Inside Modern KVM Technology: A Conversation with Adder's Jamie Adkin on IP Solutions, Industry Applications, and ARDx Technology

Listen to Jamie Adkin, VP EMEA Sales at Adder Technology, answer questions from Mark Pescatore, Content Director, Systems Contractor News (SCN), on traditional KVM, IP KVM, real life use cases and the latest remote access products and features.

Intro:

[Mark]:

Hey everybody, Mark Pescatore from Systems Contractor News (SCN), and welcome to the SCN Punchlist, where we answer those lingering ProAV questions.

Today we're talking about KVM. So, it's a good thing that I brought on Jamie Adkin from Adder, The IP KVM People.

Jamie, thanks for joining us today.

[Jamie]:

No problem. Thanks for having me.

[Mark]:

All right.

Question 1:

[Mark]:

What are some of the advantages of IP KVM over traditional KVM?

[Jamie]:

IP KVM describes a group of KVM products that leverage networks as a method of transporting KVM signals from computer to user. Typically used in environments that we would have maybe before used point-to-point extension technology, or KVM matrix technology that leveraged switching infrastructure made by the manufacturer of the KVM product, a proprietary hardware.

15 years ago, we started the wave of IP KVM where we leverage those networks made by vendors practicing high bandwidth switching capability. We leveraged those to provide KVM systems that allow many people to connect to many computers.

The advantages are many. That high performance and that ability to move large amounts of data has meant that we can provide a KVM experience that has incredibly low latency, high image quality and enable people to also leverage these systems at scale.

So, scalability is important. We can build systems of any shape and size - very small, a couple of computers for a couple of users, right into the thousands of endpoints as we have with many customers. Then we think about doing that over time, and one of the biggest trends that we've seen in this market is the way that customers grow those systems.

So, at the outset they're buying those systems at the right size for their business today, but over time they can continue to grow. And they don't reach the cliff edges of that traditional technology, where you fill your port count, and then you have the decision of ‘do we replace this physical hardware infrastructure, or do we try and expand it but then deal with bottlenecks of expansion’.

Part of that, unfortunately, is that we, as the manufacturer, have to develop really great ways of leveraging that bandwidth. So, it's not just that the IP enables it, it's that we as a manufacturer have to produce technologies that really do leverage the capability of those switches to give you those performance levels, and that's what separates Adder from others in that space.

Question 2:

[Mark]:

When most people, and this includes me, when we think KVM we think ‘command and control, that's what KVM is all about…command and control rooms’. But what are some of the other applications for KVM especially with your IP based solutions?

[Jamie]:

Yes, you're absolutely right. That KVM world has led from data center and directly into command and control applications. So, we're doing an awful lot of that in transport, defense, energy, and oil and gas environments, where we're controlling critical infrastructure.

But there are a whole range of use cases. A big market for us is media and entertainment. We do a lot within live broadcast production; sporting environments, news environments, and live television studios.

We do a lot in film making and visual effects as well. And that's a unique area for us because we have developed unique codecs that handle video across those networks in ways that others haven't, so, we're able to provide color accurate, pixel-perfect video. And that's absolutely ideal for people doing things like color grading or visual effects editing.

We have also got a really fast emerging market within virtual production as well. Again, because of that element. So we have some case studies that came out recently with Dimension Studio and NantStudios who have been leveraging our product, I guess, for command and control, so, still attached, but obviously in a market where video is really critical and in a live production environment, very close to our media and entertainment heart.

And then there's other areas; places like healthcare or the industrial market where we might be controlling still, there's always an element of control and monitoring with KVM, but now we're talking about perhaps quite different signals. Things where people are making consultancy decisions or controlling a piece of machinery that's performing an operation in some short way. Really, it's about making sure that you still have that level of control over a computer, but what that computer is doing is drastically different from a typical command and control room.

[Mark]:

I had no idea it was exploding to that level. That's really amazing, especially with virtual production stuff. I did not know you guys had expanded into that.

[Jamie]:

Yes, actually that's a real carry-on from the work we are doing in the post-production market. Not only [due to] the color accuracy and pixel-perfect nature of the product, but the high frame rates [that] we can support [with] the codec we developed that sits within this product line, [and this] allows us to adapt to different frame rates.

We can adapt into the 24 hertz level that camera systems will be using in those markets. We work very well with open APIs, so we're often integrated with the control systems around that market. And, of course, when you are producing content in real-time, giving people the ability to monitor that in real-time is important. So, all of the artists behind the scenes, designing those sets or getting them set up, are leveraging KVM as an access point, and a control point for those systems.

Question 3:

[Mark]:

Your [Adder] ARDx™ solution, that's been around for about a year now, how is that changing the KVM game?

[Jamie]:

Yes, ARDx is really a response to the growing need for remote access KVM. There have been solutions on the market that provide out-of-band access for a number of years now, but ultimately customers are looking for great functionality and at the same time, greater performance. So, ARDx is really about providing real-time access, whether that be over the public internet or over private WAN or LAN conditions, to give people access to computers and raise the ceiling on both that functionality and performance.

It's changing a number of markets. So, some of them are related to command and control still. The ability to get signals from computers or KVM systems into a video wall processor, where that video can be decoded for monitoring. But we're also working with companies in areas like medical or industrial control. And in those markets, customers may be leveraging ARDx to access their critical machines and devices.

Sometimes it's the end user, purchasing that product to install it with that machine, and take remote access, or monitor it from somewhere within their facility. But quite often it's also leveraging out as embedded model, where some of the manufacturers of those products might take our ADDERView® Portal and the ARDx™ technology, and embed it into their product, or embed or bundle it with their product so their customers gain remote access, for using that machine or even just for them to take remote access and support their customers remotely.

So, anyone who's really taking critical machinery and distributing it with customers around the world and needing to provide them with a level of extra support, ARDx is able to provide that as well. So yes, a number of different use cases, but it's really about the functionality, and the performance upgrades that we're seeing over more traditional approaches to this problem.

Outro:

[Mark]:

Jamie, I want to congratulate you on the success of ARDx. That's pretty exciting stuff in the world of KVM. And thank you for joining us today.

[Jamie]:

Thank you for having me. Appreciate it!

[Mark]:

Absolutely. Now, we've made it through the SCN punch list, but if you've got more questions, just go to www.adder.com.

Thanks, everybody.

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