Avocent Corporation

Vic Odyrna

Philip M Kirshtein

Christopher L Thomas

A passive video multiplexing method and apparatus for encoding video synchronization signals within a KVM extension system. A Rack Interface Pod (RIP) is provided for receiving video signals from a network server and providing them to a remote user via a local area network (LAN). The analog signals received by the RIP are transmitted to a Rack Connection Manager (RCM) having video processing logic, a supervisory processor, a KVM switch system, and Ethernet interface circuitry. A plurality of ARI systems are connected to the RCM, and a plurality of network servers, intended to be controlled by the remote user, are connected to each ARI by a respective wiring strip or Pod Expansion Module (PEM). The RCM performs selective switching by sourcing current through a pair of diodes associated with an active channel of the PEM while reverse biasing diodes associated with an inactive channel to select a network server among the plurality of network servers. Switching of video is accomplished without processing the video signals.

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Action, MA, United States of America

Vic Odyrna