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Introduction Chapter 1: Introduction The Phantom system from Minicom is a CAT5 based Distributed KVM Switching system for server management. Connect up to 63 computers in the Phantom system. The system can be managed and controlled by 1 or 2 users.
The Phantom configuration Features of the Phantom system • Control and monitor mixed, multi-platform server environments of up to 63 remote computers from 2 Manager positions • Advanced On Screen Display management (including multi-layer security), and BIOS level access • A total distance of up to 110m/360ft between the Manager computer and the last connected Remote computer • Pure hardware solution. No drivers. No IRQs.
The OSD functions Chapter 2: The OSD functions The Phantom system is controlled and monitored through On-Screen-Displays (OSD) on the MX II and UPM Manager screens. You can also use Minicom’s RS232 Control software or equivalent software. The Control software is discussed in chapter 4. The OSD contains a number of different windows that are accessed using Hot-keys. Each window has its own special function. Displaying the OSD To display the OSD: Press Shift, Shift. The Select Computer window appears.
The hotkey functions Selecting a Computer To select a computer: 1. Navigate to the desired computer with the Up and Down Arrow keys. Or Type the computer number. It will appear in the “SELECT COMPUTER” line. See Figure 2-1. 2. Press Enter. The selected computer’s screen replaces the Manager’s screen. A Confirmation label appears showing which computer is accessed. See Figure 2-2. Figure 2-2 The Confirmation label Control and monitor the computer from the Manager KVM position.
The OSD functions Move Label - F1 Position the Confirmation label – Figure 2-2 above – anywhere on the screen. To position the label: 1. Navigate to the desired computer using the Up and Down arrow keys. 2. Press F1. The selected screen image and Identification label will appear. 3. Use the arrow keys to move the label to the desired position. 4. Press Esc to save and exit. Edit Mode window - F2 You can edit text in the Name and Computers sections. This is done in the Edit Mode window.
The hotkey functions To erase a sequence of characters: 1. Navigate to the first character in the sequence. 2. Press and hold the Spacebar down until you erase the sequence. Saving changes To save all editing changes and return to the Select Computer window: Press Esc. Editing the Name section You can substitute the text in the Name section with up to 30 characters in each of the two lines. A space constitutes a character.
The OSD functions Column Function Numbers Computer numbers in groups of 8 SCN Scanning time period DSP Confirmation label display time KB Keyboard setting, either PS or Unix MS Mouse type OUT Timeout period 1-6 Security profiles (Explained in chapter 3) The SCN (Scan) column The SCN column shows the length of time in seconds that a remote computer’s screen will appear on the Management screen during scanning.
The hotkey functions Removing a computer from the scanning sequence To remove a computer from the scanning sequence: 1. Type 000 in the SCN column. 2. Press Esc. Constantly displaying the Confirmation label To constantly display the computer Confirmation label: 1. Type 999 in the DSP column. 2. Press Esc. The KB column The KB column shows the keyboard mapping settings. Set the KB mapping for each computer according to its operating system.
The OSD functions ( For the rest of the column downwards to take on the same change press End, End.) 4. Press Esc. When Timeout activates, the keyboard and mouse are disabled, and a ‘Timeout’ label appears. See Figure 2-6. Figure 2-6 The TIMEOUT label To re-enter the system: Press Esc. Scanning Computers – F4 You scan computers from the Select Computer window. To start scanning: Press F4. During scanning a Confirmation label appears, showing which Remote computer is presently displayed.
Exiting the OSD Note! Picture quality is relative to distance. The further away a remote computer is from the Manager position, the lower the image quality, and the more tuning needed. So place the higher resolution computers closer to the manager unit. Skipping out unconnected or switched off computers- F6 When navigating through the list of computers, you can skip out the unconnected or switched off computers. You do this with Autoskip. By default, Autoskip is activated.
Password protecting the OSD & Auto numbering Chapter 3: Passw ord protecting the OSD & Auto numbering The Management OSD comes with an advanced password security system that contains 3 different security levels. Each security level has different access rights to the system.
Enabling password protection Enabling password protection By default, password protection is disabled. To enable password protection: 1. From the Management OSD Select Computer window press F7. The Password box appears. See Figure 3-1. Figure 3-1 The Enter Password box 2. Type the default password “admin”. (You can change this password when customizing the security system). 3. Press Enter. The Password window appears. See Figure 3-2. Figure 3-2 The Password window 4. Press F7.
