A Software KVM Switch ##################### :date: 2015-01-05 02:26 :tags: composite video,software keyboard,kvm,remote management I have been so often in the need for quick graphical access to a server without the need of an actual mouse and display plus wiring for power and so on. In the enterprise world there are things called 'KVM switches' and laptops which do exactly what i need but a) they are fucking expensive and b) they are stationary and built into server racks so i came up with my own low-budget solution. With this you will be able to see video output from composite,hdmi and vga and control a virtual USB keyboard of a headless server or embedded system. .. image:: /img/videograbber_on_raspi.jpg :width: 60% :alt: video and soft keyboard attached to raspi :align: center I am using a 32u4 turned into a software keyboard and a Composite Video grabber to capture the output of the system to supervise. *A fair Warning:* Be aware that the video image is very crappy and the software keyboard code is a WIP. Parts list ---------- All you need are the following things: For the soft keyboard input: 1. a 32u4 microcontroller like the `arduino pro micro`_ (`amazon US `__) 2. a cheap `USB-TTL adapter`_ (`amazon US `__)(`aliexpress `__) For capturing video: 1. a video grabber with the STK1160 chipset (for linux support) I asked the sellers on aliexpress and found `this videograbber`_ which uses the chipset needed. EDIT: it seems they are sold at amazon a `similar grabber`_ (`amazon US `__) with the right chipset. It is twice the price but it is in your inbox in 2 days. 2. a HDMI-to-AV_ (`amazon US `__) (`aliexpress `__) and optionally a VGA-to-HDMI_ (`amazon US `__) (`aliexpress `__) box to capture output other than the one from a Raspberry Pi which has native composite output. Setup ----- **Soft Keyboard** Attach the USB-TTL adapter to the 32u4 by connecting both GND , Pin 9 to the USB-TTL TX and pin 10 to USB-TTL RX. You can either plug it together with jumper wires or do a real cabeling from the beginning: .. image:: /img/before_after_softkeyboard.jpg :alt: before/after cleanup of usb-ttl to 32u4 :width: 90% :align: center Now it is time flash the passthrough firmware for the 32u4: .. code-block:: bash git clone https://github.com/makefu/keyboard-passthrough.git cd keyboard-passthrough cat README.md arduino key_passthrough/key_passthrough.ino # flash it Get the passthrough software running on your computer: .. code-block:: bash pip install hg+http://bitbucket.org/pygame/pygame python here.py **Video Grabbing** The video capturing is very straight forward, attach the videograbber to the fitting hole on the HDMI-to-Composite to capture HDMI video. Put the switch to NTSC for best performance. Optionally attach the vga-to-hdmi box to the hdmi-to-composite box to capture VGA video. On your computer, open VLC and configure it to start the NTSC video stream: .. image:: /img/vlc_ntsc.png :alt: NTSC config of vlc :align: center **By the Powers Combined...** To make some real use of it, first start the **here.py** and then **vlc**. The black window will stay in foreground and you can write into while you can see the video of the device. And there you have it, your own low-budged software KVM you can actually carry around. Conclusion ---------- This is the first prototype: .. image:: /img/completed.jpg :width: 60% :alt: everything put together on a table :align: center When you put everything on a table it sure is a huge mess, the next step for me is to put it in a nice package and be happy with it. In the end there is only one usb-cable going to the controlling computer and one USB and Monitor cable going to the computer to be controlled. If you are looking for something more *polished* you can have a look at the `Atrix Lapdock`_ (`amazon US `__). I got mine really cheap in clearance sale (60€) maybe you are lucky too. You will need a `microHDMI-to-HDMI Adapter`_ and USB-female-to-USB-Male_ cable. Once the adapters have arrived i will try to mod it into a Hardware KVM you can carry around. .. _arduino pro micro: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B00JMOEED4/?tag=krebsco-21 .. _USB-TTL adapter: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B008RF73CS/?tag=krebsco-21 .. _this videograbber: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-Shipping-USB-2-0-video-card-capture-grabber-Adapter-of-chipset-STK1160-for-TV-VHS/1336539757.html .. _similar grabber: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B002RX49AU/?tag=krebsco-21 .. _HDMI-to-AV: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B00O8RBZM8/?tag=krebsco-21 .. _VGA-to-HDMI: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B00LC48NJS/?tag=krebsco-21 .. _Atrix Lapdock: http://www.amazon.de/Motorola-A-860LAPDOCK-DE3A-Atrix-Netbook-Dock/dp/B004ZB8SYU .. _microHDMI-to-HDMI Adapter: .. _USB-female-to-USB-Male: