Minicom Supervisor Phantom Operating Manual
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Minicom Supervisor Phantom Operating Manual

Minicom advanced systems distributed kvm switching system operating guide
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Phantom Operating Guide
International HQ
Jerusalem, Israel
Tel: + 972 2 535 9666
minicom@minicom.com
www.minicom.com
North American HQ
Linden, New Jersey
Tel: + 1 908 4862100
info.usa@minicom.com
German Europe
Zurich, Switzerland
Tel: + 41 1 455 6220
info.german@minicom.com
Customer support - support@minicom.com
Italy
Rome
Tel: + 39 06 8209 7902
info.italy@minicom.com
V1.5 3/03

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  • Page 1 Phantom Operating Guide International HQ North American HQ Jerusalem, Israel Linden, New Jersey Tel: + 972 2 535 9666 Tel: + 1 908 4862100 minicom@minicom.com info.usa@minicom.com www.minicom.com German Europe Zurich, Switzerland Tel: + 41 1 455 6220 info.german@minicom.com Customer support - support@minicom.com Italy Rome Tel: + 39 06 8209 7902...

  • Page 2: Chapter 1: Introduction

    Chapter 1: Introduction The Phantom system from Minicom is a CAT5 based Distributed KVM Switching system for server management. Connect up to 64 computers in the Phantom system. The system can be managed and controlled by 1 or 2 users. For 2-user control see the MX II Guide. The Phantom system components The Phantom system consists of: •...
  • Page 3 Features The Phantom system gives you: • Control and monitor mixed, multi-platform server environments of up to 63 remote computers from 1 or 2 Manager position • Advanced On Screen Display management (including multi-layer security), and BIOS level access • The option to connect a keyboard, video and mouse to any Remote PCI card computer –...
  • Page 4 The configuration diagram below shows both Remote PCI cards and Specters in the Phantom UPM system. POWER SYSTEM SERVICE CAT5 System Cable PHANTOM Link S p e c t e r Active MINICOM www.minicom.com PHANTOM S p e c t e r Link Active MINICOM...
  • Page 5 The configuration diagram below shows both Remote PCI cards and Specters in the Phantom RackManager UPM system. RackManager Front panel Phantom Universal Manager PHANTOM PHANTOM PHANTOM PHANTOM PHANTOM PHANTOM PHANTOM Figure 1-4 Phantom mixed configuration with the RackManager UPM The Phantom configuration P 1 1 0 COMPUTER M I N I C O M...
  • Page 6 OSD Technology The Phantom system superimposes a menu on the Manager position computer screen. This On-Screen-Display (OSD) consists of three sections. From the OSD, you activate various functions discussed in the Operating guide. The Local Workstation Option When using the Phantom Remote PCI cards, you have the option of working at the remote computer by connecting a keyboard, video, and mouse to it.

  • Page 7: Chapter 2: The Osd Functions

    Chapter 2: The OSD functions The Phantom system is controlled and monitored through an On-Screen-Display (OSD) on the Manager screen. When the Phantom Manager is the UPM you can also use Minicom’s Control software or equivalent software. The Control software is discussed in chapter 4. The OSD contains a number of different windows that are accessed using Hot-keys.

  • Page 8: Hotkey Function

    Selecting a Computer To select a computer: Navigate to the desired computer with the Up and Down Arrow keys. Type the computer number. It will appear in the “SELECT COMPUTER” line. See Figure 2-1. 2. Press Enter. The selected computer’s screen replaces the Manager’s screen. A Confirmation label appears showing which computer is accessed.

  • Page 9: Move Label - F1

    Move Label - F1 Position the Confirmation label – Figure 2-2 above – anywhere on the screen. To position the label: Navigate to the desired computer using the Up and Down arrow keys. Press F1. The selected screen image and Identification label will appear. Use the arrow keys to move the label to the desired position.

  • Page 10: Saving Changes

    Navigate to the first character in the sequence. Press and hold the Spacebar down until you erase the sequence. Saving changes To save all editing changes and return to the Select Computer window: Press Esc. Editing the Name section You can substitute the text in the Name section with up to 30 characters in each of the two lines. A space constitutes a character.
  • Page 11 Column Function Numbers Computer numbers in groups of 8 Scanning time period Confirmation label display time Keyboard setting, either PS or Unix Mouse type Security Timeout period (Explained in chapter 3) Security profiles (Explained in chapter 3) The SCN (Scan) column The SCN column shows the length of time in seconds that a remote computer’s screen will appear on the Management screen during scanning.
  • Page 12 Removing a computer from the scanning sequence To remove a computer from the scanning sequence: Type 000 in the SCN column. Press Esc. Constantly displaying the Confirmation label To constantly display the computer Confirmation label: Type 999 in the DSP column. Press Esc.

