Raritan Dominion KX II

This enterprise-level KVM grows with your needs.

Guide Price: Starting from £1,999
KVM Ports: 8 to 64
KVM Network: 10/100/1000 BaseT, serial modem
Console: 1 local, 1 to 8 IP
Selection: By IP address
Resolutions: up to 1600x1200
Display: LED
Stackable: Yes
Rack mount: Yes –brackets included
Power Supply: Dual redundant
Power Consumption: <25W typical
Size: 439x290x44 mm
Weight: ~4kg

The Raritan Dominion KX II offers a range of KVM over IP capacities ranging from 8 to 64 ports. We reviewed the DKX2-216 but all of the models follow the same basic specification. As well as the number of KVM ports each model supports, they also differ in the number of simultaneous remote users supported from 1 to 8. So at the bottom end of the range the DKX2-108 supports one remote user and eight KVM ports and at the top, the latest model in the series, the DK2-864 supports eight remote users and 64 KVM ports, both plus one local user in a 2U format.

You can opt for rack mounting (1 or 2U brackets included – dependent on model) or simply stand the unit on a desktop. All models feature a fault tolerant design with two power supply modules and two Gigabyte network connections. A modem connection is also included that can take over if connectivity fails. Machines are connected to the device using a special CIM (Computer Interface Module) unit via a standard RJ-45 cable. You need to use the right sort of CIM to connect a particular machine and CIMs are available for PS/2, Sun, and Serial devices. You can also get CIMs that support a USB keyboard/mouse connection.

All you really have to do to prepare the machines for connection is to make sure that they are using video modes that are supported. If you want the best performance you can spend time tinkering with the setup – for example a plain desktop background provides faster remote video than a complex image such as a photograph. You should also configure the mouse to remove mouse acceleration or to work in Intelligent mouse mode. These adjustments affect how well the mouse operates rather than being essential. In most cases you can get things working without changing the machine’s configuration and work on fine-tuning later.

Remote users work with the device via a web interface – either as a browser plug-in or standalone client. You can manage and use multiple devices very easily. The machines connected to the device can be given names and listed in a variety of orders. Connecting to a device via a virtual console is just a matter of clicking on the machine’s name. You can rescale the video to fit into any size from a thumbnail to full screen. This is ideal if you want to monitor multiple servers. Keystrokes are sent to the currently selected machine and you can define keystroke macros to make repetitive actions easier.

The quality of the display is very high even over medium speed connections. Of course by using a direct connection to the mouse, keyboard and video you can work with the machine from the moment it starts to boot, i.e. you can use the BIOS setup before the operating system starts. It you want to power cycle the machine then a natural solution is to use is one of the Raritan power strips – see our review of the Dominion PX8.
 
Dominion KX II review page 2