Hot Switching

January 10, 2005

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Belkin Omni-View Pro KVM

I love it when things Just Work. One such is the Belkin Omni-View Pro 8-port KVM. I installed an earlier model so long ago that I have lost track of when. It was far back enough that the system had jacks for the big round AT style keyboard plug as well as for PS/2 keyboard and mouse jacks, and the case proudly proclaims that the system is "Y2K Compliant."

I used that in the cable room, where all my servers hide out. I've never had more than eight machines in there, although a few times it had got close; fortunately, one would die just as I was putting in another. If I had ended up with more than eight, the Belkin has a way to let you gang up to 8 of the systems, so that you select a bank and then a machine within that bank. I've never tried this feature, but I presume it will work all right.

The Omni-View Pro has never given me a moment's problem, but it did grow increasingly obsolete. For example, it wasn't able to work with modern optical mice, and it didn't really like wheel mice. Opticals wouldn't work at all: There just wasn't enough power put into the mouse port, I guess. Anyway, I finally decided to replace the KVM with Belkin's latest Omni-View Pro 2, which not only switches KVM but also has a USB port for each channel. Despite having more features, the new Omvi-View Pro 2 KVM is thinner and lighter than the original model.

I decided to install things "hot," that is, to replace the KVM without bringing down the system and restarting it. I did this by leaving both KVM systems powered on, then selecting channel 7, which has no system at the moment, on each machine. Then I plugged in a brand new Microsoft redeye mouse, and a new twenty buck Microsoft "Internet" keyboard. Strictly speaking I didn't have to put in a new keyboard, I could have used a Big Plug to PS/2 adapter, but I like the new Microsoft keyboards. Anyway, I left the old keyboard and mouse attached to the older KVM and began moving the keyboard, mouse, and video plugs from each machine to the new Belkin unit.

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