Password protecting the OSD & Auto numbering Setting up a password The Administrator sets up passwords for each User Profile in the Password window. See Figure 3-3. He can also edit the names to give each Profile a more identifiable name. Figure 3-3 The Password window To set up a password: 1. From the OSD Select Computer window press F7. The Enter Password box appears. 2. Type the Administrator’s password. 3. Press Enter. The Password window appears. See Figure 3-3.
Accessing the OSD using a password The 6 User Profiles Figure 3-4 The Setup window To set the User Profiles access levels: 1. Navigate to the desired User Profile and computer. 2. Change the desired access level by pressing the Spacebar. 3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for each User Profile and computer. 4. Press Esc to save the changes. When a User accesses the system with their password they see the access levels for each computer displayed on the OSD. See Figure 3-5.
Password protecting the OSD & Auto numbering Timeout When password protection is activated you can automatically disable the Management keyboard, mouse and screen after a preset time of non-use. You set the Timeout period in the OUT column of the Setup window (F3). By default the OUT column is set to 999, which means that the Time Out function is disabled. To set Timeout: 1. From the Select Computer window press F3. The Setup window appears. 2.
Auto numbering – F12 Auto numbering – F12 Auto numbering gives each Phantom Remote a sequential ID number. Auto numbering is done through the Management OSD. For Auto numbering to work properly ALL connected computers MUST be switched on To perform Auto numbering: 1. From the OSD Select computer window Press F7. The Enter Password box appears. See Figure 3-8. Figure 3-8 The Enter Password box 2. Type the Administrators password (default password is ADMIN) and press Enter. The Password window appears.
Operating the MX II Phantom system with the Control software Chapter 4: Operating the MX II Phantom system w ith the Control softw are As an alternative to the OSD you can operate the MX II Phantom system with the Control software located on the Marketing & Documentation CD. With the OSD you operate the system and view the computer screens on the same monitor. The Control software requires 2 monitors 1 for the software and 1 to view the computer screens.
The View menu P110 SD USER POWER COMPUTER SYSTEM SERVICE ww w. m in i co m. c om 85-265VAC 50/60 Hz Computer screens appear here UPM To Service connector RS232 Serial cable Control software installed here To computer’s Serial port Figure 4-2 Connecting the RS232 Serial cable to the UPM Installing and running the Control software Note! The Phantom system must be fully connected BEFORE running the Control software.
Operating the MX II Phantom system with the Control software Figure 4-3 The Control window Computer icons Icon Meaning Remote computer is connected and switched on Remote computer is switched off or unconnected Connected and switched on computer with a Local Workstation attached and presently being used locally. After remaining idle for 30 seconds, it changes to yellow.
The View menu Communication Error If a Communication Error box appears when trying to scan the system – see Figure 4-4. Figure 4-4 Communication Error Check that: • The RS232 Serial cable is connected to the computer’s and Phantom Manager’s serial ports. • The Com Port settings in Options / Com Port are set correctly. After changing the Com port exit and re-enter the Control software. The View menu From the View menu choose to display: • All computers, or only active switched on computers.
Operating the MX II Phantom system with the Control software The toolbar buttons Get Status If for whatever reason there is a break in communication between the Control software and the Phantom system, click to get the current status of the computers in system. The system automatically updates the status before every switching. Read Configuration To see the current settings of the entire Phantom system (names, scan settings etc.) click . All current settings are received.
The toolbar buttons Logo and Passwords You can edit the logo that appears at the top of the OSD window. You can also edit the names and passwords for the Administrator, Supervisor and 6 Users. 1. Edit the Logo and Passwords by choosing them from the Edit menu. See figures below. Figure 4-5 The logo 2. Make the desired changes. 3. Click OK. Figure 4-6 The names and passwords Settings Choose Settings from the Edit menu. The Computers’ Properties box appears. See Figure 4-7.
Operating the MX II Phantom system with the Control software Single computer settings To see all the settings of a single computer right click on the computer icon. The settings appear as in the figure below. Note! There is no Select box to check. Figure 4-8 The single computer Settings box Loading a saved configuration To load a saved configuration: From the File menu choose Open. The factory default settings To view to the factory default settings: From the File menu choose New.
Password protection User (Status U) – Lowest There are 6 different Users in the Phantom system. Each User has a Profile that defines the access level to different computers. There are 3 different access levels. These are: • Y – Full access to a particular computer • V –Viewing access only, to a particular computer (No keyboard/mouse functionality) • N – No access to a particular computer The Administrator defines the desired access levels of each User Profile. This is done in the Setting box.
