What Is KVM over IP?
KVM over IP, sometimes called KVMoIP or IP KVM, is a valuable remote management capability. It gives IT administrators remote access to the keyboard, video, and mouse (KVM) controls of a PC, as if they were working on it in person. The IT administrator can view and control the remote PC from afar on a local monitor with a keyboard and mouse in a virtual, “hands-on” experience.
Why Is KVM over IP Important?
Whether employees work from home, provide telemedicine services from a health clinic, or manage deliveries on the road, they need their PCs to be up and running whenever and wherever they are. Should they have trouble with their devices, they need help resolving issues quickly, so their work and productivity aren’t interrupted.
However, with the vast number of geographically dispersed devices, it is now cost prohibitive and impractical for IT administrators to travel to the device’s location to fix issues in person. Other options, like remote verbal troubleshooting sessions, are time-consuming and often unproductive. Shipping devices back and forth to be repaired is also inefficient, as the end user is without a device during the entire process.
There may also be cases when the remote machine is a kiosk or IoT device in a hard-to-reach location with no daily user, the operating system (OS) is unresponsive, the machine is turned off, or multiple machines are affected.
IT needs reliable remote access tools to configure, secure, and maintain devices and ensure user productivity, which KVM over IP provides.
Remote Access Types: Software vs. Hardware
IT administrators can gain remote access to PCs using software- or hardware-based technologies designed for remote device management. Often, software and hardware work in concert to provide more flexibility than either one can offer alone.
While software can provide valuable OS-level insights, it offers limited visibility into hardware’s foundational health or security status. When the OS is compromised or unavailable, software-based management solutions are ineffective, as they rely on a functioning OS and network stack to operate. This leaves IT unable to diagnose, reimage, or even access BIOS/UEFI settings remotely.
A hardware-based remote access solution helps combine KVM over IP with out-of-band management capabilities. Out-of-band management enables administrators to power on or restart a PC even if it’s turned off or the OS is unresponsive. IT staff can even mount an image remotely to rebuild the entire OS, using KVM over IP to respond to user prompts. For more-comprehensive control, a software- and hardware-enabled solution is more effective than software tools alone.
Benefits of KVM over IP
Remote device management using KVM over IP can improve productivity while reducing user downtime. IT can troubleshoot and resolve problems remotely in less time and with fewer resources than addressing problems in person on every individual machine.
All of this translates into significant business benefits:
- Greater productivity: With remote access capabilities, IT staff can respond quickly to troubleshoot, maintain, and update remote PCs without interrupting their users.
- Managing IoT devices: KVM over IP enables remote management of userless devices, such as kiosks, digital signage, and other IoT solutions.
- Enabling centralized management: KVM over IP helps managed service providers (MSPs) and other third-party providers manage their clients’ technology infrastructure. A single admin or team can support PCs remotely across multiple, multinational enterprises.
- Avoiding unsafe environments: With KVM over IP, IT can access PCs in challenging locations—including hospitals, factories, power plants, or military installations—without risking their safety or compromising on-site security.
- Life-cycle management: As people come and go within an organization, KVM over IP allows MSPs or internal IT administrators to remotely reconfigure old PCs for new hires. The process can be as simple as setting up a new Windows profile or entirely reimaging the OS.
- Verified secure erasure: KVM over IP supports integration with third-party tools that remove any intellectual property or personal data from a PC before assigning it to a new user. These tools also verify when the erasure is completed.
Challenges of KVM over IP
Successful and effective use of KVM over IP requires having an active, comprehensive solution in place:
- Prior solutions: In the past, hardware-based KVM solutions were available only as part of a complex data center environment. It required thousands of dollars’ worth of infrastructure to set up—Ethernet cables, remote KVM switches, and other expensive hardware. With today’s remote workforce, installing a physical KVM switch in each employee’s home office is impractical. Therefore, new KVM over IP solutions that transmit KVM signals over a network are required.
- Software-only solutions: While software manageability tools offer IT some control over devices, they offer limited control below the OS. Software-based management solutions are ineffective at addressing problems such as boot failures, OS corruption, and driver conflicts, leaving IT unable to diagnose, reimage, or access firmware settings remotely. For more comprehensive control, a combined software- and hardware-enabled solution is more effective than software alone.
- Inactivated solutions: Many remote management solutions require an activation step before IT teams can use them. It is critical to understand what is required and to complete activation during initial setup so capabilities are available when needed.
The Future of KVM over IP
KVM over IP capabilities support emerging technologies that continue to grow in popularity. With the rapid adoption of AI and automation, remote management has become critical to the growth and success of almost every enterprise.
For example, KVM-level remote access is essential to managing the growing number of IoT and edge devices, which often run unattended in challenging environments. Dispatching a technician to perform in-person maintenance at every industrial or commercial site, or to every digital sign or kiosk in a national or multinational enterprise, is unsupportable. In extreme cases, the lack of KVM-level remote access can result in a substantial monetary impact on a business’s bottom line.
Cloud computing and virtual machines must also be managed remotely. KVM over IP capabilities can run on a client computer, replacing the more complex, data center‒based remote access solutions.