Architecture to enable keyboard, video and mouse (KVM) access to a target from a remote client

• US 20070115992A1
• Filed: 01/27/2006
• Published: 05/24/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/06/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Raritan Americas Incorporated (Legrand SA)
• Original Assignee: Raritan Americas Incorporated (Legrand SA)
• Inventors: Somasundaram, Siva, Weinstock, Neil, Wahl, Ronald
• Granted Patent: US 8,332,523 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/392
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0227 Cooperation and interconnection of the input arrangement with other functional units of a computer G06F3/023 - G06F3/037 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/023 Arrangements for converting discrete items of information into a coded form, e.g. arrangements for interpreting keyboard generated codes as alphanumeric codes, operand codes or instruction codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0806 for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0843 based on generic templates
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0886 Fully automatic configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0889 Techniques to speed-up the configuration process
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning

Abstract

A keyboard, video and mouse over an Internet Protocol (IP) switch in which the master and target interfaces share the same IP address and access to the target interfaces from the client is via a Transmission Control Protocol/IP network. The master is able to determine into which switch port the target interface is connected by reading media access control address tables of a switch chipset. Such provides immediate association for a target interface, i.e., the Ethernet port number.

Claims

1. Architecture to enable keyboard, video and mouse (KVM) access to a target from a remote client, comprising:

master and target interfaces that share a common Internet Protocol (IP) address on a network, the IP address being assigned to the master, the master including a processor and being arranged to provide a configuration;

an Ethernet switch having switch ports, individual ones of the target interfaces being connected to individual ones of the switch ports, the master being configured to determine into which ones of the switch ports the individual ones of the target interfaces are connected by reading addresses of at least one media access control (MAC) address table of a switch chipset so as to obtain an association between each of the target interfaces and corresponding port numbers of the Ethernet switch.

2. The architecture of claim 1, wherein the master is configured to answer a request broadcast from the target interfaces, the Ethernet switch having a configuration that blocks answers from other servers on the network from responding directly to the request broadcast from the target interfaces.

3. The architecture of claim 1, wherein the Ethernet switch is configured with a virtual local area network (VLAN), the VLAN including only the master and target switch ports so that only the master receives requests from the target interfaces to which the master responds to provide information concerning the configuration.

4. The architecture of claim 1, where the master has an interface to the Ethernet switch that uses a fixed MAC address, the fixed interface being arranged only for target interface configurations so as to be kept invisible to the network, the target interface being configured to send configuration requests directly to the MAC address.

5. The architecture of claim 2, wherein the servers are dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) servers, the request being a DHCP request.

6. The architecture of claim 1, wherein the master provides the configuration to enable access by a client to any one of the target interfaces, the client being on the network to enable establishing a connection with the master, the master being configured to authenticate and authorize the client over the connection to provide the client thereafter with information about availability of each of the target interfaces.

7. The architecture of claim 1, wherein the master is configured to allocate a session and assign a session identification in response to a request from the client to initiate a connection to a particular one of the target interfaces.

8. The architecture of claim 7, wherein the master is configured to take steps after completing allocation of the session and assignment of the session identification, the steps including notifying the particular one of the target interfaces of the session and the session ID over a direct Transmission Control Protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP) connection between the master and the particular one of the target interfaces, informing the client of the session identification and configuring internal tables to associate the session identification with the particular one of the target interfaces.

9. The architecture of claim 8, wherein the master receives a message from the client in which is given the session identification after the client establishes connection with the master, the master being configured to determine via the internal tables the particular one of the target interfaces that is associated with that session identification and then hands off a TCP/IP socket to the particular one of the target interfaces.

10. The architecture of claim 9, wherein the master is configured so that after handing off, the master forwards all future packets on the connection from the client to the particular one of the target interfaces until the connection is closed.

11. The architecture of claim 10, wherein the particular one of the target interfaces is configured to see the connection that is handed off as if made directly and uses the session identification to authorize the connection with the client server to thereafter send data directly to the client server through the Ethernet switch bypassing the master to thereby keep a majority of traffic from being subject to performance constraints of the master.

12. The architecture of claim 11, wherein the configuration is configured so that all packets from the client to the particular one of the target interfaces must be routed through the master.

13. The architecture of claim 12, wherein the packets are keyboard or mouse inputs.

14. The architecture of claim 8, wherein the master receives a message from the client in which is given the session identification after the client establishes connection with the master, the master being configured to determine via the internal tables the particular one of the target interfaces that is associated with that session identification and then implements a proxy so that all traffic in both directions pass through the master.

15. The architecture of claim 14, wherein the master has hardware whose performance is at a level so as to avoid performance bottlenecks in the master that might otherwise arise from all the traffic in both directions passing through the master.

16. A method of assembly of architecture to enable keyboard, video and mouse (KVM) access to a target from a remote client, comprising:

configuring master and target interfaces to share a common Internet Protocol (IP) address on a network, assigning the IP address to the master, arranging the master to provide a configuration to each of the target interfaces, the master being a processor, connecting individual ones of the target interfaces to individual ones of the switch ports of an Ethernet switch, and configuring the master to determine into which ones of the switch ports the individual ones of the target interfaces are connected by reading addresses of at least one media access control (MAC) address table of a switch chipset so as to obtain an association between each of the target interfaces and corresponding port numbers of the Ethernet switch.

17. A method of claim 16, further comprising configuring the master to answer a request broadcast from the target interfaces, providing the Ethernet switch with a configuration that blocks answers from other servers on the network from responding directly to the request broadcast from the target interfaces.

18. A method of claim 16, further comprising configuring the master to allocate a session and assigning a session identification in response to a request from the client to initiate a connection to a particular one of the target interfaces.

19. A method of claim 18, further comprising configuring the master to take steps after completing allocation of the session and assignment of the session identification, the steps including notifying the particular one of the target interfaces of the session and the session ID over a direct Transmission Control Protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP) connection between the master and the particular one of the target interfaces, informing the client of the session identification and configuring internal tables to associate the session identification with the particular one of the target interfaces.