ATEN KN1116VA

Server ports: 16x RJ-45, Cat5 via KA adapters

Buses: 1 local, 1 remote

Cascade: up to 256 computers

Resolution: 1920 x 1200 at 60Hz local and remote

LAN: 2x gigabit RJ-45, dual NIC

Virtual media: DVD/CD, USB storage, ISO images

Other ports: 2x serial, PON, modem, laptop USB console (mini-B)

Console: 2x USB-A, 2x PS/2, VGA, 3x USB-A, 2x audio

Power: dual AC inlets, 100 to 240V

Security: TLS 1.3, FIPS 140-2 OpenSSL module, RADIUS, LDAP, Active Directory

Clients: Windows, Mac, Linux, HTML5 browser client, iOS app

Size: 1U, 43.84 x 28.78 x 4.4 cm, 3.56 kg

ATEN lists the switch, two power cables, a 1.8 m laptop USB console cable, a rack mount kit, four rubber feet and the manual.

No KA adapters and no Cat5. Sixteen servers means sixteen adapters, each chosen by the server's ports. Count them before you compare this with a Raritan DKX3G2-116, which also needs separately sold interface modules.

1920 x 1200 at 60Hz in 24-bit color is 3.32 Gbit/s of raw pixels. A gigabit port carries at most 1 Gbit/s, so the image is compressed at least 3.3 to 1 on the LAN.

Over a 50 Mbit/s VPN uplink the ratio is 66 to 1. That's why it feels fine for a BIOS screen or a shell and sluggish for a busy desktop.

This is console access, not a remote workstation. Judge it on that.

One local user and one remote user can work on different servers. Everyone else who logs in remotely shares the remote bus and sees the same server.

On eight ports that's rarely a problem. On sixteen, it's sixteen servers behind one remote path. When an outage hits several at once, your remote admins queue.

If that's your reality, ATEN's KN2124VA class has two remote buses and the KN4124VA class has four.

The laptop USB console port is the underrated feature. A technician plugs a laptop into the mini-B port with the included 1.8 m cable and uses it as the local console. No crash cart.

Put each AC inlet on a separate circuit and each NIC on a separate switch. That's the whole point of paying for two of each.

The HTML5 browser client means no Java install on admin laptops.

ATEN KN1108v: the 8-port sibling, same bus layout, now discontinued. Winner only for matching an existing estate.

ATEN KN1132V: 32 ports, one remote user. Winner if sixteen ports won't last.

Raritan DKX3G2-116: 16 ports, one user, virtual media, power control. Winner for Raritan shops.

ATEN KH1516Ai: 16 ports, single pathway, no virtual media. Winner if you never rebuild servers remotely.

ATEN KN2124VA: 24 ports, two remote buses, now replaced by the KN2124VB. Winner if two remote admins often work at once.

ATEN lists the KN1116VA as a current product, with no discontinued notice.

Check the full model number, including the VA suffix, when you order. ATEN's KN range has several similarly named models.

We didn't verify a price today, so we're not quoting one.