The major consideration to be aware of occurs when using a switch box between the computers and the monitor. The Workgroup Server uses sense line information from the monitor to determine what size monitor is connected.
When a Workgroup Server powers on, it checks to see if a monitor is attached to the video port; if no monitor is attached, it disables the video port. When a switch box is used, there is a direct connection between the monitor and only one of the computers, so the video ports on the other servers are disabled since they do not detect a monitor connected to the video port. When you switch to the other computers, no video is available.
There are several solutions but it helps to understand what is happening to understand what can be done to solve the problem.
The Workgroup Server identifies the type of monitor (scan rate and image size) through sense lines in the monitor.
When you are connecting one or more Workgroup Servers to a single monitor through a switch box, the sense line signals can be provided at three different locations; in the monitor cable coming out of the Workgroup Server, in the monitor, or in the switch box.
The best solution is to make sure that you purchase a switch box that provides sense line signals to the Workgroup Servers when the monitor is not connected. The next best solution is to obtain monitor cables for VGA monitors and run them into a switch box. The VGA cables have the sense signal information wired into them.
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