I hacked together a PiKVM install on an Orange Pi Zero running Armbian. Has USB OTG support to emulate keyboard/mouse and paired it with a very cheap USB to HDMI adapter and 4-way KVM with keyboard hotkey switching. It's not gonna win any awards for out of the box usability, but it does give me IP KVM at 1080p 30fps to 4 machines in my homelab that don't have IPMI built in at an aggressive price point of around $100 all in.
Brett, great and funny video! Loved it! I have pretty-much the same HDMI KVM. I use a different Pi KVM but same functions. Works on the HDMI-based KVMs, and the ones with VGA (adapters). A couple of points: You can output video from HDMI KVM to an HDMI duplexer or mirror device, and the image goes to screen AND TO the Pi-KVM. This helps a lot. Make sure the attached screen on mirror device supports multiple modes up to at least 1K. You can use this on standard (old, non HDMI, VGA-based) KVMs, too. Adapters for video and (sometimes) PS2-->USB. I've made these work. At $500 this Pi-KVM is a little pricey to have to buy four in my case. I picked up the Pi-KVM pretty cheap ($160 for the board, I had 20 Pis) :) I think now it's $160 up to $380 assembled w/Pi. In any case, this is a great use for something like a Pi, makes a great add-on to a homelab, and helps me get away from the house knowing I can control any system here over VPN
"Then you're a silly bitch!" absolutely made my day, thank you! I agree with @Doesntcompute2k about a mirroring device too, and that would save any headaches if you forget to switch it back to the KVM. I've no need for a KVM over IP (yet) but I can totally see the benefits, definitely worth it for those who need it. The closest I've got is a USB switcher for keyboard and mouse as I now use a low power mini PC along side my 3950X rig to reduce power when I'm not video editing or gaming. I did look at a dual monitor KVM but couldn't justify the price for my use case, so figured main PC on DisplayPort, and mini PC on HDMI (2 of out the 3 monitors), and they just auto detect as I'm very unlikely to ever run both at the same time, so a USB switcher was the cost effective compromise.
@@RaidOwl Ah that makes sense. I feel your pain somewhere, I have Asus ProArt monitors, and apparently all Asus monitors are configured to switch to DP input regardless of manual input selection, so damn annoying when 2 devices are powered on and it just switches back to DP.
Unfortunately you can still only physically connect power/reset headers to one PC so if a PC locks up a hard reset over the kvm better be on the one physically wired to the tiny pilot. Considered doing a similar setup using the PiKVM diy kit, some extra relays on the GPIO header, and code more switch functions to enable multiple pc reboots while still utilizing the kvm. Heck you could use one of those cheap 4 port kvm that have only a button to switch input if you wire the button to the GPIO header. Since it uses a Pi the possibilities are pretty big
I used to have a 24 port rack mounted KVM drawer by Tripp-Lite. I loved it, but never used it to the full capabilities. I ended up trading it at a killer deal to a friend, for a UDM Pro SE (even though I have a customer pfsense box, look IDK man I'm greedy of tech okay?). I then moved to full IPMI, but found that unless it was a newer x10 supermicro, that the java based IPMI wasn't always the best. So now I have the following: IPMI + two 4port kvm's attached to a 4 port tripp lite kvm drawer. That way I have all my servers connected over IPMI and locally. Oh, and I should mention it is all free. Working in a Data Center is rad for homelabers.
Chrome remote desktop. Keyboard, mouse, video, with web interface from anywhere. Mac, Windows, or Linux computer. Free! Works great! And you can run headless without issues.
Interesting. I may need something like this some day. I’m transitioning from Plex et al on a Pi4 to building a new, high end tech PC using unraid. I’ll have an extra Pi4 2 gig laying around
Instead of putting another switch between kvm switch and my pikvm I bought a ln OREI Ultra HD HDMI splitter and connected another USB cable for keyboard and mouse. This way I didn't have to deal with a switch behind the switch and the double shortcut mapping or forgetting to hit the switch when I'm done working locally.
first you should just make your own and second if you use a lot of virt which you do this adds almost nothing to functionality essentially - prices and sourcing need to get better until this is a easy thing to build for resellers - it is an open source project but you do need extra parts not included similar to your remote usb solution for the quiet ws - it adds up - when you add in cost for pi v4 it is easy to pass on this gadget but it is a nice to have i suppose if you travel a ton and host from home - otherwise people can pass on it and stick to vnc over ssh to admin vms and containers but don't buy it - build it and learn something
so, will this allow me to control a laptop anywhere without having to install any software if the laptop is locked down a lot and needs to connect to VPN?
Everytime I see a video like this I kick myself for not buying one when the barebones kit was under $150. $400 is ridiculous even with the price of Rpi4s right now. ☹️
@RaidOwl unfortunately for TinyPilot, if/when the pi situation fully corrects I am more likely to build a PiKVM. It appears to be the more economical option for this kind of device at this point.
Zack Morris has nothing on me, OMG I can stop time ... help In all seriousness, how does this compare to the slightly cheaper PiKVM Project. I hear they will have a service that will run allowing remote access without the need of a VPN. Which is both good and bad.
Using an existing KVM doesn't make the price any better, if anything that makes it worse (Additional hardware cost, even if you already have it). Especially if it doesn't have monitor pass-through. Edit: After watching through twice, I just don't see the value proposition making sense here. I'm glad it does what you wanted though.
Man it's GREAT! There are several Pi-KVMs out there. In fact, one called, PiKVM. LOL I get eight, 16, 32-port KVMs for $50 to $150 w/cables. Most are VGA/PS2 but some VGA/USB. I bought three HDMI/USB KVMs, too. All are great. You can be in any room of the house and remote your 18 servers and four workstations. And putting the IP-based KVM onto a standard KVM gives me full access from a tablet, laptop, desktop, yada, remote over a decent VPN. Speed is fine. If you have enough server, or do enough on them (I have 42 Docker, 29 LXC, and 70+ VMs). Each to their own, but for $200 (not this Pi-based KVM, but others) plus a cheap eBay KVM and cables, it's a win-win.
@@RaidOwl The computer world and Influencers are one big scam . NVidia is raping us all and you are , at best, misleading people with well picked words. Keep the cash coming in, is the only goal.
