Why the headless server can be a small box called the best fix comate for frustration

Key takeaways of zdnet

• GL.INET COMET KVM lets you change the keyboard, mouse and monitor with an Ethernet connection
• It works well with good performance, a good web interface and special option for custom requirements
• At $ 90, it is quite expensive, especially when adding to a bunch of PC, but it works.

This is always a happy day when I get a new gadget. It is a particularly happy day when that gadget solves an existing problem or (even better) removes a particularly hassle of annoyance.

Today is a happy day.

This is because I deployed Gl.inet cometA remote KVM. If I explain the annoyance, why do you get happiness in this small box, and then show you how the comet deal with the toltration.

No place for old mice

So here is the situation: We have a home security camera NVR (network video recorder) that is sitting on the server rack of the house. When you can monitor the cameras from an app on your computer or phone, some configuration should be connected to the back of the device directly with a monitor and mouse.

What I can tell is a safety feature designed to prevent some settings from changing until you have physical access to the server. It is a smart feature, but it is also pain in the donkey.

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As you can see, the monitor is uncertainly balanced on the top of my Mac Mini Server, and there is no place for the mouse. But as we upgrade outdoor cameras and power-overs-ethernet cableming around our yard, we need to update and test the configuration screen quite constant access.

I have knocked on monitor more than once on the monitor. It is best to balance the mouse on an additional filament box to choose. There is absolutely no place for the keyboard, so I used an on-screen keyboard (too tedious) to enter the keystrokes.

Then I got this small network KVM.

How GL.INET C comet works

This small box is very clearly intended to remote PC management. YouTube review Connect the comet to the PC server from a distance and even be able to reach BIOS. There is also an ad-on ATX board for your computer that lets you boot from the shutdown state.

I did not use those facilities. I connected the box to the nearest Ethernet switch, then run an HDMI cable behind NVR. I run a USB-C from comet to USB-A cable from comet to its NVR to provide the mouse functionality.

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There is an app that you can use to reach the box remotely on your computer, but I found that the web interface was more than full for my needs because I only needed local access.

When you connect to glkvm.local and hit the settings button, you have a wide range of control options. When I took the above screenshot, I showed the local cursor. But I found that if I turned off that option and set the mouse mode for a relative, the mouse tracking on NVR was completely smooth.

The video on LAN is also very crisp, clear and responsible. Here, we are running four cameras on the NVR dashboard screen, and whenever there is activity outside, the cameras are easily updated.

There is also a toolbox button that provides access to many other useful features. These include pasting the remote system, sending some common major combinations, enabling wakes on lan and opening a terminal in the box.

Some interesting information was a little cooked. The box is made on the builderut, a light linux distro is often used for embedded systems. It is using an Armv7 32-bit kernel (version 4.19.111).

It is also running a busy box, which is a single, compact executable which includes many of many common Linux utilities, all in a binary, with their own simple shells.

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Do you need to know all this to get value from comet? No, but you know that I cannot resist a command line interface. This is my happy place.

ZDNET purchase advice

For Comet onlyAs long as you have an Ethernet connection, you can use this small box to connect to any device.

Have you ever used a remote KVM like a comet? What do you have to manage the most disappointing setup without a proper keyboard, mouse, or monitor? Do you see the use for such devices in your home lab or tech setup? And when it comes to managing remote gear, how important is a clean, responsible web interface? Let us know in the comments below.

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