Specifications

CHAPTER 3: Installation and Preconfiguration

3.4.4 M

IXED

HAINS

You can, if you’re very careful, connect 4-User, 8-User, and 16-User ServSwitch

Affinity units together in the same daisychain. In fact, you can even connect two-

user Matrix ServSwitches (product codes SW74xA-R3 and SW76xA-R3) to an

Affinity daisychain. In this situation, any buses running

through Matrix

ServSwitches or 4-User or 8-User Affinity units should still be numbered 1 and 2,

1 through 4, or 1 through 8

respectively. Only system users numbered KVM 1 and 2,

KVM 1 through 4, or KVM 1 through 8 respectively

(wherever in the chain they

are) will be able to access CPUs attached to those units.

NOTE

It is possible to “renumber” the user ports above KVM 1 and KVM 2 on a

4- or 8-User Affinity chassis by connecting them to higher-numbered

ports on a model with more user ports. For example, you can cause

KVM 3 and 4 on a 4-User Affinity to behave as if they were KVM 7 and 8

by running expansion cable between the 4-User chassis’ IN 2 port and

an 8-User chassis’ OUT 4 port. However, this can become a nightmare to

troubleshoot and support, and we very strongly recommend that you

practice consistent, straightforward cabling and port numbering.

Here are three things to be careful of:

• Because the Matrix ServSwitches and 4-User Affinity models have different

types of connectors on their Expansion Modules and Expansion Cards than

the 8- and 16-User models have on their Expansion Cards, you’ll need special

cabling to interconnect them. Call Black Box Technical Support for details.

• When you connect a Matrix ServSwitch to an Affinity, connect the Matrix

ServSwitch’s IN and OUT ports to the Affinity’s OUT 1 and IN 1 ports

respectively.

• You’ll have to use multisync monitors and PC to Sun keyboard mapping (refer

to Table 3-1 at the end of Section 3.2.2) to access Sun computers at user

stations attached to PC-only Matrix ServSwitches (product code SW74xA-R3).

• As mentioned earlier, the numbering of the IN and OUT ports is reversed on

the 8-Port Expansion Cards as opposed to the 4-Port Cards, so be careful

where you attach your cables.

•

If you set up a mixed chain in a ring topology, you might need to cable separate

rings for KVM 1 and 2, KVM 3 and 4, KVM 5 through 8, and KVM 9 through 16.

But you’ll only need to set the BUS/RING jumper to RING for KVM 1 and

KVM 2; this will cause the whole chain to operate as a ring on all buses.

Call Black Box Technical Support before installing such a mixed daisychain.