IBM 17351GX User manual

Installation and User’s Guide
39M2884 590526599A
For 1735-1GX
Local 2x8 Console Manager

Local 2x8 Console Manager
Installation and User’s Guide

Notices and statements used in this document
•Note: These notices provide important tips, guidance, or advice.
•Important: These notices provide important information or advice that might help you avoid
inconvenient or problem situations.
•Attention: These notices indicate possible damage to programs, devices or data.
An attention notice is placed just before the instruction or situation in which damage could
occur.
•Caution: These statements indicate situations that can be potentially hazardous to you. A cau-
tion situation is placed just before the description of a potentially hazardous
procedure step or situation.
•Danger: These statements indicate situations that can be potentially lethal or extremely haz-
ardous to you. A danger statement is placed just before the description of a
potentially lethal or extremely hazardous procedure step or situation.
Important:
All caution and danger statements in this documentation begin with a number. This number is used
to cross reference an English caution or danger statement with translated versions of the caution or
danger statement in the IBM Safety Information book.
For example, if a caution statement begins with a number 1, translations for that caution statement
appear in the IBM Safety Information book under statement 1.
Be sure to read all caution and danger statements in this documentation before performing the
instructions. Read any additional safety information that comes with the server or optional device
before you install the device.
Sound Level Measure
The measured sound level of this appliance is 44.7 dB(A).
Die arbeitsplatzbezogene Geräuschemission des Gerätes beträgt 44,7 dB(A).

vii
Table of Contents
List of Figures .................................................................................................................ix
List of Tables................................................................................................................... xi
Chapter 1: Product overview .......................................................................................... 1
Glossary.............................................................................................................................................1
Features and benefits.........................................................................................................................1
Intelligent cables.........................................................................................................................2
Virtual media..............................................................................................................................2
OSCAR graphical user interface................................................................................................3
Video...........................................................................................................................................3
Flash upgradability ....................................................................................................................3
Tiering expansion .......................................................................................................................3
Chapter 2: Installation ..................................................................................................... 5
Required items ...................................................................................................................................5
Safety precautions..............................................................................................................................6
Rack mounting the appliance.............................................................................................................8
General guidelines......................................................................................................................8
Installing the appliance vertically in the side of a rack..............................................................9
Installing the appliance horizontally in the 1-U rack mounting space ......................................9
Installing the LCM2 appliance........................................................................................................10
Connecting a CO cable to each target device..........................................................................11
Connecting local peripheral devices........................................................................................12
Tiering LCM2 appliances................................................................................................................12
Adding earlier-model appliances.....................................................................................................15
Chaining target devices with CO cables ..................................................................................16
Setting up the LCM2 appliance .......................................................................................................17
Chapter 3: Basic operations ......................................................................................... 19
Controlling the switching system from the analog user ports .........................................................19
Starting the OSCAR interface..........................................................................................................19
Connecting a user to a target device...............................................................................................20
Using the OSCAR interface .............................................................................................................21
TABLE OF CONTENTS

viii Local Console Manager Installation and User’s Guide
Connecting local virtual media........................................................................................................22
Configuring the appliance and the OSCAR interface......................................................................23
Assigning target device names..................................................................................................24
Assigning device types..............................................................................................................25
Changing the display behavior.................................................................................................26
Selecting display language.......................................................................................................27
Controlling the status flag........................................................................................................27
Setting the keyboard country code............................................................................................28
Setting appliance security.........................................................................................................29
Managing target device tasks using the OSCAR interface..............................................................31
Displaying version information................................................................................................32
Upgrading the firmware...........................................................................................................32
Viewing the display configuration...................................................................................................33
Viewing and disconnecting user connections..................................................................................33
Resetting the keyboard and mouse ..........................................................................................34
Scanning the switching system.........................................................................................................35
Running switching system diagnostics.............................................................................................36
Broadcasting to target devices ........................................................................................................38
Setting the connection mode ............................................................................................................39
Chapter 4: Computer terminal operations................................................................... 41
The Console menu............................................................................................................................41
Network configuration..............................................................................................................41
Other Console Main menu options...........................................................................................42
Appendixes..................................................................................................................... 45
Appendix A: Flash upgrades............................................................................................................45
Appendix B: Virtual media ..............................................................................................................48
Appendix C: UTP cabling................................................................................................................50
Appendix D: Technical specifications .............................................................................................52
Appendix E: Getting help and technical assistance.........................................................................54
Appendix F: Notices.........................................................................................................................56
Index................................................................................................................................ 61

