User Manual
Secure KVM Switch API
Adder Technology Limited
Part No. MAN-000022
Release 1.0
Registered Address: Adder Technology Limited Saxon Way, Bar Hill, Cambridge CB23 8SL, UK
Adder Corporation 24 Henry Graf Road Newburyport, MA 01950 USA
Adder Technology (Asia Pacific) Pte. Ltd., 8 Burn Road #04-10 Trivex, Singapore 369977
© Adder Technology Limited February 22
Introduction
This guide explains how to use RS-232 to remotely control an Adder Secure KVM switch (AVS-2114, AVS-2214, AVS-4114, AVS-4214), Flexi-switch (AVS-4128), and multi-viewer (AVS-1124).
To control a switch using RS232, the user needs to connect a controlling device to the switch’s RCU port. The controlling device can be a PC or any custom device with RS-232 capability.
Remote controlling means performing actions that users could otherwise do only using the front panel, including:
- Switching channels
- Audio hold
- Selecting channels to display on left and right monitors (AVS-4128 only
- Switching KM control between left and right channels (AVS-4128 only)
- Selecting preset layouts and updating window parameters (AVS-1124 only)
Installation
This procedure shows how to connect a switch to a remote-control device. A suitable RS232 cable will be required with an RJ12 connector to plug into the RCU port with the pinout shown below:
Pinout for the RDU port:
- Pin 1: 5V
- Pin 2: Not connected
- Pin 3: Not Connected
- Pin 4: GND
- Pin 5: RX
- Pin 6: TX
Few modern PCs have an RS232 port, so it may be necessary to use a USB or Ethernet adapter.
Operation
Configuring Example Using the PuTTY open-source serial console utility. This procedure demonstrates how to switch channels via RS-232 using a remote control Windows PC.
Pre-configuration
- Install PuTTY on the remote computer.
- Connect a serial cable from the PC’s USB port to the switch’s RCU port.
- Run the PuTTY utility.
- Configure the Serial, Terminal, and Session settings, as per figures 1 to 3
Note: At this point, the device starts sending Keep-Alive events, every five seconds.
Keep-Alive events are transmitted by the switch periodically to communicate the current configuration. For example, to switch a KVM to Channel 4, the user types: #AFP_ALIVE F7 Then, every five seconds, the device sends the following keep-alive event: 00@alive fffffff7 as shown in Figure 4.
The interval time of keep-alive events can be changed, using the #ANATA command followed by a time period operand in units of 0.1 seconds Thus:
- #ANATA 1 gives an interval of 0.1 seconds
- #ANATA 30 gives an interval of 3 seconds
KVM Switches
To switch channels, enter the #AFP-ALIVE command followed by a channel number operand. For example, to switch to channel 3, enter:
#AFP_ALIVE FB
| Channel # | Operand |
| 1 | FE |
| 2 | FD |
| 3 | FB |
| 4 | F7 |
| 5 | EF |
| 6 | DF |
| 7 | BF |
| 8 | 7F |
Figure 5: KVM Switch Channel Operands
To toggle the audio hold button, enter the command #AUDFREEZE 1
Flexi-Switch
To switch channels, enter the #AFP-ALIVE command followed by a left/right side and channel number operand. For example, to switch to channel 3 on the left monitor, enter:
| Left Side | Right Side | ||
| Channel # | Operand | Channel # | Operand |
| 1 | FFFE | 1 | JEFF |
| 2 | FFFD | 2 | |
| 3 | FFFB | 3 | FBFF |
| 4 | FFF7 | 4 | F7FF |
| 5 | FFEF | 5 | JEFF |
| 6 | FFDF | 6 | DFFF |
| 7 | FFBF | 7 | BFFF |
| 8 | FF7F | 8 | 7FFF |
Figure 6: Flexi-switch Channel Operands
Other commands:
- Toggle the audio hold button: #AUDFREEZE 1
- Toggle KM focus between left and right sides
- Left: #AFP_ALIVE FEFFFF
- Right: #AFP_ALIVE FDFFFF
Multi-Viewer
Command Structure The command structure is comprised of the following 4 fields: <pre-amble> <command> <operand1> <operand2>
Where:
- There is a space between each field
- The pre-amble is either #ANATL or #ANATR, where:
o #ANATL equals the key sequence Left CTRL | Left CTRL
o #ANATR equals the key sequence Right CTRL | Right CTRL - Commands require 0, 1 or 2 operands
- Command success: Upon successful command execution, the device returns the output: command + OK
- Command failure: Upon failure, the device returns the output: command + Error Message
- To initiate a new serial connection, enter #ANATF 1
Command-List
The command is a translation of the keyboard hotkey listed in an Appendix of the Multi-Viewer User Manual (MAN-000007).
Example translations are:
| Description | Hotkey | API Command |
| Load preset #3 | Left Ctrl | Left Ctrl | F3 | #ANATL F3 |
| Switch to channel #4 | Left Ctrl | Left Ctrl | 4 | #ANATL 4 |
| Maximize active channel to full screen | Left Ctrl | Left Ctrl | F | #ANATL F |
Figure 7: Example commands
The most common commands are likely to be loading a preset and positioning and resizing windows on the display. The general format of the command to move and resize a window is: #ANATL F11 END <Channel> <Operation> <Location>
Where:
<Channel> is 1 to 4
<Operation> is:
- Window top-left X location (0 to 100%)
- Window top-left Y location (0 to 100%)
- Window X extent as a percentage of total X width
- Window Y extent as a percentage of total Y height
- X offset (the location of the window compared to the full image size when bigger).
- Y offset (the location of the window compared to the full image size when bigger).
- X scaling as a percentage
- Y scaling as a percentage
<Percent> is a 4 digit number in increments of 0.01%
Note that where dual monitors are used in Extend mode, the percentages relate to the total display size. For example, to set the window for channel 1 to occupy the 4th quadrant:
| Description | API Command |
| Set the window top left X position at the half display | #ANATL F11 END 115000 |
| Set the window top left X position at the half display | #ANATL F11 END 125000 |
| Set window X extent to half screen | #ANATL F11 END 135000 |
| Set window Y extent to half screen | #ANATL F11 END 145000 |
Figure 8: Set Channel 1 to 4th quadrant (single monitor)
Note that the commands change slightly when using dual side by side monitors:
| Description | API Command |
| Set the window top left X position at the half display | #ANATL F11 END 1 1 5000 |
| Set the window top left X position at the half display | #ANATL F11 END 1 2 5000 |
| Set window X extent to half screen | #ANATL F11 END 1 3 5000 |
| Set window Y extent to half screen | #ANATL F11 END 1 4 5000 |
Figure 9: Set Channel 1 to 4th quadrant of the left monitor
There is one command that doesn’t adhere to the aforementioned pattern, Audio Hold. To toggle the audio hold button, enter the command:
#AUDFREEZE 1
MAN-000022
Documents / Resources
 |
ADDER Secure KVM Switch API [pdf] User Manual Secure KVM Switch API |
