Emerson AVOCENT User manual


Avocent® Matrix High Performance KVM Switching System
Installer/User Guide

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service marks of Emerson Electric Co. Avocent, the Avocent logo, AMX and Dambrackas Video
Compression are trademarks or service marks of Avocent Corporation or its affiliates in the U.S. and
other countries. All other marks are the property of their respective owners. This document may
contain confidential and/or proprietary information of Avocent Corporation, and its receipt or
possession does not convey any right to reproduce, disclose its contents, or to manufacture or sell
anything that it may describe. Reproduction, disclosure, or use without specific authorization from
Avocent Corporation is strictly prohibited. ©2015 Avocent Corporation. All rights reserved.
NOTE: This document supports versions up to and including release 1.8.
For important safety information, visit:
www.emersonnetworkpower.com/ComplianceRegulatoryInfo

i
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Product Overview 1
FeaturesandBenefits 1
Security 1
Autofailover 2
Flashupgrade 2
Videosupport 2
Audiosupport 2
USBsupport 2
On-BoardWebInterface(OBWI) 2
On-ScreenDisplay(OSD) 3
Matrixswitch 3
Receiver 4
Transmitter 5
Installation and Configuration 7
ConfigurationOptions 7
SingleswitchMatrixsystem 7
Multi-switchcascadedMatrixsystem 7
Highavailabilitycascading 9
ExtendedMode 9
SwitchConfiguration 9
SetupPort 9
Unitinformation 10
Networkconfiguration 10
Appliancemode 11
Username/password 11
Setsessiontimeout 11
On-Board Web Interface 13
Commonfeatures 14
Forgottenpassword 14
OBWIHelp 14
DashboardTab 14
Usersessionspane 15
Eventspane 15
SessionsTab 15
UsersTab 16
Newuser 17
LoginandLogout 18
Users–Attributestab 18
Users–Permissionstab 19
Users–Targetstab 19
Users–Favoritestab 20

ii.....Avocent® Matrix High Performance KVM Switching System Installer/User Guide
Users–OSDtab 20
Users–OSDF1-F12tab 21
Users–Statustab 21
DevicesTab 22
Restoredefaults 22
Updatefirmware 22
Rebootdevice 22
Removedevice 23
Removeoffline 23
Flashdisplay 23
Switchdetails 23
Receiverdetails 24
Transmitterdetails 26
Modes 27
Privatemode 28
Sharemode 28
CascadeTab 28
Promotingapeer 29
PeripheralsTab 30
SystemSettingsTab 31
Savesettingstofile 31
Loadsettingsfromfile 31
Restorefulldefaults 32
Restorepartialdefaults 32
OBWItab 32
OSD 32
Eventstab 33
Defaults 33
Other 34
EventsTab 34
On-Screen Display 35
TargetsTab 36
Connectprivate 37
Connectshared 37
Favorites 37
USB 37
Settings 39
Settings–Usertab 39
Settings–Receivertab 40
InfoTab 42
DiagnosticsTab 42
ExtendedModeOptions 43
Settings-Transmittertab 44

Table of Contents.....iii
Settings-Receivertab 45
AdministrationMode 47
Diagnosticstab 47
Appendices 49
AppendixA:TechnicalSpecifications 49
AppendixB:CablePinoutInformation 51

iv.....Avocent® Matrix High Performance KVM Switching System Installer/User Guide

