Most people don’t have enough power outlets as it is, let alone having them exactly where you need them. Once you've assessed ports and peripherals, consider your home setup. Where will you put the KVM box? How long do the cables need to be to keep your space de-cluttered? Will you be able to press a button on the KVM to switch PCs, or do you need a remote? If you need a remote, do you want a wireless one, or will a wired unit do (connected to the KVM switch by a cable)? To help walk you through it, we tested six basic KVMs for ease of use and setup. USB switches are another KVM alternative, of sorts. They look just like KVMs, and will likely show up in the search results if you're hunting for a KVM from a retailer. But they have one critical difference: no video support. They will only allow for switching of a keyboard and mouse. That means you can switch between computers with a keyboard and mouse, but a standard, inexpensive USB switch will not pass through a video signal. If your monitor has dual video inputs (most do), and you can attach a system to each, that arrangement can work as a KVM surrogate along with a USB switch, but you'll have to switch the display input via the monitor OSD and the peripherals via the USB switch separately. That's a much less elegant solution than a "true" KVM. The ES-5500G V3 is an excellent solution to expand your Gigabit network. With Gigabit speed, the ES-5500G V3 gives high flexibility and high bandwidth connectivity to servers, workstations and other attached devices. It enables you to save time when transferring large files. In addition, it also supports Jumbo Frames 9K to improve network utilization in large files transfer.

So, what are your options if you want to use a network switch but don’t have a power outlet available to give it the power it needs? What Is the Solution? Ok, so you have decided you want to go down the route of using PoE to provide power to your network switch, but what exactly do you need to get everything set up? USB Ports for Peripherals: Four (reserve two for keyboard and monitor; the others for items like a USB headset) USB powered network switches aren’t typically recommended given that you’ll be limited by the amount of power USB can provide, so often the switches are not very good and have a limited number of Ethernet ports.Both typically have greater power requirements which is why I would recommend using a PSE device that support at least the 802.3at standard. Each here works with one monitor (see below for some dual-monitor suggestions) and allows you to switch among two or four PCs using one set of peripherals. They all use HDMI cables (instead of VGA or DisplayPort, although you can definitely find KVM switches that use those). Most newer computers and monitors connect via HDMI for superior sound and image quality. For the least hassle, you'll want to choose a KVM that works natively with the video outputs of all connected PCs (assuming they all support one in common!) to avoid having to deal with clumsy adapters.

The first, which I wouldn’t typically recommend, is to buy a second PoE switch that you are able to plug in and use the mains electricity to power it. This isn’t terribly convenient and would end up costing you more than the alternative option.

4 Port Switches

The first step to finding the right KVM switch is taking inventory of what you'll use it with: specifically, the number of computers, monitors, and additional peripherals, such as a keyboard and mouse. You may also want to hook up a direct-connected printer, webcam, speakers, or external microphone (for all the streamers and podcasters out there).Most mainstream KVM switches support between two to four computers, one to three monitors, and two to four peripherals. Running a regular Ethernet cable to the PoE switch still won’t be enough, though, so you have two options available. Given that most networks these days support speeds of up to 1000 MB, they inevitably have greater requirements and have to make use of all four pairs.