“Have you ever wanted eight arms and two heads? Sometimes when I
get piled up with work, I find myself wishing I did — or maybe
just a brain that could manage a few more bodies. So, imagine
trying to move and work among all the computers that must share
what’s left of my desk space with several monitors. The combination
of my one-brain/one-body configuration and multiple-computer desk
setup chews up my workspace, heats up my office, strains my neck,
and nibbles away at my sanity.”
“There’s an easy solution to all of this. No, we’re not talking
about human cloning; instead, we can run all the computers from the
same desktop. There are many technical ways to do this using
xterms, remote displays, and so on, but none simpler than the KVM
switch. This device hooks one or more keyboard-video-mouse
consoles to multiple computers; with the press of a button you can
swap your views on a single monitor.“
“KVM switches are an enormous space saver for server rooms
filled with computers. Although a lot of servers can run well
without a console, it is so much simpler to manage them with a
keyboard, monitor, and mouse directly attached. With Linux playing
such a crucial role in ISPs and ASPs today, it is very likely that
if you are a service provider you either have a KVM switch or want
one.”