A KVM switch, as you may know, is a device that enables you use a single keyboard, VDU and mouse (hence KVM) to operate multiple machines. It uses either a physical switch or more commonly a special key combination and an OSD to switch between connected machines. KVM switches are found mostly in server rooms, but also sometimes on the desks of geeks who need physical access to more than one computer.
The need for such a switch stems from the physical limitation of needing to connect devices together with wires. Get rid of the wires and you can do the switching with software instead of hardware. With the increasing availability of bluetooth keyboards and mice, a simple bluetooth KxM switch surely must follow. I don’t know for sure, but I’m guessing that the data rate available with bluetooth is far lower than that required my a VDU. However, as many VDUs have more than a single input, such a device could prove useful to your average multi-computer geek.
Any host-based software KxM switching is going to have to be pretty intelligent. You’d essentially need a client running on each computer interfacing the input devices with the operating system. On receiving the magic key combination, the software would need to nullify all input from the keyboard and mouse for its local host, and broadcast a message over the network to the next client in the list so that it can assume control.
Of course, if you had an intelligent keyboard the whole thing could be done far more simply. You’d need to pair the keyboard with the mouse so that the switch needed to be made on only one device – the keyboard could issue control commands to the mouse. You’d need to then pair the keyboard with each computer in turn. Hit the magic key combination and the keyboard could then pick the host to whom it would transmit.
Combine this with a smart VDU which takes multiple inputs and accepts selection commands via bluetooth, and Bob, as they say, is your uncle.
Comments
I used it on work experience with a Windows 2000 PC (erg I know ;]) and a Red Hat 8 PC. Worked like a charm
Dual screened, dual OSed, one keyboard and moused. The keyboard ’focus’ swaps over when the mouse touches the touching-edge of one of the screens.
As it happens, I’m going to experiment using the Mac RDC client for connecting to my XP box, but all in all this post was more of a thought experiment than a cry for a solution. After all, a solution already exists in the form of a traditional KVM switch.
I have a KVM switch, but I connected a wireless keyboard and mouse. Simpler solution.
Synergy Project Page [sourceforge.net]
but im dreaming
looking for a kvm which can be run on bluetooth enabled cell phones.We need to know which emulator has to be used and how to copy the software from the PC to the blutooth enabled cell phone
Another interesting approach that took quite some time to figure out, so thought I’d share…
I have A) a new laptop with wireless card and a wireless router to go with it, and B) an old pentium III with its own display, and wireless keyboard / mouse. The old computer sits in my office, and my goal was to turn it into a file server and I/O support system for my spiffy new laptop. In particular, I wanted to be able to take the laptop into the office, and be able to use the old computer’s keyboard, mouse and monitor with the laptop. Since the old machine is slow, I also wanted all my apps to run off the laptop, but with the advantage of dual monitors, mouse and nice big keyboard when working in the office… And most importantly of all: NO WIRES to plug or unplug when I take the laptop with me out of the office!
In the end, I used both synergy and multivista. Synergy allows me to share the mouse and keyboard across both computers. And when I do need to be able to see the output of the two machines separately on their own monitors, I’m all set with just synergy running. But then, if I want the laptop to really take over, I run multivista over top of synergy. Voila, I have the exact equivalent of a wired dual monitor environment… In this mode, the monitor from the old computer serves as the secondary display for the laptop, and I can drag and drop applications running on the laptop to the old computer’s monitor, even though it isn’t physically wired to the laptop (all of this is happening over the wireless router) Dual monitors make SO many tasks easier, no more maximizing and minimizing windows every time you need to switch between two applications!
In the end, completely seemless results which allow me to run the two computers a) independently, b) independently but with shared mouse and keyboard or c) laptop takes over all functions, while I use the main keyboard and mouse to run the show!
To all this, I added a wireless printer. The end result: total wireless freedom to do anything I want on any combination of the two computers, and all I need to do to shift between modes is toggle the state of multivista, one key press!
And to really have some fun, I added SAGE tv and a hauppauge cable tuner card to the old computer. Now I have wireless access to live TV (and any show I tell SAGE to record, just like a TIVO unit), plus all my music and pictures housed on the old tower… and all of that is transimitted from the tower to the SAGE client on my laptop anytime and any place I want. ROCKS! I’d also note that this setup allows me to back up my laptop files to the tower automatically; every night it just does it in the background, so I never fear for loss of data should my laptop crash or be stolen.
While wireless isn’t exactly plug and play yet, you really can set yourself free from plugging and unplugging things if you take a weekend or two to figure things out (or three in my case, I was a wireless newbie at the start of all this). And I highly recommend having both a wireless laptop and a tower in your life. Even an old tower like mine is more than adequate to serve as a file server / IO device. Just add a big hard drive, a bit more RAM, and a fast networking card. I spent a total of 250 bucks on the old tower, and it will easily support my new laptop for many years to come.
Cheers and good luck,
Steve.
I agree with you. I think a bluetooth keyboard with a builtin KVM switch would be a very very useful tool.
i have a 10GEAR KVM SWITCH, and i dont know what the hot key combination on my keyboard is, to switch between the two computers? if anybody has a 10GEAR switch, or knows how to do it, please email me or post me a message on here…thanks
I HAVE A 10GEAR KVM SWITCH AND I HIT THE SCROLL LOCK KEY TWICE TO CHANGE COMPUTERS,HOPE THAT WORKS ON YOURS
I purchased a Belkin KVM Switch and then purchased a wireless key board and mouse. I tried to change over to my 2nd computer and it wouldn’t work. What is wrong?
I am looking for a KVM Switch that i can use with a wireless keyboard and mouse. Is there one?
I just set up a Logitech MX 5000 Wireless Bluetooth keyboard with a Belkin F1DS102U KVM switch. It works great. I just plugged the bluetooth usb interface that comes with the keyboard into one of the usb device ports on the KVM switch. Works like a charm except this switch cannot use the hot-keys to switch between ports, so i have to get up and walk over to the switch every time I want to change ports.