Black Box Explains...USB.
The newest USB standard, USB 3.0 or “SuperSpeed USB”, provides vast improvements over USB 2.0. USB 3.0 promises speeds up to 4.8 Gbps, nearly ten times that of USB 2.0.... more/see it nowUSB 3.0 adds a physical bus running in parallel with the existing 2.0 bus. It has the flat USB Type A plug, but inside there is an extra set of connectors and the edge of the plug is blue instead of white. The Type B plug looks different with an extra set of connectors.
The USB 3.0 cable contains nine wires, four more than USB 2.0, which has one pair for data and one pair for power. USB 3.0 adds two more data pairs, for a total of eight plus a ground. These extra pairs enable USB 3.0 to support bidirectional asynchronous, full-duplex data transfer instead of USB 2.0's half-duplex pollling method. USB 3.0 also provides 50% more power than USB 2.0 (150 mA vs 100 mA) to unconfigured devices and up to 80% more power (900 mA vs 500 mA) to configured devices. It also conserves power too compared to USB 2.0, which uses power when the cable isn’t being used. collapse
Black Box Explains...USB.
The newest USB standard, USB 3.0 or “SuperSpeed USB”, provides vast improvements over USB 2.0. USB 3.0 promises speeds up to 4.8 Gbps, nearly ten times that of USB 2.0. USB 3.0 adds a physical bus running in parallel with the existing 2.0 bus. It has the flat USB Type A plug, but inside there is an extra set of connectors and the edge of the plug is blue instead of white. The Type B plug looks different with an extra set of connectors.
The USB 3.0 cable contains nine wires, four more than USB 2.0, which has one pair for data and one pair for power. USB 3.0 adds two more data pairs, for a total of eight plus a ground. These extra pairs enable USB 3.0 to support bidirectional asynchronous, full-duplex data transfer instead of USB 2.0's half-duplex pollling method. USB 3.0 also provides 50% more power than USB 2.0 (150 mA vs 100 mA) to unconfigured devices and up to 80% more power (900 mA vs 500 mA) to configured devices. It also conserves power too compared to USB 2.0, which uses power when the cable isn’t being used.
Black Box Explains...Electronic vs. manual switches.
What’s the difference between electronic and manual switches? Are the benefits of electronic switches worth the price increase over manual switches?
As you might imagine, the inner workings of manual switches... more/see it noware far simpler than those of electronic switches. When you turn the dial of a manual switch, internal connections are physically moved. This is great for less complex applications, but it can cause voltage spikes that can damage particularly sensitive equipment such as laser printers.
Because electronic switches do their switching with solid-state components, you have more control in advanced applications. For example, our AC-powered, code-operated, and fallback switches offer numerous options for out-of-band management of critical network resources. They give you the remote control your operation may need. You can control your high-end applications and sensitive equipment via computer, modem, or even touch-tone phone—a convenience simply not available with manual switches. collapse
Black Box Explains...Electronic vs. manual switches.
What’s the difference between electronic and manual switches? Are the benefits of electronic switches worth the price increase over manual switches?
As you might imagine, the inner workings of manual switches are far simpler than those of electronic switches. When you turn the dial of a manual switch, internal connections are physically moved. This is great for less complex applications, but it can cause voltage spikes that can damage particularly sensitive equipment such as laser printers.
Because electronic switches do their switching with solid-state components, you have more control in advanced applications. For example, our AC-powered, code-operated, and fallback switches offer numerous options for out-of-band management of critical network resources. They give you the remote control your operation may need. You can control your high-end applications and sensitive equipment via computer, modem, or even touch-tone phone—a convenience simply not available with manual switches.
Black Box Explains... Single-Mode Fiber Optic Cable
Multimode fiber cable has multiple modes of propagation—that is, several wavelengths of light are normally used in the fiber core. In contrast, single-mode fiber cable has only one mode of... more/see it nowpropagation: a single wavelength of light in the fiber core. This means there’s no interference or overlap between the different wavelengths of light to garble your data over long distances like there is with multimode cable.