Product Overview
TheAvocent®MatrixHighPerformanceKVMswitchingsystemisthenextgenerationofAvocent
keyboard,videoandmouse(KVM)products.ThisnewclassofdigitalMatrixsystemsand
extensionproductsprovidesthehigh-performance,reliabledesktopextensionexperience
expectedfromanAvocentproduct.Combiningthebestofthepreviousgeneration,suchasthe
instantaneousswitchingtimeoftheAvocentAMX™switchingsystemandthedigitalqualityand
advancedmanagementfeaturesoftheAvocentHMXextendersystem,thedigitalMatrixswitching
solutionoffersawaytomigratetoadigitalsolutionwhileleveragingexistinginfrastructure.
Inatypicalscenario,numeroustransmitterandreceiverdevicescanconnectinaMatrixfashionto
communicatethroughtheproprietarycentralswitchoranetworkofswitches.Theswitchhandles
thedistributionofthedatastreamsbetweentransmittersandreceivers.Asingleshieldedtwisted
pair(STP)CAT5e/6cable,connectseachtransmitterandreceivertotheswitch.Usersarelinked
tocomputersinreal-timeacrossaMatrixthatconnectsvideo,USBperipheralsandaudiofroma
targetcomputertoareceiverwheretheusercanoperateasifthecomputerisdirectlyconnectedto
amonitor,USBperipheralsandspeakers.
TheMatrixSwitchingSystemisthebasisforanadditionalsetofproductsintendedtoaddressthe
digitalsignageandProA/V,asITandA/Vequipmentconverge.Thisunifiedapproachprovidesan
enhanceddigitalMatrixswitchingsolutionforbroadcast,postproductionanddatacenters
(government,militaryandindustrial).
Features and Benefits
• TransmittersarepoweredfromtheswitchoverSTPCAT5e/6
• Dualpowersupplyswitches(availableonthe32-portswitch)
• HighspeedUSBistransparentlypresentedtothetargetcomputer
• Transmitters,receivers,andswitchesareallequippedwithfullcolorLCDdisplaysshowing
colorcodedunitstatus
• Transmitterssupportdiscretecablesforconnectiontothetargetvideo,USBandaudio
Security
TheswitchingsystemsupportsSecureSocketsLayer(SSL)overaTCP/IPconnectionandAES.
Passwordprotectionisalsoprovidedtocontrolaccesstoalladministrationfunctions.Individual
KVMusershaveusernames,passwordsandalistoftargetstheyareallowedtoaccess.Thetype
ofallowedUSBdevicescanbecontrolledonaper-user,per-receiverandper-transmitterbasis.

2.....Avocent® Matrix High Performance KVM Switching System
Auto failover
MultipleAvocentMatrixHighPerformanceKVMswitchescanbeinterconnectedtocreatea
cascadedswitchingsystemthatiscapableofsupportingmorereceiversandtransmitters.Within
eachcascadedsystem,oneswitchisconfiguredasamasterandtheremainingswitchesare
configuredasslaves.ThemorecomplexyourMatrixswitchingsystemis,themorecriticalitisto
ensurethatitisfunctionalandprotectedfromasystemfailure.TheMatrixswitchingsystem
providesaccesstoahighavailabilitybackupswitch,knownasapeer,tokeepthesystemprotected
andrunning.Thesystemprovidestheabilitytodesignateandconfigureaslaveswitchasthe
backupcontrollerforthecascade.
Flash upgrade
Thefirmwaremaybeupgradedatanytimeusingvariousindustryprotocolstoensurethatthe
systemisalwaysrunningthemostcurrentversionavailable.Theswitch,transmitterandthe
receiverareallflashupgradable.
Video support
TheadvancedDambrackasVideoCompression™algorithmusedbythesystemenablesapixel-
accuratevideoexperiencewithlag-free,real-timeinteractionwithcomputingequipment.The
resultingperformanceandspeedprovidenewlevelsofcontentcreation,productionanddelivery.
VideoisdistributedinmultipleformatssupportingvariousconnectorsincludingDVI-DandVGA.
Audio support
TheMatrixreceiverprovidesCDquality(Redbook)44.1kHz,16-bitperchannelstereoaudio
support.
USB support
TheMatrixSwitchingSystemprovidessixUSBversion2.0connectorswithanindustry-leading
combinedthroughput.
On-Board Web Interface (OBWI)
AdministratorscanmanagethesystemthroughtheOBWI(accessedwithHTTPS).TheOBWI
runsonanysupportedbrowserthathasnetworkaccesstotheswitch.Anadministratorcanusethe
OBWItocreateuseraccountsandconfiguretransmittersandreceivers.

Product Overview.....3
On-Screen Display (OSD)
TheMatrixreceiverincludesanon-screendisplaythatallowsuserstoestablishconnectionstothe
targetsfromthelocalkeyboardandmouse.
Matrix switch
TheMatrixswitchisarackmountablechassiswithRJ-45portstowhichthetransmitters,receivers
andswitchesconnect.Itisavailablein20-portand32-portmodels.Theinterconnectionatthe
switchisaproprietary,non-routableprotocol.
• Redundantpowersupplies(600W)on32-portswitch
• 350Wsinglepowersupplyon20portswitch
• TransmittersarepoweredfromtheswitchoverSTPCAT5e/6
• Supportscascading(interconnectingswitches)
• Transmitterandreceivercanconnecttoanyport
• DualNetworkInterfaceCard(NIC)forfailover
• Setupportaccessforconfiguration
• Frontorrearmountingpossible
Avocent® Matrix Switch


