Tell me more ×
Super User is a question and answer site for computer enthusiasts and power users. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 1 down vote favorite
1

I'm wondering is there any alternatives to a network KVM switch? I'm looking to use one on my home machine while away. I'd be using it on 1 or 2 machines with Fedora / Windows XP/7.

share|improve this question

migrated from serverfault.com Jul 23 '10 at 18:54

3 Answers

up vote 2 down vote accepted

Well, you can set up linux to connect the console to the serial port (and I think there are ways to make this work with USB, but not sure), and many ups can be controlled from another computer, so if one is up, you can force a reboot.

VNC may also be what you are looking for.

What do you want to be able to do?

share|improve this answer
Would it be possible to access GRUB loader on start up over some form of KVM? – Aidan Jul 24 '10 at 14:33
Yes, you can configure all of them to talk to a serial port, bios is the only hard part (either you can enable or you cannot, usually only server hardware). You can buy cards that will put the bios out over a serial port. Years ago, at a dot com, I daisy chained a bunch of netra's so you could use one to talk to the next ones serial consol. Saved buying another terminal server (not good for prod though, when a machine goes down, there is a chance it will send a hardware suspend to the next machine, taking it down). – Ronald Pottol Jul 26 '10 at 6:46
up vote 7 down vote

What's wrong with SSH and RDP; or VNC?

share|improve this answer
up vote -2 down vote

Consider Synergy2 and quicksynergy.

Though be sure to read the security guide.

share|improve this answer
1  
Synergy lets you share a single mouse/keyboard between multiple machines you are sitting in front of. It doesn't help for remote use, as the question is asking for. – Daniel Lawson Aug 1 '10 at 2:11

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.