What does this get you? Distance–up to 50 times more distance than multimode fiber cable. You can also get higher bandwidth. You can use a pair of single-mode fiber strands full-duplex for up to twice the throughput of multimode fiber cable. The actual speed and distance you get will vary with the devices used with the single-mode fiber. collapse
Black Box Explains... Single-Mode Fiber Optic Cable
Multimode fiber cable has multiple modes of propagation—that is, several wavelengths of light are normally used in the fiber core. In contrast, single-mode fiber cable has only one mode of propagation: a single wavelength of light in the fiber core. This means there’s no interference or overlap between the different wavelengths of light to garble your data over long distances like there is with multimode cable.
What does this get you? Distance–up to 50 times more distance than multimode fiber cable. You can also get higher bandwidth. You can use a pair of single-mode fiber strands full-duplex for up to twice the throughput of multimode fiber cable. The actual speed and distance you get will vary with the devices used with the single-mode fiber.
Black Box Explains... Manual switch chassis styles.
There are five manual switch chassis styles: three for standalone switches (Styles A, B, and C) and two for rackmount switches (Styles D and E). Below are the specifications for... more/see it noweach style.
Standalone Switches
Chassis Style A
Size — 2.5"H x 6"W x 6.3"D (6.4 x 15.2 x 16 cm
Weight — 1.5 lb. (0.7 kg)
Chassis Style B
Size — 3.5"H x 6"W x 6.3"D (8.9 x 15.2 x 16 cm)
Weight — 1.5 lb. (0.7 kg)
Chassis Style C
Size — 3.5"H x 17"W x 5.9"D (8.9 x 43.2 x 15 cm)
Weight — 8.4 lb. (3.8 kg)
Rackmount Switches
Chassis Style D (Mini Chassis)
Size — 3.5"H x 19"W x 5.9"D (8.9 x 48.3 x 15 cm)
Chassis Style E (Standard Chassis)
Size — 7"H x 19"W x 5.9"D (17.8 x 48.3 x 15 cm) collapse
Black Box Explains... Manual switch chassis styles.
There are five manual switch chassis styles: three for standalone switches (Styles A, B, and C) and two for rackmount switches (Styles D and E). Below are the specifications for each style.
Standalone Switches
Chassis Style A
Size — 2.5"H x 6"W x 6.3"D (6.4 x 15.2 x 16 cm
Weight — 1.5 lb. (0.7 kg)
Chassis Style B
Size — 3.5"H x 6"W x 6.3"D (8.9 x 15.2 x 16 cm)
Weight — 1.5 lb. (0.7 kg)
Chassis Style C
Size — 3.5"H x 17"W x 5.9"D (8.9 x 43.2 x 15 cm)
Weight — 8.4 lb. (3.8 kg)
Rackmount Switches
Chassis Style D (Mini Chassis)
Size — 3.5"H x 19"W x 5.9"D (8.9 x 48.3 x 15 cm)
Chassis Style E (Standard Chassis)
Size — 7"H x 19"W x 5.9"D (17.8 x 48.3 x 15 cm)
Black Box Explains...Code-operated and matrix switches.
Code-operated and matrix switches from Black Box give you computer-controlled switching for a variety of applications.
Code-operated switches
BLACK BOX® Code-Operated Switches enable one device to control up to 64 connected devices,... more/see it nowdepending on the code-operated switch. For instance, you can use one modem—not eight—to control eight devices. Code-operated switches are ideal for applications that require remote switching for file sharing or monitoring. Use code-operated switches for:
• Remote programming. Call in via remote sites to access servers, logic controllers, or any devices that require programming.
• Diagnostics. From your master control room, you can probe servers and run diagnostics.
Matrix switches
Matrix switches enable more than one device to control other devices. Any port can connect to any port and perform more than one operation at a time independently. The code-operated switches talk to only one slave port at a time.
