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CHAPTER 4: Configuration
4.2.9 S
ETTING THE
P
ASSWORD
There are many situations where unrestricted access to corporate file servers or
sensitive information needs to be controlled. In such circumstances, the ServSwitch
Duo can be locked away in a room or secure cabinet and controlled remotely. In
this mode, you can type the hotkey sequence followed by the number “0” (zero) at
the shared keyboard of the active control port in order to “lock” the Switch. When
you do so—or when the Switch locks itself automatically upon activating screen-
saver mode; see Section 4.2.2—the Switch blanks the screen, disconnects the
keyboard and mouse from all of the computers, and displays the letter “P” on its
front-panel display. Control can only be regained by typing the correct password
on the keyboard.
To set this password, get into configuration mode, then type the letter “P” and
press the [Enter] key. The ServSwitch Duo will light the middle and bottom
segments of its front-panel display, so that it resembles a wide equals sign, and you
can then type your password. The password is not case-sensitive and can be any
combination of keystrokes, including function keys but excluding [Ctrl], [Alt],
[Shift], and [Enter]. (For example, the password [F4] [F] [R] [E] [D] [Home]
would be valid.) When you’ve finished typing in your password, press [Enter] to
save it to the Switch’s EEPROM. (This type of memory does not depend on active
power or even a battery backup, so it can persist indefinitely.) Don’t worry if you
type the password incorrectly; you can always re-enter it, even if you’ve exited and
re-entered configuration mode. (Of course, if somebody locks the Switch or the
Switch goes into screen-saver mode, and you discover only then that you messed up
entering the password or can’t remember what the password is, you will have to
power down the Switch and hold down its SELECT key while powering it back on
to get back into configure mode—as described in Section 4.2.1—in order to
change the password.)
If you want to remove the password after setting one, get into configuration
mode, type the letter “P”, and press the [Enter] key as before, but then press
[Enter] without typing in any other characters. (If you try to lock the Switch before
you’ve set a password, or after you’ve removed the password, the Switch will still
blank the video, but it won’t prevent someone from selecting another channel;
see the paragraph about the lock function in Section 5.3.)
4.2.10 E
XITING
C
ONFIGURATION
M
ODE
When you’ve finished configuring the ServSwitch Duo, simply type the letter “E”
and press [Enter] to exit the configuration mode and return to normal operation.
The attached computers can now be switched on.
