IP KVM Device

Abstract

An example of an Internet Protocol (IP) keyboard, video, mouse (KVM) device includes a universal serial bus, a display port, a network port, and a processor. The USB port is for communicatively coupling to a host device. The display port is for communicatively coupling to the host device. The network port is for communicatively coupling to a network. The processor is communicatively coupled to the USB port, the display port, and the network port. The processor is for receiving a multi-stream transport (MST) DisplayPort signal via the display port; demultiplexing the MST DisplayPort signal to provide multiple individual video streams; and outputting each individual video stream via the network port.

Description

Background Art

[0001] An Internet Protocol (IP) keyboard, video, mouse (KVM) device (e.g., a dongle) can be used to enable a user to access a host device (e.g., a server, a workstation, a computer, etc.) over a network. The IP KVM device can capture Universal Serial Bus (USB) signals (e.g., keyboard signals, mouse signals, peripheral device signals, etc.) and video signals from the host device and encode them into packets for transmission to a remote client device (e.g., a computer) over an Ethernet link. The remote client device can then decode the signals and output the video signals to a single display or multiple displays, and use the USB signals for USB devices connected to the host device and / or the client device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0002] Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating one example of an Internet Protocol (IP) keyboard, video, mouse (KVM) device.

[0003] Figure 2A-2E It is a diagram for operation Figure 1 A flow chart of an example of a method of implementing an IP KVM device.

[0004] Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating one example of a system including an IP KVM device.

[0005] Figures 4A-4B It is a diagram for operation Figure 3 A flow chart of an example of a method for implementing an IP KVM device in a system.

[0006] Figures 5A-5D is a flow chart illustrating one example of a method for utilizing multiple display devices. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0007] In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this detailed description and in which specific examples in which the present disclosure may be practiced are shown by way of illustration. It is to be understood that other examples may be utilized and structural or logical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the following detailed description should not be viewed in a restrictive sense, and the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims. It is to be understood that the features of the various examples described herein may be combined with each other in part or in whole, unless specifically noted otherwise.

[0008] Internet Protocol (IP) keyboard, video, mouse (KVM) devices enable users to connect to remote host devices (e.g., computer systems). IP KVM devices connect to remote host devices and capture and emulate keyboard, video, and mouse devices. Some users may use multiple displays to perform their work efficiently. If those users expect to work remotely on a computer system using an IP KVM device, these users are limited to the number of displays supported by the IP KVM device. Many IP KVM devices support one or two displays. Some IP KVM devices support DisplayPort, but do not support the multi-stream transport (MST) capability of DisplayPort. Using MST, data for multiple displays can be sent across a single DisplayPort cable. IP KVM devices that support DisplayPort MST will be able to transmit a single display signal or multiple display signals from a single DisplayPort input.

[0009] MST was introduced in the DisplayPort 1.2 standard. MST allows driving multiple independent displays from a single DisplayPort signal by multiplexing several video streams into a single stream. With DisplayPort 1.2 MST, up to five monitors with a resolution of 1680x1050 (WSXGA), up to four monitors with a resolution of 1920x1080 (1080P) or 1920x1200, up to two monitors with a resolution of 2560x1600 (WQXGA), or one monitor with a resolution of 3840x2160 (UltraHD, 4K) or 4096x2160 (4Kx2K), each with a refresh rate of 60 frames per second, can be supported. Even more monitor streams and higher resolution streams are possible with the DisplayPort 1.3, 1.4, and 2.0 specifications.

[0010] Thus, as described herein, an IP KVM device communicatively coupled between a host device and a network may include a processor for receiving a multi-stream transport (MST) DisplayPort signal from the host device, demultiplexing the MST DisplayPort signal, and outputting each individual video stream over the network. The processor may emulate multiple displays and receive the MST DisplayPort signal based on the emulated multiple displays. The multiple displays may be emulated based on the display properties of the physical display connected to the client / receiver. By using an IP KVM device that supports DisplayPort MST, a user is able to use more displays and therefore be more efficient than a typical IP KVM device that does not support DisplayPort MST. In addition, by using an IP KVM device that supports DisplayPort MST disclosed herein, the host device environment may be decluttered by eliminating the use of an MST hub and associated cables.

[0011] Figure 1 1 is a block diagram illustrating one example of an Internet Protocol IP KVM device 100. The IP KVM device 100 includes a universal serial bus (USB) port 102, a display port 104 (e.g., a DisplayPort port), a network port 106 (e.g., an Ethernet port), and a processor 108. The processor 108 is communicatively coupled to the USB port 102 via a communication path 103, to the display port 104 via a communication path 105, and to the network port 106 via a communication path 107.