For instance, if your operation has four computers that need to share two printers and one modem, a matrix switch is what you need to handle the job. Use matrix switches for:
• Industrial applications. You can download instructions remotely to more than one programmable logic controller.
• Data sharing. PCs or industrial devices can be connected—locally or remotely—to other PCs and industrial devices or for file swapping. collapse
Black Box Explains...Code-operated and matrix switches.
Code-operated and matrix switches from Black Box give you computer-controlled switching for a variety of applications.
Code-operated switches
BLACK BOX® Code-Operated Switches enable one device to control up to 64 connected devices, depending on the code-operated switch. For instance, you can use one modem—not eight—to control eight devices. Code-operated switches are ideal for applications that require remote switching for file sharing or monitoring. Use code-operated switches for:
• Remote programming. Call in via remote sites to access servers, logic controllers, or any devices that require programming.
• Diagnostics. From your master control room, you can probe servers and run diagnostics.
Matrix switches
Matrix switches enable more than one device to control other devices. Any port can connect to any port and perform more than one operation at a time independently. The code-operated switches talk to only one slave port at a time.
For instance, if your operation has four computers that need to share two printers and one modem, a matrix switch is what you need to handle the job. Use matrix switches for:
• Industrial applications. You can download instructions remotely to more than one programmable logic controller.
• Data sharing. PCs or industrial devices can be connected—locally or remotely—to other PCs and industrial devices or for file swapping.
Black Box Explains... Buffers
A buffer (also called a spooler or a cache) is a temporary storage device used to share printers and compensate for a difference in speed and data flow between two... more/see it nowdevices. Buffers use RAM (Random-Access Memory) to take in data and hold it until the receiving device handles it.
A buffer serving a computer can be installed either internally or externally. Internal computer buffers are common in the forms of keyboard inputs, data caches, and video memory. An external buffer is usually used for printing.
An external buffer downloads jobs to the printer, freeing the computer so you can get back to work sooner.
A print buffer’s ports can be serial, parallel, or serial and parallel. Because a buffer’s ports operate independently of each other, a buffer also can be made to perform serial-to-parallel or parallel-to-serial conversion or to change the word structure and/or serial data rate (baud rate) of the data.
While most buffers are FIFO (First In, First Out), some advanced units can function as random-access buffers. For most serial buffers, hardware flow control is required, but some also support software (X-ON/X-OFF) control. Most buffers support printing of multiple copies of a document, provided the buffer has enough memory to store the entire print job. collapse
Black Box Explains... Buffers
A buffer (also called a spooler or a cache) is a temporary storage device used to share printers and compensate for a difference in speed and data flow between two devices. Buffers use RAM (Random-Access Memory) to take in data and hold it until the receiving device handles it.
A buffer serving a computer can be installed either internally or externally. Internal computer buffers are common in the forms of keyboard inputs, data caches, and video memory. An external buffer is usually used for printing.
An external buffer downloads jobs to the printer, freeing the computer so you can get back to work sooner.
A print buffer’s ports can be serial, parallel, or serial and parallel. Because a buffer’s ports operate independently of each other, a buffer also can be made to perform serial-to-parallel or parallel-to-serial conversion or to change the word structure and/or serial data rate (baud rate) of the data.
While most buffers are FIFO (First In, First Out), some advanced units can function as random-access buffers. For most serial buffers, hardware flow control is required, but some also support software (X-ON/X-OFF) control. Most buffers support printing of multiple copies of a document, provided the buffer has enough memory to store the entire print job.
Black Box Explains…Before the ServSwitch.
Before the introduction of the ServSwitch, accessing more than one CPU from a single keyboard, monitor, and mouse was problematic. Keyboard/video (KV) or keyboard/video/mouse (KVM) switches frequently caused CPUs to... more/see it nowlock up because the CPUs weren’t always receiving the signals they expected from the keyboard. Managing server farms was a nuisance because either each server needed its own keyboard, monitor, and mouse, it or was subject to frequent rebooting if used with a KVM switch.