Numbering newly added Specters or renumbering existing Specters Chapter 5: Numbering new ly added Specters or renumbering existing Specters When the Phantom MX II system was first installed, ID numbers were assigned with the auto-numbering process. Auto numbering gives each Phantom Specter a sequential number according to its physical location in the daisy chain.
Scanning the system Selecting a Com port 1. From the Options menu, select Com port. The Com port no. box appears. 2. Choose the Com port to which the RS232 Serial cable is connected. 3. Click OK. Legend The color-coded computer icons are explained in the table below. Icon Meaning Manager. The ID number is fixed at 01. New Specter. Has no ID number at present. Existing Specter. Has an ID number.
Numbering newly added Specters or renumbering existing Specters Auto numbering Auto numbering fills in any blank ID number boxes with the first available free ID number. To perform Auto numbering: 1. 2. In the toolbar, click Auto Numbering. All blank boxes are filled in. Click Apply. The process activates. When finished new ID numbers are assigned to the Specters. The icons change to green. Default numbering Default numbering assigns ID numbers according to the physical location of each Specter.
Communication Error Restore After making changes to ID numbers using the Auto, Default or Manual numbering, and AFTER clicking Apply, you can revert to the position as it was before the changes. To do so: From the Options menu, select Restore. Note! Restore is only available BEFORE the new scan is activated. Communication Error If a Communication Error box appears when trying to scan the system – see Figure 5-5.
Upgrading the Phantom firmware Chapter 6: Upgrading the Phantom firmw are With the Phantom Update software program you can upgrade the firmware for the: • OSD • Both Managers (MX II & UPM) • Specters Phantom Update enables you to add new features and fix bugs in a quick and efficient manner. You can install Phantom Update on the Manager computer or any other computer, even one not part of the Phantom system. The Phantom Update software and firmware is on the Marketing & Documentation CD.
Starting and configuring Phantom Update Starting and configuring Phantom Update 1. Start the Phantom Update software. The Phantom Update window appears. See Figure 6-1. Figure 6-1 The Phantom Update window The table below explains the functions of the buttons and boxes in the Phantom Update window.
Upgrading the Phantom firmware Displaying the maximum number of Remote units Select the maximum number of Remote units to display in the Phantom Update window. By default 64 Remote units are displayed. 1. From the Options menu choose Remotes. The Remotes box appears see Figure 6-3. 2. Select the maximum number of Remote units in your Phantom system. 3. Click OK.
Verifying the Remote version number Figure 6-5 The OSD Manager option The H/W Version button is grayed out, as there is no hardware relevant to the OSD. The Phantom Manager version number To verify the Phantom Manager version number: 1. Open the Phantom Update program. 2. Activate the Firmware Upgrade mode on the Manager OSD. 3. In the Manager Unit box, check the Phantom Manager option. 4. Click . The firmware version number appears in the Manager Unit box. 5. Click .
Upgrading the Phantom firmware When “Not responding” appears, there is no computer connected, or it is switched off. Obtaining new firmware Download the latest firmware for your system from http://www.minicom.com/phandl.htm.
Updating the firmware Updating the firmware Warning! Never switch off any computer connected to the Phantom system during the updating process. To update the firmware: 1. Open the Phantom Update program. 2. Activate the Firmware Upgrade mode on the Manager OSD. 3. In the Phantom Update window, check the appropriate option in the Manager Unit box or the desired remote computer or computers. 4. From the File menu, choose Open. The Open box appears. See Figure 6-6. 5.
Upgrading the Phantom firmware Wrong firmware When the firmware you are trying to flash is incompatible with the Phantom units a Not Compatible message appears stating that some or all units are not compatible with the selected firmware. Figure 6-7 The Not Compatible message In this case go to http://www.minicom.com/phandl.htm for information on how to correctly identify Phantom units. All new Phantom units are protected from being updated with the wrong firmware.
Reset Electricity failure When the electricity fails while updating the Phantom firmware, do the following: If the electricity fails during the firmware update of the Manager, a Communication Error message appears. The Phantom Manager enters the Upgrade mode automatically without displaying the Firmware Upgrade label. Simply resume the firmware update by opening the folder that contains the firmware update file and continue from there.
Phantom Specter USB SUN Combo keys Appendix A: Phantom Specter USB SUN Combo keys The SUN keyboard consists of a special keypad to perform special functions in the SUN Operating System environment. A PS/2 keyboard connected to the Phantom Manager does not have a corresponding keypad, so the Phantom USB emulates these keys using a set of key combinations called Combo keys. See the table below.