ix
List of Figures
Figure 1.1: LCM2 appliance.............................................................................................................1
Figure 1.2: Examples of CO cables...................................................................................................2
Figure 1.3: Example of an LCM2 appliance configuration ..............................................................4
Figure 2.1: Appliance vertical installation........................................................................................9
Figure 2.2: Appliance horizontal installation .................................................................................10
Figure 2.3: Basic LCM2 appliance configuration...........................................................................11
Figure 2.4: LCM2 appliance configuration with tiered appliances................................................14
Figure 2.5: Appliance configuration with an earlier-model appliance...........................................15
Figure 3.1: Example of a Main window..........................................................................................19
Figure 3.2: Setup window................................................................................................................23
Figure 3.3: Devices window............................................................................................................25
Figure 3.4: Device Modify window .................................................................................................26
Figure 3.5: Menu window................................................................................................................26
Figure 3.6: Language window.........................................................................................................27
Figure 3.7: Keyboard window.........................................................................................................29
Figure 3.8: Commands window.......................................................................................................31
Figure 3.9: Version window ............................................................................................................32
Figure 3.10: Upgrade window.........................................................................................................33
Figure 3.11: User Status window ....................................................................................................34
Figure 3.12: Scan window...............................................................................................................35
Figure 3.13: Commands window.....................................................................................................36
Figure 3.14: Diagnostics window....................................................................................................37
Figure 3.15: Switch window............................................................................................................39
Figure 4.1: Network configuration menu ........................................................................................41
Figure A.1: CO Status window........................................................................................................46
Figure A.2: Version window............................................................................................................46
LIST OF FIGURES

xLocal Console Manager Installation and User’s Guide

xi
List of Tables
Table 3.1: OSCAR interface status symbols ....................................................................................20
Table 3.2: OSCAR interface navigation basics ...............................................................................21
Table 3.3: Setup features to manage routine tasks for the target devices.......................................23
Table 3.4: OSCAR interface status flags.........................................................................................28
Table 3.5: Commands to manage routine tasks for the target device .............................................31
Table 3.6: Diagnostic test details....................................................................................................37
Table D.1: Product specifications ...................................................................................................52
LIST OF TABLES

xii Local Console Manager Installation and User’s Guide

1
CHAPTER
1Product overview
The IBM®Local 2x8 Console Manager (LCM2) appliance integrates analog keyboard, video, and
mouse (KVM) switching technology with advanced cable management, access for two
simultaneous users, and a user interface. The LCM2 appliance has USB and PS/2®ports on the rear
panel that support all major target device platforms.
Glossary
The following words are used throughout this documentation:
•appliance - equipment that provides KVM connectivity to attached target devices
•CO cable - a Conversion Option cable that, when attached to the appliance and a target device,
provides additional functionality such as virtual media sessions
•switching system - a set of appliances and attached target devices and CO cables
•target device - equipment such as a server or router that is attached to an appliance
•user - a KVM connection from an analog port on the appliance
•virtual media -a USB media device that can be attached to the appliance and made available to
any target device that is connected to the appliance
Features and benefits
On-screen management through the OSCAR®for IBM graphical user interface provides easy
system configuration and target device selection.
Figure 1.1: LCM2 appliance