The BLACK BOX® ServSwitch™ KVM Switch changed all that. The ServSwitch enables frequent switching between multiple CPUs (up to 3000!) without the danger of CPUs locking up. That’s because the ServSwitch is built with sophisticated circuitry that keeps feeding each CPU the keyboard and mouse signals it expects.
So why are we still selling preServSwitch keyboard/video switches? The Number 1 reason is many of our customers have preinstalled applications in which these switches are specified, so we keep stocking them as a service. Another reason is there is still some call for these switches for applications in which only limited switching is required.
However, for most KVM applications, we recommend a BLACK BOX® ServSwitch™ KVM Switch as the most reliable switching solution. We have ServSwitch products and accessories for everything from a simple desktop application to managing all the servers in your enterprise network.
Simplify and save with BLACK BOX® ServSwitch™ Technology! collapse
Black Box Explains…Before the ServSwitch.
Before the introduction of the ServSwitch, accessing more than one CPU from a single keyboard, monitor, and mouse was problematic. Keyboard/video (KV) or keyboard/video/mouse (KVM) switches frequently caused CPUs to lock up because the CPUs weren’t always receiving the signals they expected from the keyboard. Managing server farms was a nuisance because either each server needed its own keyboard, monitor, and mouse, it or was subject to frequent rebooting if used with a KVM switch.
The BLACK BOX® ServSwitch™ KVM Switch changed all that. The ServSwitch enables frequent switching between multiple CPUs (up to 3000!) without the danger of CPUs locking up. That’s because the ServSwitch is built with sophisticated circuitry that keeps feeding each CPU the keyboard and mouse signals it expects.
So why are we still selling preServSwitch keyboard/video switches? The Number 1 reason is many of our customers have preinstalled applications in which these switches are specified, so we keep stocking them as a service. Another reason is there is still some call for these switches for applications in which only limited switching is required.
However, for most KVM applications, we recommend a BLACK BOX® ServSwitch™ KVM Switch as the most reliable switching solution. We have ServSwitch products and accessories for everything from a simple desktop application to managing all the servers in your enterprise network.
Simplify and save with BLACK BOX® ServSwitch™ Technology!
Black Box Explains... Basic Printer Switches
Mechanical—A mechanical switch is operated by a knob or by push buttons and uses a set of copper or gold-plated copper contacts to make a connection. The internal resistance created... more/see it nowby this type of connection will affect your signal’s transmission distance and must be taken into account when calculating cable lengths.
Electronic—Although electronic switches are controlled by knobs and pushbuttons like mechanical switches, the switching is accomplished with electronic gates not mechanical contacts. Electronic switches don’t have the internal resistance of a mechanical switch—some even have the ability to drive signals for longer distances. And since they don’t generate electronic spikes like mechanical switches, they’re safe for sensitive components such as HP® laser printers. Some electronic switches can be operated remotely. collapse
Black Box Explains... Basic Printer Switches
Mechanical—A mechanical switch is operated by a knob or by push buttons and uses a set of copper or gold-plated copper contacts to make a connection. The internal resistance created by this type of connection will affect your signal’s transmission distance and must be taken into account when calculating cable lengths.
Electronic—Although electronic switches are controlled by knobs and pushbuttons like mechanical switches, the switching is accomplished with electronic gates not mechanical contacts. Electronic switches don’t have the internal resistance of a mechanical switch—some even have the ability to drive signals for longer distances. And since they don’t generate electronic spikes like mechanical switches, they’re safe for sensitive components such as HP® laser printers. Some electronic switches can be operated remotely.
Black Box Explains...Types of KVM switches.
Black Box has the keyboard/video switches you need to share one CPU between several workstations or to control several CPUs from one monitor and keyboard.