  • Page 13: Scanning Computers - F4

    Scanning Computers – F4 You scan computers from the Select Computer window. To start scanning: Press F4. During scanning a Confirmation label appears, showing which Remote computer is presently displayed. See Figure 2-5. Note! The scan will skip any active computer set to 000 in the SCN column. To stop scanning press F4.

  • Page 14: Exiting The Osd

    Skipping out unconnected or switched off computers- F6 When navigating through the list of computers, you can skip out the unconnected or switched off computers. You do this with Autoskip. By default, Autoskip is activated. To activate or deactivate Autoskip: In the Setup window (F3), press F6.

  • Page 15: Chapter 3: Passw Ord Protecting The Osd & Auto Numbering

    Chapter 3: Passw ord protecting the OSD & Auto numbering The Management OSD comes with an advanced password security system that contains 3 different security levels. Each security level has different access rights to the system. These levels are as follows: Administrator (Status A) - Highest The Administrator can: •...

  • Page 16: Enabling Password Protection

    Enabling password protection By default, password protection is disabled. To enable password protection: From the Management OSD Select Computer window press F7. The Password box appears. See Figure 3-1. Type the default password “admin”. (You can change this password when customizing the security system).

  • Page 17: Setting Up A Password

    Setting up a password The Administrator sets up passwords for each User Profile in the Password window. See Figure 3-3. He can also edit the names to give each Profile a more identifiable name. To set up a password: From the OSD Select Computer window press F7. The Enter Password box appears. Type the Administrator’s password.
  • Page 18 To set the User Profiles access levels: Navigate to the desired User Profile and computer. Change the desired access level by pressing the Spacebar. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for each User Profile and computer. Press Esc to save the changes. When a User accesses the system with their password they see the access levels for each computer displayed on the OSD.
  • Page 19 Timeout When password protection is activated you can automatically disable the Management keyboard, mouse and screen after a preset time of non-use. You set the Timeout period in the OUT column of the Setup window (F3). By default the OUT column is set to 999, which means that the Time Out function is disabled. To set Timeout: From the Select Computer window press F3.
  • Page 20 Auto numbering – F12 Auto numbering gives each Phantom Remote a sequential ID number. Auto numbering is done through the Management OSD. For Auto numbering to work properly ALL connected computers MUST be switched on To perform Auto numbering: From the OSD Select computer window Press F7. The Enter Password box appears. See Figure 3-8. Type the Administrators password (default password is ADMIN) and press Enter.

  • Page 21: Chapter 4: Operating The Phantom System W Ith The Control Softw Are

    Operating the Phantom system with the Control software Chapter 4: Operating the Phantom system w ith the Control softw are As an alternative to the OSD you can operate the Phantom system with the Control software located on the Marketing & Documentation CD. With the OSD you operate the system and view the computer screens on the same monitor.

  • Page 22: Installing And Running The Control Software

    Shielded CAT5 FTP cable To Phantom Remote System In port Installing and running the Control software Note! The Phantom system must be fully connected BEFORE running the Control software. Failure to first connect the system will lead to the software working in demo mode. Start the Marketing &...

  • Page 23: Selecting A Com Port

    Operating the Phantom system with the Control software Selecting a Com port During the Setup process you will be prompted to choose a Com port. Choose the Com port to which the RS232 Serial cable is connected. Failure to select the correct Com port will result in the software running in demo mode.

  • Page 24: Communication Error

    Communication Error If a Communication Error box appears when trying to scan the system – see Figure 4-3. Check that: • The RS232 Serial cable is connected to the computer’s and Phantom Manager’s serial ports. • The Com Port settings in Options / Com Port are set correctly. After changing the Com port exit and re-enter the Control software.

  • Page 25: The Toolbar Buttons

    Operating the Phantom system with the Control software The toolbar buttons Get Status If for whatever reason there is a break in communication between the Control software and the Phantom system, click to get the current status of the computers in system. The system automatically updates the status before every switching.

  • Page 26: Logo And Passwords

    Logo and Passwords You can edit the logo that appears at the top of the OSD window. You can also edit the names and passwords for the Administrator, Supervisor and 6 Users. Edit the Logo and Passwords by choosing them from the Edit menu. See figures below. Figure 4-4 The logo Make the desired changes.

