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

• US 8,332,523 B2
• Filed: 01/27/2006
• Issued: 12/11/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/06/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Raritan Americas Incorporated (Legrand SA)
• Original Assignee: Raritan Americas Incorporated (Legrand SA)
• Inventors: Weinstock, Neil, Somasundaram, Siva, Wahl, Ronald
• Primary Examiner(s): Chan, Wing
• Assistant Examiner(s): Katsikis, Kostas
• Application Number:
  US11/341,117
• Publication Number:
  US 20070115992A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,510 Days
• Field of Search: 710/4, 710/5, 710/28, 710/29, 710/73, 710/72, 710/65, 710/316, 345/1.1, 345/1.2, 345/2.1, 345/2.3, 709/206, 709/223, 709/225, 709/227, 709/208, 709/245, 709/229, 709/219, 709/203, 370/252, 370/352, 370/389, 370/396, 370/466, 370/392, 370/401, 348/705, 348/E05.057
• US Class Current: 709/229
• 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. An architecture to enable keyboard, video and mouse (KVM) access to a target from a remote client, comprising:

a master and a plurality of 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;

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,

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,

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,

wherein the particular one of the target interfaces sends all data to the remote client without the data passing through the processor of the master after the hand off,

wherein the master is configured to answer initial configuration requests broadcast from the target interfaces, the Ethernet switch having a port-based virtual local area network (VLAN) configured to limit configuration request responses received by the target interfaces to responses generated by the master, and

wherein the port-based VLAN is configured to include only the master and one or more external ports providing sole communications access for external devices, so that no external device may communicate directly with the target interfaces.

2. The architecture of claim 1, wherein the port-based VLAN is configured to include only the master and target switch ports so that only the master receives the initial configuration requests from the target interfaces to which the master responds to provide information concerning the configuration.

3. The architecture of claim 1, wherein the servers are dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) servers, and the initial configuration requests are DHCP requests.

4. 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.

5. The architecture of claim 1, 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.

6. The architecture of claim 5, 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.

7. The architecture of claim 6, 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.

8. The architecture of claim 7, wherein the packets are keyboard or mouse inputs.

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

configuring a master and a plurality of 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, wherein the master includes a processor;

connecting individual ones of the target interfaces to individual ones of the switch ports of an Ethernet switch;

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;

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;

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;

receiving 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 hand off a TCP/IP socket to the particular one of the target interfaces;

sending all data to the remote client from the particular one of the target interfaces to the remote client without the data passing through the processor of the master after the hand off;

configuring the master to answer initial configuration requests broadcast from the target interfaces; and

configuring the Ethernet switch in a port-based virtual local area network (VLAN) configuration operable to limit configuration request responses received by the target interfaces to the answers generated by the master,

wherein the step of configuring the Ethernet switch configures a port-based VLAN including only the master and one or more external ports providing sole communications access for external devices, so that no external device may communicate directly with the target interfaces.

10. The method of assembly of claim 9, wherein the step of configuring the Ethernet switch configures a port-based VLAN including only the master and target switch ports so that only the master receives initial configuration requests from the target interfaces to which the master responds to provide information concerning the configuration.

11. The method of assembly of claim 9, wherein the servers are dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) servers, and the initial configuration requests are DHCP requests.

12. An architecture to enable keyboard, video and mouse (KVM) access to a target from a remote client, comprising:

a master and a plurality of 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;

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,

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,

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,

wherein the particular one of the target interfaces sends all data to the remote client without the data passing through the processor of the master after the hand off, and

wherein the master has interfaces to the Ethernet switch that respectively use first and second MAC addresses, the first address comprising a public MAC address for communicating with the master on the Ethernet switch and the second address comprising a private, fixed MAC address arranged only for the master to receive target interface configuration requests so as to be kept invisible to the network, the target interface being configured to send initial configuration requests directly to the second MAC address.

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

configuring master and a plurality of 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, wherein the master includes a processor;

connecting individual ones of the target interfaces to individual ones of the switch ports of an Ethernet switch;

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;

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;

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;

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;

receiving 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 hand off a TCP/IP socket to the particular one of the target interfaces;

sending all data to the remote client from the particular one of the target interfaces to the remote client without the data passing through the processor of the master after the hand off; and

configuring the master with interfaces to the Ethernet switch that respectively use first and second MAC addresses, the first address comprising a public MAC address for communicating with the master on the Ethernet switch and the second address comprising a private, fixed MAC address arranged only for the master to receive target interface configuration requests so as to be kept invisible to the network; and

configuring the target interface to send initial configuration requests directly to the second MAC address.