Dell Console Switch User manual

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Dell™ Console Switch
Console Switch
Installer/User’s Guide
Model: Console Switch

Notes and Cautions
Notes, Notices, and Cautions
NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your computer.
NOTICE: A NOTICE indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid the
problem.
CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death.
___________________
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
© 2004 Dell Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell Inc. is strictly forbidden.
Trademarks used in this text: Dell and the DELL logo are trademarks of Dell Inc. Avocent is a trademark of Avocent Corporation. OSCAR is
a registered trademark of Avocent Corporation or its affiliates; Microsoft, Windows, and Windows NT are registered trademarks of Microsoft
Corporation. As an ENERGY STAR Partner, Dell Inc. has determined that this product meets the ENERGY STAR guidelines for energy
efficiency.
Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their products.
Dell Inc. disclaims any proprietary interest in trademarks and trade names other than its own.
Model Console Switch
October 2004

Contents 3
Contents
1 Product Overview
Features and Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
SIP Intelligent Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Multiplatform Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
OSCAR Graphical User Interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Video. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Plug and Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
FLASH Upgradable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Tiering Expansion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Safety Precautions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
General. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Rack Mounting of Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2 Installation
Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Supplied with the Console Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Additional Items Needed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Rack Mounting Your Console Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Installing the Console Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Tiering Console Switches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Adding Legacy Switches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Setting Up Your Console Switch System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3 Basic Operation
Controlling Your System at the Local User Ports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Viewing and Selecting Ports and Servers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Viewing the Status of Your Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

4Contents
Selecting Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Soft Switching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Navigating the OSCAR Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Configuring OSCAR Interface Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Assigning Server Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Assigning Device Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Changing the Display Behavior. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Controlling the Status Flag. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Setting Console Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Displaying Version Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Resetting a SIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Resetting Your Keyboard and Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Scanning Your System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Running System Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Broadcasting to Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Changing Your Switch Mode (16-port Console Switch Only) . . . . . . . . . 44
A Appendices
Appendix A: Flash Upgrades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Upgrading the Console Switch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Items Needed for the Upgrade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Upgrading Firmware. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Upgrading the SIP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Appendix B: Technical Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Appendix C: Notifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
USA Notification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Canadian Notification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Japanese Approvals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Taiwanese Approvals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Agency Approvals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Contents 5
Figures
Figure 1-1. Console Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Figure 1-2. Example of a Console Switch Configuration . . . . . 9
Figure 2-1. Console Switch Horizontal Installation . . . . . . . 14
Figure 2-2. Basic Console Switch Configuration . . . . . . . . 15
Figure 2-3. Console Switch Configuration with a
Tiered Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Figure 2-4. Console Switch Configuration with a
Legacy KVM Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Figure 3-1. Main Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Figure 3-2. Setup Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Figure 3-3. Names Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Figure 3-4. Name Modify Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Figure 3-5. Devices Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Figure 3-6. Device Modify Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Figure 3-7. Menu Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Figure 3-8. Flag Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Figure 3-9. Set Position Flag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Figure 3-10. Security Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Figure 3-11. Version Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Figure 3-12. SIP Selection Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Figure 3-13. SIP Version Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Figure 3-14. SIP Version Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Figure 3-15. Commands Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Figure 3-16. Scan Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Figure 3-17. Commands Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Figure 3-18. Diagnostics Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Figure 3-19. Diagnostics Warning Message Box . . . . . . . . 42

6Contents
Figure 3-20. Broadcast Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Figure 3-21. Broadcast Enable Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Figure 3-22. Switch Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Figure 4-1. SIP Status Dialog Box.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Figure 4-2. SIP Upgrade Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Figure 4-3. Version Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Figure 4-4. SIP Selection Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Figure 4-5. SIP Version Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Figure 4-6. SIP Load Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Tables
Table 1-1. SIP Resolution and Refresh Rates . . . . . . . . . 8
Table 2-1. Legacy Switch Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Table 3-1. OSCAR Interface Status Symbols . . . . . . . . . 22
Table 3-2. OSCAR Interface Navigation Basics . . . . . . . . 24
Table 3-3. Setup Features to Manage Routine
Tasks for Your Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Table 3-4. OSCAR Status Flags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Table 3-5. Diagnostic Test Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Table 4-1. Technical Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Product Overview 7
1
Product Overview
Features and Benefits
The 8-Port and 16-port Dell™ Console Switches integrate keyboard, video, and mouse (KVM)
switching technology with advanced cable management, flexible access for up to two simultaneous
users, and an intuitive user interface. The Console Switch features powerful on-screen
management for easy system configuration and server selection.
NOTE: The 8-Port Console Switch enables a single local user to access any attached servers whereas
the 16-port switch allows two simultaneous users to access attached servers.
A unique benefit of the Console Switch is the Server Interface Pod (SIP) intelligent module. By
utilizing CAT 5 cabling the SIP dramatically reduces cable clutter, while providing optimal
resolution and video settings. The built-in memory of the SIP simplifies configuration by assigning
and retaining unique server names and Electronic ID (EID) numbers for each attached server. The
SIP is powered directly from the server and provides Keep Alive functionality even if the Console
Switch is not powered.
Figure 1-1. Console Switch
SIP Intelligent Module
SIPs allow direct KVM connectivity to servers in your Console Switch. Each Console Switch has
either 8 or 16 Analog Rack Interface (ARI) ports for connecting SIPs.
Utilizing a SIP, you can attach additional switches to expand your Console Switch system. This
flexibility allows you to add capacity as your data center grows.

