Manage multiple over IP servers on one screen with ATEN’s Panel Array Mode™
The technology now provides capabilities in production line, surveillance
KVM switches have been typically utilized in environments such as data centers to monitor and control multiple computers or servers from a single keyboard, monitor, and mouse. Traditional KVMs allowed operators to view one port at a time on their screen, with the option of using a menu tree to keep track of all the ports connected to that KVM. But this kind of setup eventually proved inefficient in environments such as manufacturing and surveillance that often require monitoring of a much higher numbers of ports. These environments called for a visual, intuitive alternative to allow users to preview the content of all the ports at a single time. ATEN’s Panel Array Mode™ - a feature standard to all of ATEN’s KN series KVM over IP switches - resolves this problem by allowing administrators to monitor the video output of up to 64 servers simultaneously.
How Panel Array Mode works
In Panel Array Mode, which can be invoked by clicking the Panel Array icon either on the KVM interface toolbar or in the ATEN CC2000 Centralized Management Software, the screen divides into a grid of up to 64 panels: each panel represents one of the switch’s ports beginning with Port 1 at the upper left, and going from left to right, top to bottom. The number of panels in the array can be selected by clicking the “Show More Ports” and “Show Fewer Ports” symbols on the panel array toolbar.
[ Read the user manual for more information on how to enable Panel Array Mode in the CC2000 software ].
Panel Array mode
Panel Array mode
All ports are displayed, and for ports that are not online, the panel is blank. Mousing over a panel displays information about the port (port name, online status, port access status, and resolution). Users can access a server connected to a port by moving the mouse pointer over its panel and clicking. You switch to the server exactly as if you had selected it from the Port Access page. This powerful feature helps administrators manage their server room in a much more efficient and flexible manner.
Panel Array Mode™ allows administrators to monitor the video output of up to 64 servers simultaneously
Capabilities beyond the data center
Production line
Having evolved significantly over the years, Panel Array Mode-enabled KVM switches now provide capabilities well beyond data center applications. For example, ATEN’s customers in the manufacturing and distribution industry such as Arrow Electronics are leveraging Panel Array Mode in product testing environments, using ATEN KVM switches for test rack solutions in select integration centers where customized computing solutions are developed for OEM clients. The Panel Array Mode feature enables technicians to view the status of up to 16 test units simultaneously, significantly reducing manpower by centralizing the entire facility via one KVM, such as the KN2124VA 24-Port Cat 5 KVM over IP switch.* The company is now saving time on each test bench, thereby allowing more products to be configured and tested in less time.
Panel Array mode is implemented in Arrow Electronics’ testing facilities
Surveillance
Another environment that Panel Array mode can be applied in is surveillance. In a typical surveillance installation for a multi-building facility, a CCTV controller is paired with only one control point for each building. With the aid of a CCTV controller, Panel Array Mode™-enabled KVM over IP switches can be used to control and centralize an entire facility by offering the ability to view multiple CCTV video recorders simultaneously on one screen.
Panel Array mode is also effective in surveillance environments requiring simultaneous viewing of multiple screens
ATEN's Panel Array Mode-enabled KVMs include :
- KH1508Ai / KH1516Ai Eight and 16-Port Cat 5 KVM over IP Switches with Daisy Chain port.
- KN1108V / KN1116V Eight and 16-Port Cat 5 KVM over IP Switches.
- KN2124VA / KN2140VA Twenty four and 40-Port Cat 5 KVM over IP Switch with Virtual Media; other models include KN4124VA/KN4140VA.
- KN1132V / KN2116VA Thirty-two and 16-Port Cat 5 KVM over IP Switch with Virtual Media; other models include KN2132VA/KN4116VA/KN4132VA/KN4164V/KN8132V/KN8164V.
* At the time of this project, Arrow Electronics was using the older, 16 port model, which has since been discontinued.
About ATEN
ATEN International Co., Ltd. (TWSE: 6277), established in 1979, is the leading provider of IT connectivity and management solutions. Offering integrated KVM, Professional Audiovisual, and Intelligent Power solutions, ATEN products connect, manage, and optimize electronics in corporate, government, industrial, educational, and retail environments. ATEN has 500+ issued international patents and a global R&D team that produces a constant stream of innovative solutions, resulting in a comprehensive portfolio of products available worldwide.
Headquartered in Taiwan, ATEN International Co., Ltd. has grown to include subsidiaries in China, Japan, Korea, Belgium, Australia, the U.S., the U.K. and Turkey – with R&D centers in Taiwan, China, and Canada.