KVM Configuration with multiple mice and displays

This document describes a technique not found in the KVM manuals to control upto 9 systems with 1 keyboard, 3 displays and 3 mice.

I use StarTech.com KVMs.  It is essential that they can be daisy chained.

The KVM-middle is the ‘controlling’ KVM and the keyboard is used to control it.  The CPU- middle has its own mouse and display.

The KVM-left and KVM-right will always have an active CPU which will show on the display and the respective mouse-left and mouse-right will be active.  (It is surprising how many activities just need a mouse).

For my KVM the switch code is CTRL-CTRL 3 (middle CPU) or CTRL-CTRL 2x or CTRL-CTRL-1x where x is the CPU address on the right or left. This switches the keyboard to the CPU.  In the case of the right or left bank of CPUs, the CPU will also be switched if it is different.

I recently purchased a 34” curved screen for the middle display.  This gives me in total 74” of linear screen space.

This configuration I find ideal for working on the elongated systems I develop.

I can readily see and compare multiple probe points in the system being developed as well as view the code that is being developed.  Typically the right screen shows the source data, the middle screen the code and the left screen the resulting data.

The NetClip utility (Git NetClip) lets me copy text from one screen to another, often with just the mouse.