Inexpensive remote KVM

Back when I was starting my first career (IT), we had a clunky first-generation remote keyboard/video/mouse system (I think it was a Cybex Key-View II, or maybe the XP4000 system?, but I’m not 100% on that; I ran the UNIX® (later Linux) machines, and didn’t have to console in, like, ever ... especially compared to the Windows NT admin!). It did the job but it was creaky and slow and I don’t even want to think about how expensive it was.

Yesterday, I hooked up a $75 GL.iNet Comet (GL-RM1) Remote KVM Over Internet device to my AI workstation. (I also got the $15 ATX add-on, but I haven’t hooked that up yet.)

Remote KVM connected to workstation

OMG, this thing is amazing. No proprietary software to load, I just pointed Chrome at a local URL (https://glkvm.local/) (with a bad certificate, but whatever), and boom, I had a console on the workstation in a browser on my laptop. I was able to use F12 to access the boot menu and direct it to an attached flash drive loaded with Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, and away we go! (There’s functionality that’s enabled with an app, cloud services, etc., but for my basic use case, it all appears to be locally hosted and accessible without anything more. Sweet.)

Installing Ubuntu via the GL remote KVM

I have a couple of minor quibbles, like, it comes with a USB-A/USB-C cable that’s evidently intended for the included power adapter (a standard 5V 2A 10W wall wart; there’s an admonition not to connect the USB C power port up to a USB C PD supply), and a USB-C/USB-C cable that’s apparently meant to connect the device up to the controlled computer, but, my machine only has USB-A ports. So I borrowed a USB-A/USB-C cable temporarily, and ordered an adapter. Also, it comes with an Ethernet cable, but it’s just barely long enough (32" end to end) to connect to the switch on my sit/stand desk in the lower position, so I ordered a 9' CAT 5e cable. Finally, and this isn’t really a fault of the device, but, the wall wart it came with was a bit on the wide side, and I was running out of outlets, so I picked up a $15 Anker A2023 24W 2-port charger to replace both this unit’s power supply, and the one supplying my succulent with light.