8Product Overview
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Multiplatform Support
The SIPs available with your Console Switch support PS/2 and USB server environments. PS/2,
USB, Sun, and serial cabling options are also available using Avocent™ AVRIQ intelligent cables.
Using the On-Screen Configuration and Activity Reporting (OSCAR
®
) graphical user interface in
conjunction with these modules allows you to switch easily across platforms.
OSCAR Graphical User Interface
The Console Switch uses the OSCAR interface, which features intuitive menus to configure your
switch system and select computers. Computers can be identified by unique name, EID or port
number, allowing you to assign unique server names.
Security
The OSCAR interface allows you to protect your system with a screen saver password. After a user-
defined time, the screen saver mode engages, and access is prohibited until the appropriate
password is entered to reactivate the system.
Video
The Console Switch provides optimal resolution for analog VGA, SVGA, and XGA video. Achieve
resolutions of up to 1600 x 1200 with a 10-foot cable and up to 800 x 600 with a 100-foot cable.
Resolutions will vary depending upon the length of cable separating your switch and servers.
Plug and Play
The Console Switch also supports Display Data Channel (DDC) Plug and Play, which automates
configuration of the monitor and is compliant with the VESA DDC2B standard.
Table 1-1. SIP Resolution and Refresh Rates
Maximum Resolution Refresh Rate Video Type
720 x 400 70 Hz VGA
640 x 480 60 Hz VGA
640 x 480 72 Hz VESA
640 x 480 75 Hz VESA
800 x 600 56 Hz VESA
800 x 600 60 Hz VESA
800 x 600 72 Hz VESA
800 x 600 75 Hz VESA
1024 x 768 60 Hz VESA
1024 x 768 70 Hz VESA
1024 x 768 75 Hz VESA

Product Overview 9
FLASH Upgradable
You can upgrade your firmware at any time through a simple update utility to ensure that your
Console Switch system is always running the most current version available. Both the Console
Switch and the SIPs are FLASH upgradable. See "Appendix A: Flash Upgrades" for more
information.
Tiering Expansion
Each Console Switch supports up to 16 directly attached servers and can conveniently scale to
support more. You can expand your system by tiering with Console Switches and legacy analog
Console Switches. This extra “tier” of units allows you to attach up to 256 servers in one system.
See "Tiering Console Switches" for more information.
Figure 1-2. Example of a Console Switch Configuration
Safety Precautions
Use the following safety guidelines to help ensure your own personal safety and to help protect your
system and working environment from potential damage.
SIP
Module
Legacy Switch
(tiered)
Console Switch
(tiered)
Rack of Servers
Analog
Connection
Console Switch
(main)
Analog
Connection
Critical Server

10 Product Overview
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CAUTION: The power supplies in your system may produce high voltages and energy hazards, which
can cause bodily harm. Only trained service technicians are authorized to remove the covers and
access any of the components inside the system.
This document pertains only to the Dell Console Switch.
General
Observe and follow service markings:
• Do not service any product except as explained in your system documentation.
• Opening or removing covers that are marked with the triangular symbol with a lightning bolt
may expose you to electrical shock.
• Components inside these compartments should be serviced only by a trained service
technician.
– This product contains no serviceable components. Do not attempt to open.
• If any of the following conditions occur, unplug the product from the electrical outlet and
replace the part or contact your trained service provider:
– The power cable, extension cable, or plug is damaged.
– An object has fallen into the product.
– The product has been exposed to water.
– The product has been dropped or damaged.
– The product does not operate correctly when you follow the operating instructions.
• Keep your system away from radiators and heat sources. Also, do not block cooling vents.
• Do not spill food or liquids on your system components, and never operate the product in a
wet environment. If the system gets wet, see the appropriate section in your troubleshooting
guide or contact your trained service provider.
• Use the product only with approved equipment.
• Allow the product to cool before removing covers or touching internal components.
• Operate the product only from the type of external power source indicated on the electrical
ratings label. If you are not sure of the type of power source required, consult your service
provider or local power company.
NOTICE: To help avoid damaging your system, be sure the voltage selection switch (if provided) on the
power supply is set for the voltage that most closely matches the AC power available in your location.
• Be sure that your monitor and attached devices are electrically rated to operate with the
power available in your location.
• Use only power cables provided with this product.