Live data from Hacker News

Show HN: TinyPilot – Build a KVM over IP using a Raspberry Pi

mtlynch.io

251–260 of 284 posts

Re: Show HN: TinyPilot – Build a KVM over IP using a Raspberry Pi

#251
as a side note for things that use the 'uvc' webcam video driver, there's $20-25 microscopes now that are standard usb webcams. Cheap things with plastic lenses. If you had a need to set up a fixed mounted microscope taking 30fps imagery of things on a production line (perhaps for a non critical quality control test?), you could totally do it with a rpi and one of these.

https://trendowner.com/products/1000x-zoom-usb-microscope-ca...

Re: Show HN: TinyPilot – Build a KVM over IP using a Raspberry Pi

#252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The most interesting stuff is generally: -Remotely mounting images (ISO/FS/IMG/etc) on the host for bare-metal installs or any other purpose -Hard power options for unresponsive servers or emergencies -Heavily integrated diagnostics (fan RPMs, thermals, RAID status, etc etc) with eg. snmp output

Cool, I assume with enough willpower those first two could be solved with a pi too ;)

If we go that route, all three of them could (for example via fan sensors). Whether it's worth it is a different question :)

Re: Show HN: TinyPilot – Build a KVM over IP using a Raspberry Pi

#253

KVMs have been a the bane of my existence over the last 10 years. Almost 99% of the time they come with some ancient Java dependency that breaks on any modern OS and is barely usable. Not to mention the nightmare-ish KVM experience big players like OVH and Hetzner provide. This is a superior solution to all of them.

No. Modern IPMI is HTML5 based. Lightyears better than the old java/.net clients or this (awesome) hobby project.

Sure, the modern ones are better. But they are also very expensive, and usually only come with the higher end hardware too.

If you are looking for a reasonably priced server today, you are likely to end up with the shitty Java-based KVM.

Re: Show HN: TinyPilot – Build a KVM over IP using a Raspberry Pi

#254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is my experience as well. I currently use a USB switch that I got off of Amazon for about 15 bucks. It typically "just works." Press the button, wait 2 seconds and my input devices have switched.

Care to share it? The one I have will work for a few switches, then both Windows/Mac will eventually stop recognizing the port its connected to until a reboot.

One I use is a brand called "Plugable". I don't think they still make the model I have, but they have a newer version of the same: https://plugable.com/products/usb3-switch2

I've used it with Windows 10, MacOS and an RPi, with no issues.

Re: Show HN: TinyPilot – Build a KVM over IP using a Raspberry Pi

#255
post #144
post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have this one[0] that works great. Wendell at Level1Techs does good work and there's even newer ones that can do 8k30. [0] https://store.level1techs.com/products/kvm-switch-dual-monit...

I couldn't find the details on their site, but do you know whether the 3.5mm audio jack is 3 or 4 pole? I've found that most KVMs have the 3 pole jack, meaning it just supports audio out, but I need 4-pole so my headset microphone works.

You can get USB audio dongles that have that. Which could then switch on the KVM instead.

Re: Show HN: TinyPilot – Build a KVM over IP using a Raspberry Pi

#256
post #34

I just finished building a Pi KVM about a month ago using project https://github.com/pikvm . Has been great so far.

Yeah, I'm really impressed with that project and love Max's work! There's a bit of a barrier to entry though, as it requires you to compile the OS yourself. My goal with TinyPilot was to create something that's easier for newcomers to install and simpler for me to reason about.

Any plans to add power control to tiny pilot?

Re: Show HN: TinyPilot – Build a KVM over IP using a Raspberry Pi

#258
post #88
post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you need access to the power and reset, you can replace the respective buttons with a cheap relay switch controlled by GPIO. If you know what you're doing you can also solder your own circuit using opto-isolators instead of relays, to reduce the power draw on the Pi.

This isn’t a bad choice: https://wiki.52pi.com/index.php/DockerPi_4_Channel_Relay_SKU... It’s $17 for four relays, expandable to 16. If you wire it “normal closed” then the relays will only draw power while it’s resetting the other machine. However, the relays are only rated for 3 amps. (360W at 120V). Also, the board is labeled backwards so, the NO port is normal closed, and NC is normal open. Has anyone found somet…

It could work on a power line, but I'd seriously recommend against it for a beginner project. Anything over 50V requires proper safety procedures.

Re: Show HN: TinyPilot – Build a KVM over IP using a Raspberry Pi

#259
post #125

Not tried anything like this before: looking at TinyPilot and Pi-KVM which one should I use? I'm happy doing some soldering. Is there anything that TinyPilot has that Pi-KVM doesn't? Has Pi-KVM added support for the HDMI dongle you used?

Thanks for reading! I'd say, in short, Pi-KVM is more feature rich, while TinyPilot is simpler and more approachable with less functionality. Pi-KVM has several nice features that TinyPilot doesn't yet have, including power management, mouse support, authentication, TLS, and USB storage mounting. TinyPilot has a quicker install. Pi-KVM requires you to compile the OS locally, which takes about an hour. If you've got a…

I do too! Much healthier when multiple projects are tackling a problem from multiple perspectives. Your write-up has already shown both projects benefiting. I wouldn't have heard about this space at all without this article.

I'm looking to build a new home-server and was looking at mobos with management support. No need for that now though! Now looking for ways to keep the Pi inside the server case. Ideally want to have a ethernet, power jack and HDMI end built into a PCI bracket so it remains movable.

Thanks for the detailed reply. I'll likely give both projects a go.

Post reply on HN