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CHAPTER 5: Operation
An optional Remote-Control Module (“RCM” for short, our product code
KV6REM) is also available for the ServSwitch Duo. It’s a small hand-held
component—with its own copies of the Switch’s SELECT key and front-panel
display—whose 10-foot (3-m) cord you can plug into the Switch’s RS-232 port.
This is particularly useful in applications where the ServSwitch Duo is located
some distance from the shared keyboard, mouse, and monitor. The RCM can
be conveniently attached to your keyboard with the included Velcro strips so you
can have channel information and channel-selection control at your fingertips.
AUTO key
The AUTO key puts the ServSwitch Duo into autoscan mode. You can choose
which ports the Switch scans, and how long it pauses at each port during a scan,
with the “L” and “T” commands in configure mode (see Section 4.2.3). Note that,
in cascaded systems, you can’t scan all of the CPU ports on all Switches in the same
scan; you have to press the AUTO key individually on each Switch. For more
information on autoscanning, see the “Use {Hotkeys} + [A]...” paragraph in
Section 5.7.
AUTO and SELECT keys pressed together: The “Lock” function
Pressing both the AUTO and SELECT keys at the same time will “lock” the
ServSwitch Duo, causing it to disable all video output and select CPU channel 0
(zero, the “nothing” channel, something like your local public-television station
after it goes off the air). If a password has been set for the Switch, the Switch will
display “P” and wait for the password to be entered before unlocking itself; until
this is done, the Switch will ignore all other keyboard and mouse data and all
further presses of the front-panel or RCM buttons. If there is no password currently
set for the Switch, it will still blank the video and select channel zero (and show “0”
on its front-panel display), but it will still respond as normal to all input, so it can
easily be switched to any active CPU channel.
AUTO and SELECT keys pressed together for 5 seconds: The “Keyboard and
mouse reset” function
Pressing both the AUTO and SELECT keys at the same time and holding them in
for five seconds will blank the ServSwitch Duo’s display and cause the Switch to cut
off power to the shared keyboards and mice of both control ports in order to
completely reset them. After several more seconds, the Switch resumes supplying
power to the keyboards and mice and returns to normal operation. This reset
function has no effect on the computers connected to the Switch.
