KVM + Wireless keyboard/mice works?

[Steve21]

Hey,

 

May be a stupid question but can you use wireless keyboards/mice over KVMs? Would the KVM be able to power the USB receivers etc?

 

Would it be the KVM that would need the appropriate drivers on it, or would it still backpeddle to the end device to check if it's compatible to use it on?

 

Seems mixed opinions online

 

Thanks,

Steve

[glennda]

what are you trying to achieve? using one keyboard and mouse on two machines on your desk or is this for server room?

 

If the later then you can use this software which works really well! Synergy

[Steve21]

Trying to work out ways to save time/hassle with homelab. Thought having KVM would save a lot of time/monitors etc Only problem with software based KVMs would be different IP ranges between home and lab, guess it won't work across them?

 

Thanks,

Steve

[glennda]

Trying to work out ways to save time/hassle with homelab. Thought having KVM would save a lot of time/monitors etc Only problem with software based KVMs would be different IP ranges between home and lab, guess it won't work across them?

 

Thanks,

Steve

 

as long it can route between them i couldn't see a problem just have to have a hop via default gateway. I used to use it on my desk between my windows machine and Linux. had dual screen on both and it was fine.

[Arthur]

Would the KVM be able to power the USB receivers etc?

Yes. My Logitech MX Revolution mouse worked perfectly when connected through an Aten CS1784 KVM. The USB receiver was also connected via an adapter that allowed me to position it vertically for a better signal.

 

Would it be the KVM that would need the appropriate drivers on it, or would it still back-peddle to the end device to check if it's compatible to use it on?

The USB ports on most KVMs are essentially USB hubs and you don't need drivers for those. One of the reasons I originally chose the CS1784 was because of the 'pass-through' feature which sends keystrokes and mouse clicks directly to the computer you are connected to (instead of via an emulator that emulates a bog standard mouse and keyboard) because I wanted to use all of the buttons on my mouse. A lot of the cheap KVMs aren't able to do this - at least when I last looked.

Edited November 11, 2012 by Arthur