4.....Avocent® Matrix High Performance KVM Switching System
Number Description
1 Powersupplies(dualon32-portswitch)
2 RGBLCDandscrollbuttonsfordeviceinformation
3 DualNICports
4 Setupport
5 RJ-45portsforKVMsignaling
Avocent® Matrix Switch Descriptions
Receiver
TheMatrixreceiverenablesthedesktopuser’smonitor,speakersandUSBperipheralstoconnect
toatargetcomputerthroughtheMatrixswitch.
Avocent® Matrix Receiver
Number Description
1RGBLCDforcolor-codedstatusanddevice
information
2 Audioconnection
3 Microphoneconnection
4 USB2.0connections
5Externalpowerbuttonforturningon/offand
resettingthereceiver
6 T-Channellockingforsecurerackmounting
7 USB2.0connections
8 DVI-Ivideoconnection
9 RJ-45portforconnectiontotheMatrixswitch
Avocent® Matrix Receiver Descriptions

Product Overview.....5
Number Description
10 Cablecatchforsecuringthepowercable
11 Powerconnector
Transmitter
Thetransmitterisasmalldevicewithcablesconnectingvideo,USBandaudiotoatarget.The
transmittercaptures,compressesandencodesthemediastreamsandtransmitsthemtothe
receiveroveraproprietarynetwork.Itattachestoacomputer,AVplayer,orotherdevicetobe
extended.
Avocent® Matrix Transmitter
Number Description
1 RGBLCDforcolor-codedstatusanddeviceinformation
2 T-Channellockingforsecurerackmounting
3 Audioconnection
4 Microphoneconnection
5 DVI-DorVGAvideoconnection
6 USB-Bconnector
7 RJ-45portforconnectiontotheMatrixswitch
Avocent® Matrix Transmitter Descriptions

Product Overview.....6

Installation and Configuration
Atthispointyoushouldhavealreadymountedtheswitchandcompletedtheinstallation
instructionsoutlinedintheAvocent®MatrixSwitchingSystemQuickInstallationGuide.
ForimportantsafetyinformationonyourMatrixswitch,pleasevisit
http://www.emersonnetworkpower.com/ComplianceRegulatoryInfo.
Configuration Options
Single switch Matrix system
Inthefigurebelow,multipletransmittersandreceiversareattachedtoasingleMatrixswitch.
Example of Single Switch System
Number Description
1 Targetdevice
2 Matrixtransmitter
3 Matrixswitch
4 Matrixreceiver
5 Audioconnection(speakers)
6 Videoconnection
7 Microphoneconnection
8 Mouseconnection
9 Keyboardconnection
Single Switch System Components
Multi-switch cascaded Matrix system
UptofourMatrixswitchesmaybeinterconnectedtocreatealargerswitchingsystemcapableof
supportingmorereceiversandtransmitters.Thisisreferredtoasacascadedsystem.When
cascadingMatrixswitches,youcanseamlesslyconnecttoanytargetdevicefromasinglelistinthe

8.....Avocent® Matrix High Performance KVM Switching System
On-screenDisplay(OSD)interface,asifallthetargetdeviceswereconnectedtooneswitch.To
useseamlesscascading,youwillneedtoconfigurethecascadedswitchesasamasterandslave
(s).Therecanbeonlyonemasterinacascadedsystem.
NOTE: Ifyouneedtolimitthenumberofinterconnectsbeingusedinyourcascadedsystem,youcan
connectthetransmittersandreceiversdirectlytoaslaveswitch.
TheswitchthatissettoMasterModeisusedtoadministertheotherswitches,transmittersand
receiversinthesystemthroughtheOBWI.Inasystemwithonlyoneswitch,thatswitchshould
alwaysbesettoMasterMode.
WhenaswitchissettoSlaveMode,thewebuserinterfaceontheswitchwillbecomeverylimited.A
slavecannotadministerotherdevices.
Example of a Multi-switch Cascaded System
Number Description
1 Matrixtransmitter
2 Matrixswitch
3 Matrixreceiver
4 Ethernet
IPconnection
Directconnection
Cascaded Switch System Components
To install a cascaded Matrix switching system:
1. PositiontheMatrixswitchestobeattachedandselectaswitchtobethemasterswitch.
2. AttachoneendofanSTPcableintoanumberedRJ-45portonthemasterswitch.Attachthe
otherendofthecabletoanumberedRJ-45portontheslaveswitch.

