User guide

Chapter 2: Installation 17
4. Power up the target device. When the server has completely powered up, proceed to the
next
step.
5. Attach one end of a UTP cable into a numbered server port on one of the AMX switches.
Attach the other end into either RJ-45 port on the AMIQDM module. Repeat this step to attach
the second AMX switch to the remaining RJ-45 port on the AMIQDM module.
6. If the AMX switches are not already powered, do so now.
NOTE: If a target device is unavailable through the AMX switching system, make sure that all AMX switching
system target devices and components are powered up and all cables are correctly attached. If operation is not
restored, test the connection with another AMIQDM module or with another port on the AMX switch.
Installing a Cascaded AMX Switching System
Multiple KVM switches can be connected to the switching system to provide access to additional
target devices. You can connect target devices to up to three levels of AMX or non-Avocent KVM
switches. When cascading AMX switches, you can seamlessly connect to any target device from a
single list in the OSCAR interface, as if all the target devices were connected to one switch. You
can also cascade non-Avocent KVM switches, but to access the attached target devices you must
first select the non-Avocent switch from the OSCAR interface target list, and then connect to the
target device using the methods provided by the non-Avocent KVM switch. To use seamless cas
-
cading, you will need to configure the cascaded target device as Multiple Device Mode (MDM).
Blocking and non-blocking configurations
Before setting up a cascaded AMX switching system, evaluate how many users and how many
target devices are needed in your system. You can then choose how to best configure your system:
as a blocking or a non-blocking configuration, or a combination.
Whether the configuration is blocking or non-blocking is determined by how user paths are
connected in the switching system. In a cascaded system, UTP cable is connected from the server
ports on the primary switch to the user ports on the secondary switches. To add a tertiary level of
switches, UTP cable is connected from the server ports on secondary switches to the user ports on
the tertiary switches (see
Figure 2.9 on page 19 for an example). Each length of UTP cable acts as a
path to connect users to target devices.
Blocking and non-blocking configurations are defined as follows:
• Non-blocking configuration – the number of user paths between each level of switches is equal
to or greater than the number of users the primary switch supports. The maximum number of
user paths are available and thus any user (with the appropriate access rights) can access any
target device in the switching system at any time.
• Blocking configuration – the number of user paths between each level of switches is less than
the number of users the top level switch supports. A limited number of user paths are available
in this configuration, which at times might prevent or block a user from accessing a target
device. However, you may be able to attach more target devices to the switching system when
using a blocking
configuration.