PS/2 mouse problem via kvm switch

[Jerry Dunham]

On 9 Sep 2004 at 7:34, Ted Mittelstaedt wrote:

> > -----Original Message-----
> > Sent: Wednesday, September 08, 2004 8:14 PM
> > 
> > I have problem with ps/2 scroll mouse when connecting via Nova View 
> > KNV102 kvm switch.   The mouse doesn't work.   It just moved to the 
> > top-right of the screen and stuck there.
> 
> Have you ever thought of contacting Rextron and asking them to
> fix this?  Lots of KVM switches work fine with FreeBSD.
> 
> I can tell you that Compaq had to release a software update for it's
> 4110 series KVM switches to correct this problem.  (the 4110 isn't sold
> anymore)  Their new KVM's don't do this.  Most other people's KVM
> switches don't do this.  Why are you blaming FreeBSD for this problem
> when other KVM switch manufacturers have obviously dealt with it.
> 
> Maybe you should sell yours on Ebay and buy a different brand.

FWIW, I tried several brands of small KVMs and found that many work 
most of the time but occasionally have problems with the rodent, this 
with both Windows NT and FreeBSD.  This "occasionally" seems to 
correspond to particular workstations more than OSes or mice (though I 
didn't test rigorously), and in this case seemingly identical 
workstations (Dells) differ.  I did not try Nova View.

When I found a brand of KVM that didn't offer this feature of 
occasional flakiness I stuck with it, and now have about 10 IOgear 
KVMs, mostly MiniView SEs of two, four or eight ports.  Note that we're 
a small business and none of these are what you'd call "enterprise 
class" KVMs, a market where Avocent, Raritan and Minicom are the 
primary players.  We'll be going there soon.

The only issue I've seen that seems to be FreeBSD-related has been that 
some FreeBSD machines seem to like to have the KVMs set to them when 
they boot, though that doesn't seem to be consistent and I've not taken 
the time to pin it down.  After booting they're fine.


--
Jerry Dunham
M3 Design, Inc.
jdunham at m3designinc.com
(512) 218-8858