Installation and Configuration.....9
3. YoucannowconnecttransmittersandreceiverstoanumberedRJ-45portonthecascaded
masterandslaveswitches.
4. Whenyouhaveconnectedthetransmittersandreceiverstotheswitchingsystem,youwill
needtoconfigurethecascadedswitchasaslave.Formoreinformationonconfiguringthe
switchmodes,seeSwitchdetailsonpage23.
5. Youcanrepeatsteps2through4tocascadeathirdorfourthswitch.
High availability cascading
Youcanaddanadditionallayerofsecurityandprotectiontoyourcascadedsystem(autofailover)
toguardfromasystemfailure.Thisconfiguration,knownascascaderedundancy,allowsyouto
designateaslaveswitchasabackuptothemasterswitch.Whentheslavebecomesthebackup,it
isthencalledapeerswitchandwillautomaticallytakeoveriffailureoccursinyourinitialsystem.
Formoreinformationoncascaderedundancy,seeCascadeTabonpage28.
Extended Mode
InanExtendedModeconfiguration,theMatrixtransmitterisconnectedtothetargetdeviceandthe
Matrixreceiverisconnecteddirectlytothemonitor,mouse,keyboardandspeakers.This
configurationenablesaquicksysteminstallation.
NOTE: Thereisa100meterlimitbetweentransmittersandreceivers.
Switch Configuration
AftertheAvocentMatrixSwitchingSystemhasbeeninstalled,youcanbeginconfiguration.By
default,DHCPisenabledontheswitch.OncetheswitchreceivesanIPaddress,itisdisplayedon
theLCDdisplayonthebackoftheunit.Youcanbeginconfigurationbyusingthesetupportor
usingtheOn-boardWebInterface(OBWI).FormoreinformationontheOBWIsetup,seeOn-
BoardWebInterfaceonpage13.
Setup Port
ThesetupportonthebackoftheMatrixswitchallowstheadministratoraccesstoamenuforsetup
andconfigurationoftheswitch.Fromtheserialmenuyoucanconfigurenetworksettings,setupor
changepasswords,upgradethefirmwareorresettofactorydefaults.
NOTE: ThedefaultusernameandpasswordisAdminwithnopassword.Whenyouloginforthefirsttime,
youwillbepromptedtochangethepassword.

10.....Avocent® Matrix High Performance KVM Switching System
To access the serial menu:
1. Usinganullmodemcable,connectaterminaloraPCthatisrunningterminalemulation
softwaretotheSetupportonthebackpaneloftheMatrixswitch.
NOTE: Theterminalsettingsare9600bitspersecond(bps),8bits,1stopbit,noparityandnoflowcontrol.
2. Connecttheotherendoftheserialcabletotheserialportofyourcomputer.
3. Launchtheterminalemulationsoftware.
4. Pressanykeytologin.
5. Entertheusernameandpassword.
Tonavigatethroughtheserialmenu,typethenumberorletterthatcorrespondstotheoptionyou
wishtochooseandpressEnter.Thisactionwillbringyoutoasub-menuorscreenwhereyoucan
makeconfigurationchanges.Toexitamenuorscreenandtoconfirmanyconfigurationchanges
youhavemade,type0(zero)andpressEnter.
Unit information
Theunitinformationscreenprovidesthefollowingdeviceinformation:EID,MACaddress,Part
Number,SerialNumber,BootVersionandAppVersion.
Network configuration
TherearetwonetworkconfigurationoptionsavailablefortheMatrixswitch,IPv4orIPv6.
ThefollowingtabledescribestheoptionsforconfiguringIPv4.
Option Description
DynamicHost
Configuration
Protocol(DHCP)
TheswitchisaDHCPclientandreceives
allthenetworkparametersfromaDHCP
serveronthenetwork.
DHCPpluszeroconf
TheswitchattemptstoobtainanIP
addressusingDHCP.IfDHCPtimesout,
thenituseszeroconftoobtainanIP
address.ZeroconfpicksanIPaddressout
oftheblock169.254.0.0/16.Touse
zeroconfthenetworkmustusethe
169.254.0.0/16blockofIPaddresses.
Zeroconf Theswitchwillimmediatelyusezeroconf
todetermineanIPaddress.
Static TheuserwillentertheIPaddress
manually.
IPAddress TheIPaddressoftheswitch.
Netmask TheNetmaskoftheswitch.
DefaultGateway Thedefaultgatewayoftheswitch.
IPv4 Configuration

