HN

Comments (116)

• gregwebs
  This author has tested a lot of IP KVMs and compares them in this post: https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2026/i-tested-every-ip-kvm...He likes JetKVM. However, they appear to be sold out. The Mini seems great but I have yet to receive a preordered item on the advertised timeline.That article pointed to ArkKVM which is a hardware clone of JetKVM but they have now released their own software stack as open source which has Tailscale support* https://store.arkkvm.com/blog/detail/arkkvm-fully-open-sourc...* https://store.arkkvm.com/blog/detail/arkkvm-ota-release-note...
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  Shank
  I own 3 JetKVMs, of which two of them stopped working, one of which doesn't boot at all and the other that never connects to network. The third I took out of service because the keyboard wouldn't send input when it was connected for more than a couple months. I'm sure the newer hardware is better, but I'm very unhappy with my JetKVMs.
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  mszcz
  I have 4 of the old ones in service and they're great. Whenever I need to remotely reboot a server those come in handy just great, no more fear of what I'm going to do if the server doesn't come back online.It also solved the issue I had with entering a password on FDE (full disk encryption) systems. Previously I had to rely on a janky solution with booting into BusyBox so that the system can be accessed remotely and using that to enter the password. Now it's just plain FDE set up during Debian install - I reboot, use JetKVM to enter the password and that's it.One note though - I don't use their online cloud service access thingy and connect to those using my Wireguard deployment. The hardware is nice, open source is nice, but I wouldn't trust that level of access to any cloud solution by any vendor.
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  doctorhandshake
  I have an OG JetKVM and it works solidly but the thing that prevents me from using it is no video pass through. The awkwardness of an ‘invisible’ monitor connected to windows at all times is hard to live with - windows and apps open there and I’m constantly having to pull them back to an another monitor. My next KVM will be pass through for this reason, but the consumer ones seem to top out at 4k30, which is not great either.
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  theanonymousone
  It may be worth noting that this is not _that_ KVM, but this one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KVM_switchI learnt this first myself from HN, a few months ago.
• xd1936
  I might buy one of these for remote family tech support. "Hey $relative, plug the remote support box into the USB port of the computer you're having trouble with so I can take a look"
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  teruakohatu
  I am amazed that there is an ESP that can handle this and with just 32MB of RAM:https://docs.espressif.com/projects/esp-dev-kits/en/latest/e...
• hacker_88
  Future Personal computers become unreasonable... Shifts to remote machines, mainframes
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  skolos
  or make one yourself: https://github.com/espkvm/espkvm
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  hofiflo
  Wait, do I understand correctly that you can only boot ISOs off a microSD card that I have to pre-load? I can’t just put in a card and load ISOs over the web interface? That makes the use case of full remote control (after plugging it in for the first time, of course) kinda moot… Otherwise, this seems to be a great product for homelab stuff :)
• anon
  undefined
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  noelwelsh
  I have an ATEN KVM [1] that gets a solid "it does the job" from me. Occasionally a connected computer won't pick up the K, V, or M, and I'll have to reconnect a few times.I use it to switch between my work laptop and my personal PC, and for this situation 4K is a must have. That, and the choice of HDMI instead of DisplayPort, and things that would keep me from getting a JetKVM.[1]: https://www.aten.com/gb/en/products/kvm/desktop-kvm-switches...
• nf-x
  Using one for couple of months so far. I need it once a month for a couple of hours or so, but it saves me 3x more time, so money well spent. But wow, at 3x less price tag it a deal!
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  tidbeck
  It is really hard to find on the site what kvm stands for. Guess people going there knows what it stands for but think it could be spelled out once at least.
• dijit
  I really just wish I had a USB-C KVM I could use with my laptop (or even better: tablet)...I can't find much, and what I find is a bit bonkers.I ended up buying a license to Orion, using USB-C→HDMI capture card with a Startech VGA→HDMI converter (which requires USB-A power)... in order to achieve a semi-passable KVM (but, without the K and the M...).I paired with a USB-A Hub and a keyboard and mouse and it kinda works but it's an incredibly janky setup...... the fact that many servers still output VGA is baffling.
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  neals
  The original one is shaped weirdly and hard to use in my unordered stack of machines and wires. I like the new shape here better.
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  woadwarrior01
  On a related note, I came across this USB-C KVM on pre-order the other day. It ostensibly supports Tailscale, which would be really useful.https://sipeed.com/nanokvm-go
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  stingraycharles
  What’s a decent quality IP KVM solution that’s not too expensive? We’re looking to put a dozen of mac minis in a collocation, and currently investigating solutions for remote access.
• cm2187
  Would be curious what the power draw is (in use or idle).
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  garganzol
  Kickstarter = never in stock. What's the point in all these PR pieces when there is no product?
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  dtech
  Not really related to this, but are there good non-IP KVM's left? I'm in the market for one so we can move two home office desks into 1, but all the ones I find seem kinda shit. Asking for USB-C + 2 hdmi or displayports is apparently unreasonable
• anon
  undefined
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  pftburger
  Missed marketing opportunity : Let AI Agents control any computer
• amelius
  LTE support?
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  LoganDark
  Are there any good KVMs for gaming? Right now, I use a capture card for video, connect the mouse directly to the destination, and use a piece of software called Deskflow to transmit my keyboard. But Deskflow occasionally crashes, so it'd be nice to have a hardware solution (also that can be used for BIOS/etc). And Deskflow also won't work if I install SteamOS, once Nvidia works.I looked at making a solution myself, but for some reason, simulating a USB client device in software is extremely annoying, and requires specialized hardware that is also very expensive. So at that point, why not just get a KVM...I frequently switch between 1080p and 4K for gaming since I don't like resampling artifacts. Never found a KVM that can handle 4K properly even for productivity. The mistake can be as basic as assuming a 100% scale factor.
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  mickeyp
  Meh. The challenge is 4k+ at high display frequency that doesn't cost the same as a small boat. There are gazillions of KVM switches that do 1080. That's easy.
• launchkitcodes
  [dead]
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  aquavoplumbing
  [flagged]