in another, small room. Depending on what we needed to do, it's either go to the room and work on the server in person (not a big deal - it's close), but for many tasks it's the remote management console. For MySQL we typically use Navicat, and for ColdFusion, the CF admin panel. So is this KVM overkill for us? Totally. There are security options that are more enterprise level than small business. But there's also room to grow - we've had as many as 9 servers.First - the video - it uses VGA connectors. Every server we use has VGA connectors. If not, there are cheap HDMI / VGA adapters. You don't need HD on a server. But your remote desktop will be distorted is you have an HD desktop. If you have a large enough installation, you may even have a desktop designed for remote management. We did that for a while, actually using an old server as our remote management computer.We also used to use a four switch local KVM when we had 4 servers, then added some more and had *another* KVM, and pretty soon had a mess. The back of the KVM's looked like a spool of clothes-line was cut in half. Monitor, mouse and keyboard cables for each server, tie-strapped together and so heavy we had to velcro the KVM to a desktop. We eventually decided to scrap all of that and use the remote management console or third party tools, but this did not solve the local problem. So, yea, we went cheap. Plugged in the monitor, keyboard and mouse as needed. Like I said - small business.So when I had the opportunity to try this, I could not resist. Again - it's way overkill for us. The security options and sheer number of servers supported is something we'll probably never use. But it's great to have the option to add more servers and not worry about snake-nests of cabling breeding again.Included instructions are minimal - just a sheet - you need to go to their website for the manual. However - there was none on the website - just a datasheet.Misc: There are rack mount brackets, but you could also place it on a shelf or desktop - you'll have to add rubber feet. CAC is supported, but you need to purchase optional hardware. Maybe having no manual was an oversight, but the lack of a manual on their website or any support videos could be a concern for some people. Install is pretty easy if you have an IT background or are familiar with networks. If you're a small business, this is overkill - you could find something for less money that also supports HDMI.

This works well, but I need to add several notes that might be useful. At its core this is a 16 port network enabled KVM, which can connect 4 servers out of the box (more connectors are sold separately). It can allow one remote connection, and one (or maybe two) local connections at the same type. It is designed as a primarily VGA based system, but can also accept DVI and HDMI sources with different adapter cables. It is 1U form factor, with a small, but noisy fan, which is easy to disconnect, if you plan to take the risk (or your rack is pretty well ventilated anyways).The setup starts with removing the side screws to place the rack mount ears (assuming you want to rack mount the device). This also will grant access to opening the top cover, and removing the fan power connector, at your own risk. (it is a generic motherboard connector). After that, and before mounting I would recommend testing the device.The console connection is done thru a VGA cable (not provided), and USB keyboard and mouse. I used  a simple VGA to HDMI converter  to hook up my display (I only have a portable VGA monitor at the moment, and everything else is DP or HDMI). At this point you should be able to see a signal on the display, and can use the "double-Ctrl" hotkey to bring up the menu. I used network to do the rest of the setup, and did not need the monitor connection anymore.I have a mix of servers with both real "server" motherboard (with IMPI, which does a similar thing, I'll come back to IMPI later), and off the shelf hardware, which do not have IMPI nor a VGA port. I was able find a  HDMI to VGA Converter , which did not require additional power, and it worked well for me. It is also possible to find HDMI and DVI connector cables directly from Avocent, and not need a secondary adapter. Everything connects with a standard Ethernet cable.As for remote management, you can use the HTTP based fronted with the default password (if I remember correctly it was Admin / empty password). Once you click on an individual machine, it will allow you to remote access to the console using a Java Web Start based application. This is where I will go back to IPMI comparison. Both of them use a variant of "VNC" for graphical access. However the mouse emulation in Avocent was worse than the other. (Neither would be as good as a local console, nor a remote virtual machine, which generally emulates a "tablet" instead of a mouse as a pointing device). Also, unlike an internal management device, this will not be able to access power control (which can be done with a proper network controlled PDU anyways). It will be useful in text mode, and acceptable in graphical mode, but do not expect to do day to day system administration with it. Nevertheless it is very useful to be able to remotely access to servers which do not have internal out of band console capabilities.Overall it is a very impressive and useful device, which can be used to manage a single rack. I liked being able to remotely access the console oif the generic servers, even though the mouse was not perfect.As a final note, do not forget to change the default password. This should be the first thing you do after the device is installed, even if you never plan to remote access to the KVM.