  • Page 27: Loading A Saved Configuration

    Operating the Phantom system with the Control software Single computer settings To see all the settings of a single computer right click on the computer icon. The settings appear as in the figure below. Note! There is no Select box to check. Loading a saved configuration To load a saved configuration: From the File menu choose Open.
  • Page 28 User (Status U) – Lowest There are 6 different Users in the Phantom system. Each User has a Profile that defines the access level to different computers. There are 3 different access levels. These are: • Y – Full access to a particular computer •...

  • Page 29: Chapter 5: Renumbering The Phantom Remotes

    Chapter 5: Renumbering the Phantom Remotes When the Phantom system was first installed, ID numbers were assigned with the auto-numbering process. Auto numbering gives each Phantom Remote a sequential number according to its physical location in the daisy chain. Remote units can be renumbered according to their physical location or by manually choosing the numbers you desire.

  • Page 30: Scanning The System

    Selecting a Com port From the Options menu, select Com port. The Com port no. box appears. Choose the Com port to which the RS232 Serial cable is connected. Click OK. Legend The color-coded computer icons are explained in the table below. Icon Meaning Manager.
  • Page 31 Auto numbering Auto numbering fills in any blank ID number boxes with the first available free ID number. To perform Auto numbering: In the toolbar, click Auto Numbering. All blank boxes are filled in. Click Apply. The process activates. When finished new ID numbers are assigned to the Remotes. The icons change to green.
  • Page 32 Remote with dipswitches When adding a Remote with dipswitches to the system, check that it does not have an ID number that is already in use. If it does, then when performing the scan, a Configuration Error box appears. See Figure 5-5. To rectify this: Either change the ID number of the Remote with dipswitches.
  • Page 33 Renumbering the Phantom Remotes Fail icons When after a carrying out a numbering procedure, Fail icons appear – see Figure 5-7. Wait 30 seconds and repeat the numbering procedure. Figure 5-7 Fail icons...

  • Page 34: Chapter 6: Upgrading The Phantom Firmw Are

    Chapter 6: Upgrading the Phantom firmw are With the Phantom Update software program you can upgrade the firmware for the: • • Manager • Remote Phantom Update enables you to add new features and fix bugs in a quick and efficient manner. You can install Phantom Update on the Manager computer or any other computer, even one not part of the Phantom system.
  • Page 35 Starting and Configuring Phantom Update Start the Phantom Update software. The Phantom Update window appears. See Figure 6-1. Manager Remote computers Status The table below explains the functions of the buttons and boxes in the Phantom Update window. Button or Box Function Selects all remote computers Unselects selected remote computers...

  • Page 36: Verifying The Version Numbers

    Displaying the maximum number of Remote units Select the maximum number of Remote units to display in the Phantom Update window. By default 64 Remote units are displayed. From the Options menu choose Remotes. The Remotes box appears see Figure 6-3. Select the maximum number of Remote units in your Phantom system.

  • Page 37: Obtaining New Firmware

    Manager The H/W Version button is grayed out, as there is no hardware relevant to the OSD. The Phantom Manager version number To verify the Phantom Manager version number: Open the Phantom Update program. Activate the Firmware Upgrade mode on the Manager OSD. In the Manager Unit box, check the Phantom Manager option.

  • Page 38: Updating The Firmware

    Updating the firmware Warning! Never switch off any computer connected to the Phantom system during the updating process. To update the firmware: Open the Phantom Update program. Activate the Firmware Upgrade mode on the Manager OSD. 3. In the Phantom Update window, check the appropriate option in the Manager Unit box or the desired remote computer or computers.

  • Page 39: Troubleshooting Tips

    Wrong firmware When the firmware you are trying to flash is incompatible with the Phantom units a Not Compatible message appears stating that some or all units are not compatible with the selected firmware. In this case go to http://www.minicom.com/phandl.htm Phantom units.
  • Page 40 Upgrading the Phantom firmware Electricity failure When the electricity fails while updating the Phantom firmware, do the following: If the electricity fails during the firmware update of the Manager, a Communication Error message appears. The Phantom Manager enters the Upgrade mode automatically without displaying the Firmware Upgrade label. Simply resume the firmware update by opening the folder that contains the firmware update file and continue from there.

  • Page 41: Appendix A: Phantom Specter Usb Sun Combo Keys

    Appendix A: Phantom Specter USB SUN Combo keys The SUN keyboard consists of a special keypad to perform special functions in the SUN Operating System environment. A PS/2 keyboard connected to the Phantom Manager does not have a corresponding keypad, so the Phantom USB emulates these keys using a set of key combinations called Combo keys.

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