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Dominion

KX II - Frequently Asked Questions

©Copyright Raritan, Inc. 2007 Page 1 of 11 Rev. May 2007

Dominion

KX II

General Questions

Questions Answers

General Questions

What is Dominion KX II?

Dominion KX II is a second generation digital KVM (keyboard / video /

mouse) switch that enables IT administrators to access and control 16,

32 or 64* servers over the network with BIOS-level functionality.

Dominion KX II is completely hardware and OS-independent; users

can troubleshoot and reconfigure servers even when servers are

down.

At the rack, Dominion KX II provides the same functionality,

convenience, space savings and cost savings as traditional analog

KVM switches. However, Dominion KX II also integrates the industry’s

highest-performing KVM-over-IP technology, allowing multiple

administrators to access server KVM consoles from any networked

workstation.

How does Dominion KX II

differ from remote control

software?

When using Dominion KX II remotely, the interface, at first glance, may

seem similar to remote control software such as pcAnywhere

Windows

Terminal Services / Remote Desktop, VNC, etc. However,

because Dominion KX II is not a software but a hardware solution, it’s

much more powerful:

• OS- and hardware-independent – Dominion KX II can be used

to manage servers running many popular OS, including Intel

Sun

, PowerPC running Windows, Linux

, Solaris

, etc.

• State-independent / Agentless – Dominion KX II does not

require the managed server OS to be up and running, nor

does it require any special software to be installed on the

managed server.

• Out-of-Band – Even if the managed server’s own network

connection is unavailable, it can still be managed through

Dominion KX II.

• BIOS-level access – Even if the server is hung at boot up,

requires booting to safe mode, or requires system BIOS

parameters to be altered, Dominion KX II still works flawlessly

to enable these configurations to be made.

How do the new features of

the Dominion KX II compare

to the KX I?

Dominion KX II has many new and exciting features, including virtual

media, dual power, dual gigabit Ethernet, common Web-based user

interfaces, next generation local port, etc. See the “Features and

Benefits” tab on the KX II Web pages on Raritan.com/KXII.

How do I migrate from the

Dominion KX I to Dominion

KX II?

In general, KX I customers can continue to use their existing switches

for many years. As their data centers expand, customers can

purchase and use the new KX II models. Raritan’s centralized

management appliance, CommandCenter

Secure Gateway, and the

Multiplatform Client both support KX I and KX II switches seamlessly.

Summary of content (11 pages)

PAGE 1
Dominion® KX II - Frequently Asked Questions Dominion® KX II General Questions Questions Answers General Questions What is Dominion KX II? How does Dominion KX II differ from remote control software? How do the new features of the Dominion KX II compare to the KX I? How do I migrate from the Dominion KX I to Dominion KX II? ©Copyright Raritan, Inc.
PAGE 2
Dominion® KX II - Frequently Asked Questions Questions Answers Will my existing KX I CIMs work with the Dominion KX II switch? Yes, existing KX I CIMs will work with the Dominion KX II switch. In addition, select Paragon CIMs will work with the KX II. This provides an easy migration to KX II from Paragon I customers who wish to switch to KVM-over-IP. Yes. The Dominion KX II ships standard with 19" rack mount brackets. It can also be reverse rack mounted so the server ports face forward.
PAGE 3
Dominion® KX II - Frequently Asked Questions What is the file size of the applet that’s used to access Dominion KX II? How long does it take to retrieve? The Virtual KVM Client applet used to access Dominion KX II is approximately 500KB in size. The following chart describes the time required to retrieve Dominion KX II’s applet at different network speeds: Theoretical 100Mbit 0.05 100Mbps network speed seconds 60Mbps Likely practical 100Mbit network speed 0.
PAGE 4
Dominion® KX II - Frequently Asked Questions Ethernet and IP Networking Does the Dominion KX II offer dual gigabit Ethernet ports to provide redundant fail-over, or load balancing? How much bandwidth does Dominion KX II require? What is the slowest connection (lowest bandwidth) over which Dominion KX II can operate? What is the speed of Dominion KX II’s Ethernet interfaces? Can I access Dominion KX II over a wireless connection? Can Dominion KX II be used over the WAN (Internet), or just over the corpor
PAGE 5
Dominion® KX II - Frequently Asked Questions Can I use Dominion KX II with a VPN? How many TCP ports must be open on my firewall in order to enable network access to Dominion KX II? Are these ports configurable? Does Dominion KX II require an external authentication server to operate? Can Dominion KX II be used with CITRIX? Can the Dominion KX II use DHCP? I’m having problems connecting to the Dominion KX II over my IP network. What could be the problem? ©Copyright Raritan, Inc. 2007 Yes.
PAGE 6
Dominion® KX II - Frequently Asked Questions Servers Does Dominion KX II depend on a Windows server to operate? Do I need to install a Web server such as Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) in order to use Dominion KX II’s Web browser capability? What software do I have to install in order to access Dominion KX II from a particular workstation? What should I do to prepare a server for connection to Dominion KX II? What comes in the Dominion KX II box? Absolutely not.
PAGE 7
Dominion® KX II - Frequently Asked Questions How far can my servers be from Dominion KX II? Some operating systems lock up when I disconnect a keyboard or mouse during operation.
PAGE 8
Dominion® KX II - Frequently Asked Questions How do I select between servers while using the local port? How do I ensure that only authorized users can access servers from the local port? If I use the local port to change the name of a connected server, does this change propagate to remote access clients as well? Does it propagate to the optional CommandCenter appliance? If I use Dominion KX II’s remote administration tools to change the name of a connected server, does that change propagate to the local
PAGE 9
Dominion® KX II - Frequently Asked Questions What type of power strips does Dominion KX II support? To take advantage of Dominion KX II’s integrated power control user interface, and more importantly, integrated security, use Raritan’s Remote Power Control (RPC) power strips. RPCs come in many outlet, connector and amp variations. The D2CIM-PWR must be purchased to connect the RPC to the KX II.
PAGE 10
Dominion® KX II - Frequently Asked Questions Security What kind of encryption does Dominion KX II use? Does Dominion KX II support AES encryption as recommended by the US Government’s NIST and FIPs standards? Does Dominion KX II allow encryption of video data? Or does it only encrypt keyboard and mouse data? How does Dominion KX II integrate with external authentication servers such as Active Directory®, RADIUS, or LDAP? How are usernames and passwords stored? Does Dominion KX II support strong password
PAGE 11
Dominion® KX II - Frequently Asked Questions Can Dominion KX II integrate with SNMP? Can Dominion KX II’s internal clock be synchronized with a timeserver? Yes. In addition to Dominion KX II’s own internal logging capabilities, Dominion KX II can send SNMP tracks to SNMP management systems like HP Openview and Raritan’s CC-NOC. Yes.