Installation and Configuration.....11
ThefollowingtabledescribestheoptionsforconfiguringIPv6.
Option Description
Statelessonly
TheswitchusesIPv6statelessaddress
autoconfigurationtoobtainanIPv6
address.
DynamicHost
Configuration
Protocol(DHCP)
TheswitchisaDHCPclientandreceives
allthenetworkparametersfromaDHCP
serveronthenetwork.
DHCPinfoonly
Theswitchobtainsconfiguration
informationfromtheDHCPserverbut
doesnotperformanyaddressassignment.
Static TheuserwillentertheIPaddress
manually.
IPAddress TheIPaddressoftheswitch.
PrefixLength Thesizeofthelink-localprefix.
DefaultGateway Thedefaultgatewayoftheswitch.
IPv6 Configuration
Afterthenetworkhasbeenconfigured,youcanaccesstheOBWItoaddusersandmanagethe
Avocent®MatrixSwitchingSystem.
Appliance mode
TheApplianceModemenuoptionallowsyoutotoggletheswitchbetweencascademasterand
cascadeslave.Iftheswitchisconfiguredasacascadeslave,thisoptionallowstheadministratorto
selectthecascademasterusingtheswitchEID.
Username/password
Theusername/passwordmenuallowstheusertochangetheusernameandorpassword.
Thechangesetupportpasswordoptionallowstheusertoenableorchangeasetupportpassword.
Thiswillenableordisableaccesstothebootmenuwhichallowstheusertoselectthecurrentor
previousversionoffirmwareforbooting.Whileconnectedtotheswitchfromthesetupport,
administratorscanalsoselectabootimage.WhennewfirmwareisloadedintoMatrixswitch,the
switchkeepsacopyofthepreviousversioninaseparateflashimage.Thereisashortbootmenu
thatallowstheadministratortoselectwhichbootimageistobeused.Thebootmenuisaccessedin
thefirstfivesecondsofbootingbypressinganykey.
Set session timeout
Thesetsessiontimeoutoptionconfiguresthesetupportinactivitytime-out.Whenthetime-outfor
thesetupportexpires,theuserisloggedout.

Installation and Configuration.....12

On-Board Web Interface
TheOn-BoardWebInterface(OBWI)isaremote,webbrowser-baseduserinterfacethatallowsan
administratortomanageusers,switches,receiversandtransmitters.Thefirsttimeyoulogintothe
administratoraccount,youwillberequiredtosettheaccountpassword.
NOTE: TheOBWIandtheSetupportusethesameadministratoraccount.
ThefollowingbrowsersarecompatiblewiththeOBWI:
• MicrosoftInternetExplorer®9or10
• MozillaFirefox®17ExtendedServiceRelease
To log in to the Matrix switch OBWI:
1. Launchawebbrowser.
2. Intheaddressfield,entertheIPaddressoftheAvocent®Matrixswitch.Usehttps://<IP
Address>astheformat.
3. Enteryourusernameandpassword,thenclickLogin.
NOTE: ThedefaultusernameandpasswordisAdminwithnopassword.
On-Board Web Interface

14.....Avocent® Matrix High Performance KVM Switching System
Number Description
1Tabbar-Usethetabbartodisplayandmanageusers,sessions,devices,
peripherals,settingsandevents.
2Sidebar-Thesidebarisusedtoinitiateactionsrelatedtothecurrenttab.The
contentofthesidebarchangesdependingonwhichtabisselected.
3Detailspane-Thedetailspaneshowsinformationaboutthecurrentlyselected
item(s)andchangesdependingonwhatitemisselected.
4Displaypane-Thedisplaypaneisusedtodisplaylistsofusers,receiversand
transmitters.Thecontentsvarydependingonthetabthatisselected.
5 Help
6 OBWIpreferencesforthecurrentlyloggedinuser.
7 Logout
On-Board Web Interface (OBWI)
Common features
Onmosttabs,thereisalistofitemsintheupperpane,andthepropertiesofthoseitemsareshown
inthelowerpane.MorethanoneitemcanbeselectedonmostlistsusingCTRL +click.Ifmore
thanoneitemisselected,thepropertiesofthoseitemsare“merged”inthelowerpane.Ifaproperty
conflicts,itisshownasblank.Sometextentryfieldshaverestrictionsontheircontent.Ifthecontent
isinvalid,thefieldwillbeoutlinedinred.
NOTE: Anasterisk(*)onatabindicatesthatthereareunsavedchangesonthattab.

Forgotten password
Ifyouforgettheadministratorpassword,contacttechnicalsupport.
OBWI Help
YoucanaccesstheonlinehelpfortheMatrixswitchbyclickingtheHelp buttoninthetoprightofthe
screen.
Dashboard Tab
WhenyoulogintotheOBWI,thetabthatisshownbydefaultistheDashboardtab.TheDashboard
tabdisplayscurrentsessioninformation,userinformationandevents.