[0012] As will be referenced below Figure 3 As described, USB port 102 can be communicatively coupled to a host device (not shown). Display port 104 can be communicatively coupled to a host device. Network port 106 can be communicatively coupled to a network (not shown). Processor 108 can include a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, and / or other suitable logic circuitry for controlling the operation of IP KVM device 100. Processor 108 can include a memory (not shown) that can store machine-readable instructions (e.g., software and / or firmware) that are executed by processor 108 to control the operation of IP KVM device 100. The memory can include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), or a combination thereof. In one example, processor 108 implements the following reference to Figure 2A-2E The method 200 is described to control the operation of the IP KVM device 100 .

[0013] like Figure 2AAs illustrated at 202 in FIG. 1 , the processor 108 may receive a multi-stream transport (MST) DisplayPort signal via the display port 104. At 204, the processor 108 may demultiplex the MST DisplayPort signal to provide multiple individual video streams. At 206, the processor 108 may output each individual video stream via the network port 106. Figure 2B As illustrated at 208, the processor 108 may further emulate multiple displays. At 210, the processor 108 may further receive an MST DisplayPort signal via the display port 104 based on the emulated multiple displays.

[0014] like Figure 2C 212, the processor 108 may further receive display attributes. At 214, the processor 108 may further emulate each of the multiple displays based on the display attributes. For example, a user may have two 1080P monitors at 60Hz and one 1920x1200 resolution monitor at 30Hz. It would be difficult to support these three monitors using a typical IP KVM device, and these three monitors would likely use multiple graphic interfaces to the IP KVM device or even multiple IP KVM devices. Using the IP KVM device 100 described herein, a chain of these three monitors can be emulated to capture accurate resolution and frame rate for consumption by the client / receiver.

[0015] like Figure 2D As shown at 216 in FIG. 1 , the processor 108 may further encode each individual video stream before outputting each individual video stream. In one example, each individual video stream may be transmitted to a client / receiver independently. In another example, as shown in FIG. Figure 2E As illustrated at 218, the processor 108 may further multiplex the encoded individual video streams before outputting each individual video stream. In this case, the individual video streams are combined before transmission to the client / receiver. The output individual video streams (either independent or multiplexed) are then transmitted to the client / receiver, which decodes the individual video streams and outputs each decoded individual video stream to a corresponding physical display.

[0016] Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating one example of a system 300. The system 300 includes Figure 1 The IP KVM device 100, the host device 302, the network 304, the client device 306, and the plurality of physical displays 3181 to 3182 are described and illustrated. N, where "N" is any suitable number of displays. The USB port 102 of the IP KVM device 100 is communicatively coupled to the host device 302 via a communication path 310 to receive USB signals from the host device. The display port 104 of the IP KVM device 100 is communicatively coupled to the host device 302 via a communication path 312 to receive display signals from the host device. The network port 106 of the IP KVM device 100 is communicatively coupled to the network 304 via a communication path 314 to transmit USB signals and display signals through the network 304.

[0017] The client device 306 is communicatively coupled to the network 304 via the communication path 316. The client device 306 includes a processor 308. The client device 306 is respectively coupled to the network 304 via the communication paths 3201 to 320 N Communicably coupled to a plurality of displays 3181 to 318 N Each of the above. The processor 308 may include a CPU, a microprocessor, and / or other suitable logic circuitry for controlling the operation of the client device 306. The processor 308 may include a memory (not shown) that may store machine-readable instructions (e.g., software and / or firmware) to be executed by the processor 308 to control the operation of the client device 306. The memory may include RAM, ROM, or a combination thereof. The processor 308 may receive encoded individual video streams or encoded multiplexed video streams from the IP KVM device 100. The processor 308 may decode the individual video streams, or decode and demultiplex the multiplexed video streams, and output each individual video stream to a corresponding display 3181 to 318 N In one example, the IP KVM device 100 implements the following reference Figures 4A-4B Method 400 is described.

[0018] like Figure 4A As illustrated at 402 in the figure, the IP KVM device 100 can receive a multi-stream transport (MST) DisplayPort signal from the host device 302 (e.g., via the display port 104 and the processor 108). At 404, the IP KVM device 100 can demultiplex the MST DisplayPort signal to provide multiple individual video streams (e.g., via the processor 108). At 406, the IP KVM device 100 can transmit each individual video stream to the client device 306 over the network 304 (e.g., via the processor 108 and the network port 106). Figure 4BAs illustrated at 408 in the present invention, the IP KVM device 100 can emulate multiple displays (e.g., via the processor 108) and receive MST DisplayPort signals from the host device 302 based on the emulated multiple displays. In one example, the client device 306 receives each individual video stream and outputs each individual video stream to a corresponding physical display 3181 to 318 N The IP KVM device 100 can be based on the corresponding physical display 3181 to 318 of each individual video stream. N To obtain the display properties, the IP KVM device 100 may request the client device 306 to set the displays 3181 to 318 N The display properties of the IP KVM device are transmitted to the IP KVM device.

