Adder Technology's AdderLink IP device allows existing KVM switches to be used remotely. The half-1U device sits between the KVM switch and the outside world and allows a remote connection to be established, either through its built-in 10/100 Base-T Ethernet port or through its standard serial comms port attached to a modem or an ISDN adapter.
Although the AdderLink IP device would normally be used to operate a KVM switch to control several servers, it can just as easily be connected to a single system, which in turn could use a variety of methods to control other devices.
The device can be placed anywhere on the network depending on the way you plan to use it. It can operate behind a firewall or in parallel with one. The device uses 128-bit encryption to protect remote links. Encryption can be enforced, in which case any connecting viewer must also support encryption, or optional, in which case encryption will operate if the connecting viewer requests it or disabled if it does not support it.
Setup is simple, although you will need to connect a keyboard, mouse and display unit to the device to set the various options.
The device can use DHCP to obtain its network addressing details, although assigning static IP address would be a wiser choice if you plan to use a Java-enabled browser to access it. The system uses RealVNC viewer software, and can use either Java or Windows versions as required.
In use the device is simple to operate, with everything accessible from the viewer. The device's configuration can be altered, hosts configured and users added as needed. The system allows up to 32 hosts to be configured, and up to 16 users can be set up, all of whom can have access controls applied to their connections.
There is no online help, but the documentation on the accompanying CD-Rom provides comprehensive information on setting up and using the device. It is possible to configure up to eight keystroke combinations as control commands that can be sent to the target system, so that the host system is not affected by them.