If you do a lot of... more/see it nowswitching, you need premium switches—our top-of-the-line ServSwitch™ KVM switches give you the most reliable connections for the amount of KVM equipment supported. With ServSwitch KVM switches, you can manage as many CPUs as you want from just one workstation, and you can access any server in any computer room from any workstation. Eliminating needless equipment not only saves you money, it also gives you more space and less clutter. Plus, you can switch between PCs, Sun®, and Mac® CPUs. ServSwitch KVM switches can also cut your electricity and cooling costs because by sharing monitors, you use less power and generate less heat.
If your switching demands are very minor, you may not need products as advanced as ServSwitch. Black Box offers switches to fill less demanding needs. Most of these are manual switches or basic electronic switches, which don’t have the sophisticated emulation technology used by the ServSwitch.
For PCs with PS/2® keyboards, try our Keyboard/Video Switches. They send keyboard signals, so your CPUs boot up as though they each have their own keyboard.
With the RS/6000™ KVM Switch, you can run up to six RS/6000 servers from one workstation. Our Keyboard/ Video Switch for Mac enables you to control up to two Mac CPUs from one keyboard and monitor.
With BLACK BOX® KVM Switches, you can share a workstation with two or four CPUs. They’re available in IBM® PC and Sun Workstation® configurations.
You’ll also find that our long-life manual Keyboard/Video Switches are perfect for basic switching applications. collapse
Black Box Explains...Types of KVM switches.
Black Box has the keyboard/video switches you need to share one CPU between several workstations or to control several CPUs from one monitor and keyboard.
If you do a lot of switching, you need premium switches—our top-of-the-line ServSwitch™ KVM switches give you the most reliable connections for the amount of KVM equipment supported. With ServSwitch KVM switches, you can manage as many CPUs as you want from just one workstation, and you can access any server in any computer room from any workstation. Eliminating needless equipment not only saves you money, it also gives you more space and less clutter. Plus, you can switch between PCs, Sun®, and Mac® CPUs. ServSwitch KVM switches can also cut your electricity and cooling costs because by sharing monitors, you use less power and generate less heat.
If your switching demands are very minor, you may not need products as advanced as ServSwitch. Black Box offers switches to fill less demanding needs. Most of these are manual switches or basic electronic switches, which don’t have the sophisticated emulation technology used by the ServSwitch.
For PCs with PS/2® keyboards, try our Keyboard/Video Switches. They send keyboard signals, so your CPUs boot up as though they each have their own keyboard.
With the RS/6000™ KVM Switch, you can run up to six RS/6000 servers from one workstation. Our Keyboard/ Video Switch for Mac enables you to control up to two Mac CPUs from one keyboard and monitor.
With BLACK BOX® KVM Switches, you can share a workstation with two or four CPUs. They’re available in IBM® PC and Sun Workstation® configurations.
You’ll also find that our long-life manual Keyboard/Video Switches are perfect for basic switching applications.
Black Box Explains...Connecting peripherals with USB.
Before Universal Serial Bus (USB), adding peripherals required skill. You had to open your computer to install a card, set DIP switches, and make IRQ settings. Now you can connect... more/see it nowdigital joysticks, scanners, speakers, cameras, or PC telephones to your computer instantly. With USB, anyone can make the connection because everything is automatic!
Because USB connections are hot-swappable, you can attach or remove peripherals without shutting down your computer. Also, USB hubs have additional ports that enable you to daisychain multiple devices together. More than 800 leading PC, peripheral, and software manufacturers support USB. collapse
Black Box Explains...Connecting peripherals with USB.
Before Universal Serial Bus (USB), adding peripherals required skill. You had to open your computer to install a card, set DIP switches, and make IRQ settings. Now you can connect digital joysticks, scanners, speakers, cameras, or PC telephones to your computer instantly. With USB, anyone can make the connection because everything is automatic!
Because USB connections are hot-swappable, you can attach or remove peripherals without shutting down your computer. Also, USB hubs have additional ports that enable you to daisychain multiple devices together. More than 800 leading PC, peripheral, and software manufacturers support USB.