[0019] Figures 5A-5D is a diagram for using multiple display devices (eg, displays 3181 to 318 N ) is a flowchart of an example of a method 500. Figure 5A As illustrated at 502 in the method 500, the method 500 includes emulating multiple displays via an Internet Protocol (IP) keyboard, video, mouse (KVM) device (e.g., IP KVM device 100). At 504, the method 500 includes receiving a multi-stream transport (MST) DisplayPort signal from a host device (e.g., host device 302) via the IP KVM device based on the emulated multiple displays. At 506, the method 500 includes demultiplexing the MST DisplayPort signal into multiple individual video streams via the IP KVM device. At 508, the method 500 includes transmitting each individual video stream to a client device (e.g., client device 306). In one example, emulating the multiple displays includes: based on physical displays (e.g., displays 3181 to 3188) communicatively coupled to the client device, N )’s display properties to emulate the multiple displays.

[0020] like Figure 5B As illustrated at 510 in the method 500, the method 500 may further include encoding each individual video stream before transmitting each individual video stream to the client device. Figure 5C As illustrated at 512 in the method 500, the method 500 may further include packetizing each encoded individual video stream before transmitting each individual video stream to the client device. Figure 5DAs illustrated at 514 in the method 500, the method 500 may further include receiving each individual video stream via the client device. At 516, the method 500 may further include outputting each individual video stream to a physical display (e.g., displays 3181 to 3183) via the client device. N ).

[0021] Although specific examples have been illustrated and described herein, the specific examples shown and described may be replaced with a variety of alternative and / or equivalent implementations without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. This application is intended to cover any adaptation or variation of the specific examples discussed herein. Therefore, it is intended that the present disclosure is limited only by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An Internet Protocol (IP) keyboard, video, mouse (KVM) device comprising: a universal serial bus (USB) port for communicatively coupling to a host device; a display port for communicatively coupling to a host device; a network port for communicatively coupling to a network; as well as A processor communicatively coupled to the USB port, the display port, and the network port, the processor configured to: emulating a plurality of physical displays based on display properties of each of the plurality of physical displays to obtain a plurality of emulated displays corresponding to the plurality of physical displays, wherein the display properties of at least one of the plurality of physical displays are different from the display properties of at least one other of the plurality of physical displays; receiving a multi-stream transport (MST) display signal based on a plurality of emulated displays via a display port; demultiplexing the MST display signal to provide a plurality of individual video streams; as well as Each individual video stream is output via a network port for display on a corresponding one of the physical displays.

2. The IP KVM device according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: Each individual video stream is encoded before being output.

3. The IP KVM device according to claim 2, wherein the processor is further configured to: The encoded individual video streams are multiplexed before each individual video stream is output. 4 . The IP KVM device of claim 1 , wherein the MST display signal comprises a signal compliant with the DisplayPort standard.

5. A system comprising: Internet Protocol (IP) keyboard, video, mouse (KVM) devices; a host device communicatively coupled to the IP KVM device; a network communicatively coupled to the IP KVM device; as well as a client device communicatively coupled to the network, The IP KVM device is used for: emulating a plurality of physical displays based on display properties of each of the plurality of physical displays to obtain a plurality of emulated displays corresponding to the plurality of physical displays, wherein the display properties of at least one of the plurality of physical displays are different from the display properties of at least one other of the plurality of physical displays; receiving a multi-stream transport (MST) display signal from a host device based on the plurality of emulated displays; demultiplexing the MST display signal to provide a plurality of individual video streams; as well as Each individual video stream is transmitted to the client device over the network.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the IP KVM device includes a processor for receiving the MST display signal, demultiplexing the MST display signal, and transmitting each individual video stream.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the client device receives each individual video stream and outputs each individual video stream to a corresponding physical display.

8. A method for utilizing a plurality of display devices, the method comprising: emulating a plurality of physical displays based on display properties of each of the plurality of physical displays via an Internet Protocol (IP) keyboard, video, mouse (KVM) device to obtain a plurality of emulated displays corresponding to the plurality of physical displays, wherein the display properties of at least one of the plurality of physical displays are different from the display properties of at least one other physical display of the plurality of physical displays; receiving a multi-stream transport (MST) display signal from a host device based on a plurality of emulated displays via the IP KVM device; demultiplexing the MST display signal into a plurality of individual video streams via the IP KVM device; as well as Each individual video stream is transmitted to the client device.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising: Each individual video stream is encoded before being transmitted to the client device.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: Each encoded individual video stream is packetized before being transmitted to the client device.

11. The method according to claim 8, further comprising: receiving each individual video stream via the client device; as well as Each individual video stream is output to a physical display via the client device.

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