2Local Console Manager Installation and User’s Guide
Intelligent cables
You can use the following Conversion Option (CO) cables with the appliance.
•IBM 250 mm KVM Conversion Option (KCO) - PS/2 and VGA connectors
•IBM 1.5 M KVM Conversion Option (KCO) - PS/2 and VGA connectors
•IBM Virtual Media Conversion Option (VCO) - USB2 and VGA connectors, required for
virtual media connections
•IBM USB Conversion Option (UCO) - USB and VGA connectors
Figure 1.2: Examples of CO cables
These intelligent CO cables with Cat5 design dramatically reduce cable clutter while providing
optimal digital display resolution and video settings. The built-in memory of the CO cable
simplifies configuration by assigning and retaining unique target device identification codes for
each attached target device. This integrated intelligence enhances security and prevents
unauthorized access to a target device through cable manipulation. The CO cable is turned on
directly from the target device and provides Keep Alive functionality when the appliance is not
turned on.
The CO cables enable direct KVM connectivity to target devices that are attached to the appliance.
Each LCM2 appliance has eight analog rack interface (ARI) ports for connecting CO cables.
The CO cables that work with the LCM2 appliance support target devices with PS/2 and USB
ports. When using the OSCAR interface in conjunction with CO cables, you can easily switch
between platforms.
Virtual media
The LCM2 appliance supports virtual media when connected to a VCO cable. You can use virtual
media support to connect USB media devices to the appliance and make those devices available to
any connected LCM2 appliance. Use virtual media to move data between a target device and a USB
media device that are connected to the appliance. You can install, upgrade, or recover the operating
system; update the BIOS code; or start the target device from a USB drive through the virtual
media capabilities of the LCM2 appliance. To open a virtual media session with a target device, the
target device must first be connected to the appliance using a VCO cable.
KCO cable VCO or UCO cable

Chapter 1: Product overview 3
OSCAR graphical user interface
The LCM2 appliance uses the OSCAR interface, which has menus to configure the switching
system and select computers. You can list target devices by unique name, eID (electronic ID), or
port number.
Security
Use the OSCAR interface to protect the switching system with a screen saver password. After a
user-defined time, the screen saver mode engages and access is prohibited until the correct
password is entered to reactivate the switching system.
Operation modes
The OSCAR user interface provides various operation modes for system administration of the
LCM2 appliance. Use these modes (Broadcast, Scan, Switch, and Share) to manage the switching
activities. See Chapter 3, “Basic operations”, beginning on page 19 for more information.
Video
The LCM2 appliance provides optimal resolution for analog VGA, SVGA, and XGA video. You
can achieve resolutions of up to 1280 x 1024 depending upon the length of cable that is separating
the appliance and target devices.
Flash upgradability
Upgrade the LCM2 appliance at any time through the network port to ensure the appliance is
always running the most current available version. See “Appendix A” beginning on page 45 for
more information.
Tiering expansion
The LCM2 appliance features an analog console interface (ACI) port that you can use to tier
between appliances using only a Cat5 cable. The LCM2 appliance allows for three levels of tiering.
You can connect a maximum of 512 target devices with three tiers of LCM2 appliances. See
“Tiering LCM2 appliances” on page 12 for more information.

4Local Console Manager Installation and User’s Guide
Figure 1.3: Example of an LCM2 appliance configuration
CO cable
Earlier-model
appliance
(tiered)
LCM2 appliance
(tiered)
Rack of target devices
Local user
Critical target device
LCM2 appliance (main)
Local user

5
CHAPTER
2Installation
Required items
Before you install the appliance, make sure that you have all the required items. The following
items come with the LCM2 appliance:
• Power cord
• One serial cable
• Rack-mounting brackets
• Documentation CD
• Quick Installation Guide
• 1-U filler panel
• Eight terminators
In addition to the items that come with the appliance, you must provide one CO cable (virtual
media, KVM, or USB) and one Cat5 patch cable for each attached target device or appliance. A
Phillips screwdriver is also needed for rack-mounting the appliance.

6Local Console Manager Installation and User’s Guide
Safety precautions
Observe the following guidelines to safely operate the equipment.