Product Reviews

We've reviewed a number of KVM (keyboard, video, mouse) switches in the past year, but Avocent's DSR1161 is the first switch we've seen that allows a server farm to be connected to it over CAT-5 network cable instead of bulky 3-in-1 cables. A compact DSRIQ smart cable links each server's keyboard, mouse and monitor to a special adaptor with a standard RJ-45 connector, and it supports connection distances of up to 10m. What makes the DSR range look even better is its support for connections over TCP/IP, so a server farm can be remotely controlled from the comfort of your own desk.

At the rear are 16 RJ-45 ports for server connection, PS/2 and monitor ports for local management, and a 10/100BaseTX Ethernet port for the network connection. Local monitoring comes courtesy of Avocent's OSCAR interface, which provides

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a simple pop-up menu for swapping between attached systems. The main interface can be password protected and each channel given a meaningful name that's displayed in a small window when you switch to the selected system. A local screen saver can be activated but, unlike Avocent's AutoView 424 (see enterprise, issue 83, p218), there are no scan modes for automatically switching between connected systems.

Accessing the system over the network requires three software utilities to be installed. The first runs as a service that maintains a database of all DSR units and attached systems. The second, DSAdmin, accesses information stored by the service and is used to add new switches to the database, while DSView presents a tree-structure view of connected systems and is the main interface for accessing and controlling attached systems.

Selecting a utility opens a remote-control session with a row of customisable buttons across the top for sending keyboard commands such as via macros. The viewing window can be scaled up to full screen size, and resolutions up to 1,280 « 1,024 are supported over a network link. DSView is simple enough to use, although the mouse action was a little skittish at times and difficult to control. Even so, the DSR1161 looks an ideal solution for controlling multiple servers. However, the management software does add a substantial amount to the overall cost.