PS/2 peripherals

[Gareth Howlett]

>> Tim wrote:
>> On Tue, 2007-03-06 at 10:51 -0800, Rick Stevens wrote:
>>> Our crash carts use USB keyboards and mice along with the USB-PS/2
>>> adapters that come with them.
>> 
>> *Some* of those PS/2 to USB plug adaptors will only work with dual
>> purpose keyboards or mice.  They don't have any signal adaptor
circuitry
>> in them, they just connect pins between the sockets.  You'd need a
>> special adaptor if you wanted it to be able to connect any keyboard
or
>> mouse to a USB port.
>> 
>> All the ones that I've got are like that.
> Les Mikesell Wrote:
>
> I just replaced some old servers at a colo site with IBM 3550's with
no 
>   PS/2 connectors and found that the usb adapter we used works with an

> old keyboard/mouse connected directly but did not work with the KVM
that 
> was there.  This particular kvm won't let you select a port without a 
> computer connected so we had to leave the adapters connected to even
be 
> able to view the monitor output as they booted up.  Fortunately the 
> machines had been pre-configured and subsequent management will bed
done 
> over the network anyway so it won't matter too much.

I had a similar problem using one of our KVMs... it was very specific to
a certain KVM/mobo combination though - a SuperMicro P8SCT motherboard
with a noname (read: _cheap_) rack-mount KVM.  If you had the KVM
selected to the SM machine when it booted, the keyboard and mouse would
always work.  If the KVM wasn't selecting that machine during boot, the
SM machine would never take keyboard/mouse inputs.  Luckily the KVM
would still show you the video but the only access you have to the box
is through the network.  Any other KVMs will work and attaching a PS/2
keyboard/mouse always works.  The funny thing is that another SM machine
right next to it (a PDSMi+) works just fine.

I have a feeling the SM mobo would probe the PS/2 ports for a
Keyboard/Mouse and if the KVM wasn't selected on that channel when the
probe happened, the KVM wouldn't respond properly and the mobo would
turn-off the PS/2 ports.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to figure-out
whether this was a linux kernel, kudzu or BIOS probe though...  Anyone
here have any thoughts on that one?

I've tried SM support - getting them to look into something like this is
like trying to move Everest with a shovel.

- Gareth