User guide

Managing remote servers through the Video Session Viewer 88
Purchase a PS2 interface adapter with Virtual Media to map to a single non-composite Virtual Media
device.
Disable the USB 2.0 function of the USB 2.0 interface adapter with Virtual Media from the console
switch local OSD, allowing the interface adapter to operate in 1.1 mode. For more information on
this option, see the HP IP Console Switch with Virtual Media User Guide.
Currently, AMD Opteron-based HP ProLiant servers and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 do not support
composite USB 2.0 devices. However, the target server BIOS for Intel®-based HP ProLiant G4 and newer
servers support composite USB 2.0 devices. If the server's BIOS supports USB 2.0 composite devices, but
the operating system installation program does not, you will experience a failure at the time that the
control of the keyboard and mouse is switched from the BIOS to the installation program.
HP recommends using the PS2 interface adapter with Virtual Media for AMD Opteron-based HP ProLiant
servers and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.
Virtual Media sharing and preemption considerations
The KVM session and Virtual Media sessions are separate. Therefore, there are many options for sharing,
reserving, or preempting sessions. The HP IP Console Viewer has the flexibility to accommodate the
system needs.
For example, the console switch and Virtual Media sessions can be locked together. In this mode, when a
console switch session is disconnected, the associated Virtual Media session is also disconnected. If the
sessions are not locked together, the console switch session can be closed, but the Virtual Media session
remains active.
When a server has an active Virtual Media session without an associated active console switch session,
one of the two situations can occur:
The original user (User A) can reconnect.
-or-
A different user (User B) can connect to that channel.
You can set an option in the Virtual Media window (Reserved) that only allows User A access to that
channel with a console switch session.
If User B has access to that session (the Reserved option is not enabled), User B could control the media
that is being used in the Virtual Media session. In some environments, this configuration might not be
desirable.
By using the Reserved option in a cascaded environment, only User A could access the lower console
switch, and the console switch channel between the upper console switch and lower console switch would
be strictly reserved for User A.
Preemption levels offer additional flexibility of combinations.
Virtual Media window
The Virtual Media window is a program that manages the mapping and unmapping of Virtual Media.
The window displays all the physical drives on the client's workstation that can be mapped as virtual
drives (non-USB hard drives are not available for mapping). You can also add .iso and floppy image files
and then map them using the Virtual Media window.
After a target server is mapped, the Virtual Media window Details View displays information about the
amount of data transferred and the time elapsed since the target server was mapped.
You can specify that the Virtual Media session is reserved. When a session is reserved and the associated
console switch session is closed, another user cannot launch a console switch session to that server. If a
session is not reserved, another console switch session can be launched. Reserving the session can also