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SNEAK PREVIEW Raritan Computer has set a new density mark in the crowded KVM (keyboard, video, mouse) field with the Paragon UMT1664, a Category 5 UTP cable-based, matrix switching unit. If you tier enough of these 64-port, 16-user, 2U units together, up to 64 users can control up to 10,000 servers, according to Raritan. I didn't test that claim, but I did put a UMT1664 and Raritan's TeleReach Web interface, a hardware solution for remote access, through their paces at our Syracuse University Real-World Labs.(R)
Aside from some quirks, such as only Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) support for access to the TeleReach and the UMT1664's arcane user-access control scheme, the high-density UMT1664-TeleReach package blows the socks off the competition by providing lots of ports in a small space.
Raritan's Paragon family of matrix-switching KVMs is a modular solution. The UMT1664 sits between Raritan computer interface modules (CIMs) and the user stations (USTs). A variety of CIMs supports different types of equipment, including PS/2 devices, ASCII/serial devices, Sun Microsystems systems and USB connections. The UST connects to a user port on the UMT1664 matrix switch and provides connectors for a local keyboard, mouse and monitor. Or, the UST plugs into one of the ports on a TeleReach interface unit to provide remote access via the Internet or dial-up line. Raritan representatives told me that the next version of the TeleReach will include built-in USTs. The three components are connected with Cats UTP cables that can go up to 500 feet,...