KVM switches combat e-crime: dual-video monitors present a unique challenge to Canadian detectives' networks.

A 28-year veteran of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), including 18 overall years in IT, detective sergeant Bob Gagnon is no stranger to technology. Gagnon was quite surprised, however, to find that keyboard/video/mouse (KVM) technology created a roadblock in his project to upgrade the OPP electronic crime section's (e-crime) operational environment.

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The e-crime section of the investigation support bureau of OPP is responsible for handling all aspects of computer-related crime within the Canadian province of Ontario. With e-crime significantly increased over the past 10 years, e-crime units are continually looking for new ways to increase their productivity.

To aid the staff in their investigations, dual-video monitors were selected to enhance each investigator's ability to monitor e-crime activities. The dual-video allows for a continuous work space from one monitor to the next, giving each investigator a larger work space.

The plan called for each detective to have a dedicated server rack that would hold a RAID array, tape backups, uninterruptible power supply and four IBM servers, each with dual-head video graphics array (VGA) outputs. The e-crime unit had been using KVM switches from a leading manufacturer in its old setup, but these switches did not support dual video.

The new project called for an eight-port rackmount KVM switch that would accommodate the four new dual-video IBM servers, as well as a mix of single-video PCs and laptops that could be connected and disconnected, as needed. Neither the project integration team nor the manufacturer of the existing KVM switches used by OPP was able to meet this design specification.

"If it cannot support dual monitors, we don't want it," Gagnon told the KVM vendor. A subsequent search led to the Adder Corp., where, he says, "We were pleasantly surprised to find a proposal to meet our project needs in an off-the-shelf solution."

TWO SWITCHES SYNCHRONIZED

Gagnon's team chose the Adderview Matrix, which is a KVM switch that supports two simultaneous users and is available in configurations of either eight or 16 ports. While it is a single-head video product, the Matrix is equipped with a serial connector, which enables two switches to be synchronized together to support multiscreen applications. So, when a user on the master switch selects a port to be controlled by his keyboard, video and mouse, a serial command is sent to the second synchronized switch to ensure that the correct video--only port is displayed on the second monitor. This switching happens in real time with no delays or latency for the user. Adderview rackmount brackets enabled the entire solution to be mounted into only 2U of rackspace.

Keyboard and mouse connections on the Matrix are PS/2, so Adder's standard male-to-male molded KVM cables were used to connect the IBM servers with a second male-to-male VGA cable supporting the second video. Some of the desktop PCs and laptops that needed to be connected only had USB ports for keyboard and video connections. In these cases, the Adder CCUSB cable was used, which features USB and VGA from the computer and PS/2 and VGA into the switch. A chipset is molded into the cable that converts the keyboard and mouse signals, thus making virtually any Adder switch multiplatform.

"Having the ability to spread windows across multiple monitors and increase their available work space has been great for our entire team. It has greatly enhanced case handling and workflow, which has led to increased productivity," says Gagnon. "The added bonus is that we were able to do this with a cost-effective solution that worked right out of the box and required no customization."

Nine months after the implementation of the equipment, another twist was suddenly added when the e-crime unit moved into a new space within the OPP headquarters building in Orillia, Ontario. As part of this move, the decision was made to move all of the server racks, which previously had been positioned next to each officer's desk, into a centralized server room. This would put each of the user's desks several hundred feet away from the servers and KVM switches.

MONITOR PROBLEM CORRECTED

The requirements demanded extension of dual-head VGA at 1,600 x 1,200 resolutions, as well as PS/2 keyboard and mouse over standard Category 6 UTP cable. The solution was to take video, keyboard and mouse signals out of the Matrix into the Adderlink X-DV/T or dual video transmitter. From there, two CAT 6 cables carry the signals up to 650 feet to the user's desk, where they terminate into two Adderlink X-Series receivers.

While this solution worked for officers who were using 17-inch monitors, those who were using 20-inch models experienced some problems with the video when it was extended. After reviewing the problem with Adder technical support and engineering, a problem with the DC offset in the KVM extender receiver was determined. Upgrading the receivers to the newer Adderlink X2-Silver receiver, which was designed to support a higher grade of monitor, solved the problem.

The final element of the extension solution was the ability to use the monitors, keyboard and mouse for not only the servers in the rack, but also for various local desktops or laptops, as needed. For this, a local KVM switch needed to be added to the mix, but it also had to support the dual-video requirement.

The solution for this was the Adder Smartview multiscreen 4-port dual-video (SVMS4-DUAL). This setup allows the output from the extender to go into port one of the SVMS, with three more ports that can accommodate additional machines.

"The addition of this local switch gives us maximum flexibility without the clutter of extra keyboards, monitors or mice on our desks," Gagnon offers.

As new officers have been added to the team, additional sets of equipment have been purchased to meet their needs. One such example is the Adderlink X2-MS2 multiscreen KVM extender. This unit allows the PS/2 keyboard and mouse, audio, dual video and dual RS-232 to be extended over two cables up to 1,000 feet.

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