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How does PiKVM work? (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 year ago by MigratingtoLemmy@lemmy.world to c/selfhosted@lemmy.world

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Hi, I was wondering about the software utilised in DIY KVM products like PiKVM and BliKVM.

If I understand correctly, to be able to interface with a computer like with a KVM, you would have to:

Have an HDMI capture card capture the feed from the server.
Feed it into the main computer.
Have both a VNC server and VNC client running on the main computer.
Feed the HDMI capture to the VNC server.

If this is indeed the flow, then why do people use PiKVM? Or if I'm missing a step/am wrong in these steps, please let me know.

Thanks!

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[–] zork@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

PiKVM is a collection of tools rolled into a distro to make keyboard/mouse input and attaching an emulated install media (virtual USB disk using ISO files) easily possible through a VNC-based web application. The idea is you can just build your own using the same software on different hardware, but it's aimed at using a raspberry pi for low power consumption, portability, and it has specific hardware compatibility with a HAT/addon board. The software can also make "reverse connections" through a remote NAT for support purposes, and you'd just port forward on your end. There are a lot of well thought out features in PiKVM (hardware) that make it much more convenient than building your own solution. You could install PiKVM on a different system than a Pi and try to make it work with your configuration.. You'd probably lose things like simulated power button press and virtual USB storage support. You might consider alternatives like PXE/netboot and wake-on-lan for those, but that might not always work for you.

(YMMV, I have not tried running PiKVM on an x86 cpu)