Startech's USB KVM may be your new best friend for trips to the datacenter. All those backbreaking hours hunched over racked KVM's that just never have enough ports. Plug this into a VGA port and a USB or PS2 mouse port and server video is piped into your laptop. Since the video comes from the VGA port you'll be able to watch the entire boot-up process and don't have to wait for network or USB software services to start. Perfect for those of us who still have to work on servers that don't have an ILO interface. It also handles video scaling for systems running video resolutions up to 1920x1600. Although if you are wasting server resources on a desktop that size you need to consider a new line of work.

Another really nice benefit of this device over traditional rack KVMs is that you can use this from the back of the rack. So if you are handling issues that require moving cables or network connections which are generally on the opposite side of the rack, this can be a major time saver. This could save you tons of time walking from front to back of the cabinet to make changes and test results. You will have to shell out $470 for this convenience but if you hurry you should be able to get it into your 2010 IT budget. It is available now if you can't wait. Video demo after the jump.



Via GetUSB