IBM 1754 LCM8 Product Manual page 5

Features
Details about the features of the LCM8 and LCM16 are discussed in this section.
Local users
The LCM8 and LCM16 console switches enable one or two local users to access any attached servers.
Local displays are connected to the console switch using VGA analog connections. The local users can
use either USB or PS/2 mice and keyboards.
Two additional USB ports (for a total of four USB ports) are available for each local user, and devices
plugged into these ports (for example, memory key, optical drive, and CAC reader) are visible to the
target servers if a Virtual Media Conversion Option Gen2 (VCO2), part number 46M5383 is used. Note,
however, that the VCO2 does not support chaining of target systems. (There is more information about
virtual media in the "Virtual media" section below.)
For the LCM16, if the target server is currently in use, a second user attempting to gain access will be
given an opportunity to force a connection to the device if their preemption level is equal to or higher than
the current user's level. If the user attempting to gain access has a lower preemption level, the active user
will be asked if they wish to give up control to the new user (a timeout is also configurable).
Target systems
The LCM16 has 16 target system ports (known as analog rack interface (ARI) ports) and the LCM8 has
eight target system ports. These can be directly attached to systems with the appropriate USB or PS/2
conversion option connector on the end. These connections use standard CAT-5 cables. You can
increase the number of connected target systems by two methods: chaining or a tiered arrangement of
switches. (There is more information about these options in the "Chaining" and "Tiered consoles" sections
below). Both methods mean that each of the eight or 16 ports will have multiple systems connected to it.
You can mix connection methods.
Conversion options
These options are cable-connector combinations that are connected between the CAT-5 cables from the
console switches to the target systems. Figure 3 shows the conversion option cables available for use
with the console switches. The part numbers are listed in Table 1.
The KVM Conversion Option (KCO) is suitable for target servers with VGA and PS/2-style mouse and
keyboard connections. The USB Conversion Option (UCO) is for systems with VGA and USB
connections. The Virtual Media Conversion Option Gen 2 (VCO2) supports the virtual media capability of
the console switches; however, it does not support chaining. We describe both virtual media and
chaining in the "Virtual media" and "Chaining" sections below.
IBM 1754 LCM8 and LCM16 Local Console Managers 5