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I've googled it but I can't really find anything that explains if there is a cheap or DIY solution to this problem.

What I'd like to do is to have my test bench (which at any given time hosts a system from the 90s to modern day) be completely accessible remotely, similar to how I can access a system running a VNC server from another PC or even from my phone. I'm picturing a device\system that has a VGA\DVI input, USB cable and an ethernet jack. The device is actually running a VNC client and simply sends all remote user input as keyboard and mouse input through the USB connection and sends whatever is being received through the VGA port to the remote VNC connection over the network. So, whatever PC is connected simply thinks it is connected to a USB keyboard and mouse and a VGA monitor.

Does this exist? I'd prefer a DIY solution if possible since I have a feeling that pre-built devices like this are probably far more expensive.

Yeah, IP-KVMs are pretty pricey, and I haven't seen a DIY IP-KVM that wasn't a serial server. (https://freetserv.github.io/)

The Lantronix Spider (https://www.lantronix.com/product-families/spider/) might be what you're looking for.

I've used Adder (https://www.adder.com/en) stuff in the past, and it licensed it's VNC technology from RealVNC.

I not going to say any IP-KVM works well, but they do work for the times when they're needed.

You could probably rig something with a Raspberry Pi Zero to emulate the keyboard/mouse, and aim a webcam at the display. Kind of ghetto, but ought to get the job done. Requires that the target system support USB keyboard and mouse since the RPiZ can't emulate PS/2 protocol.

just brew it! wrote:

You could probably rig something with a Raspberry Pi Zero to emulate the keyboard/mouse, and aim a webcam at the display. Kind of ghetto, but ought to get the job done. Requires that the target system support USB keyboard and mouse since the RPiZ can't emulate PS/2 protocol.

For the video, perhaps you could use a video streaming device, like som Elgato Game Capture variant. Some models have USB and hardware encoders so if they also have a suitable driver for a Pi, then that could be usable, as long as latency is not a concern.

demolition wrote:

just brew it! wrote:

You could probably rig something with a Raspberry Pi Zero to emulate the keyboard/mouse, and aim a webcam at the display. Kind of ghetto, but ought to get the job done. Requires that the target system support USB keyboard and mouse since the RPiZ can't emulate PS/2 protocol.

For the video, perhaps you could use a video streaming device, like som Elgato Game Capture variant. Some models have USB and hardware encoders so if they also have a suitable driver for a Pi, then that could be usable, as long as latency is not a concern.

Depending on the resolutions to be supported and the capabilities of the capture card, that could work. Presumably he'd be OK with using a spare PC as a host for the capture card if necessary, using the RPi just to send the emulated keystrokes.

Either way, some programming would still be needed to translate keyboard and mouse events (presumably fed to the RPi or host PC via VNC) into generated HID emulation events to be sent by the RPi.

I recall Dell selling a KVM that you could directly VNC into and then pass keyboard commands directly to connected devices. Designed to provide connectivity to systems that didn't have normal remote access etc. Old job had some of these accessible from the OoB network for trouble shooting some devices which included a tape library machine with a VGA display of all things.

Yep, Dell still sells them (rebranded Avocent KVMs, IIRC) but they're a few hundred bucks each.

Vertiv (Avocent) was the first thing I thought of, too. You might try eBay for older equipment:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Avocent-16-Por ... SwFTddDDkE
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Avocent-520-30 ... f098dc2a58