Idea for a guide: Tiny PCs that can work with KVM switches?

[Frank Tarczynski]

I need to set-up a tiny PC remotely with remote (PiKVM) control. The PC will serve as a media PC for elderly parents.

Enough USB3 ports for 2-3 video capture adapters and a HDMI output are needed.

But, most critically, I need to be able connect to the power and reset buttons. The LattePanda Sigma looks like it could work.

The Beelink and Minisforum boxes all look to have the power and reset buttons soldered to the motherboard.

Are there other tiny PCs that could provide access to the power and reset switches?

Frank

 

[j_h_o]

I would do an IP controlled powerbar/outlet instead, so you can cut power to the box entirely. Ensure the BIOS is set to auto-power-on after power loss.

 

[Frank Tarczynski]

While a good idea, that's not what I need to do. My parents are in their 90s and love to watch baseball. Sometimes the game they want is on broadcast TV, sometimes on MLB.com and sometimes on Prime or Apple TV. And sometimes I need the help of a VPN.

I'm the one handling all the streaming stuff from 500 miles away. And simple rebooting isn't that simple if the NUC gets stuck at a BIOS screen, etc. To them the NUC next to the TV is just a black box without a keyboard or mouse.

I really do need KVM access to fix things remotely.

And as they age even switching TV inputs from the cable box to the streaming NUC is starting to be challenging. And asking then to navigate and choose something on the TV screen is impossible. And setting-up video visits with the doctor is totally beyond their understanding.

I'm starting to think that building a small PC with 2-3 video capture inputs (so I can remotely see and switch between sources) and that can be set-up with a PiKVM for remote support is the way to go.

I need much more capability that just being able to remotely reboot.

Frank

 

[j_h_o]

My apologies. I meant: I would do the PiKVM exactly as you described, then find a way (perhaps via an IP-controlled powerbar) to powercycle the box as needed. But I would use some other remote control software, and only the PiKVM if stuff goes really wrong.

I have a similar set up and similar requirements from users in my family I'm around 4400km away. The box lives in a restricted/locked down VLAN. I'm fortunate in that I have gigabit fiber at both ends now, so I also have a wireguard link.

I use MeshCentral2 for control in userspace, a PiKVM in case bad stuff happens, and I am able to cut power as needed via the powerbar. I leave a USB key that I ask my parents to plug in, if I need to reinstall the system. Virtually all of the time, MeshCentral2 does what I need. I only use the PiKVM if/when I need to actually go into the BIOS or reinstall the system. On some Windows systems, I also do an install of RemotelyAnywhere (which is local-only) which I can access over wg. This is useful as a backup.

I install Intel DC SSDs in the system with PLP. I think mine has an S3610 in it.

As they don't have root privileges, I haven't had any problems for extended periods of time this way. I'm usually on site once a year, and that's when I do upgrades.

I had an ISP snafu (they pushed bad firmware and remotely reset the 'modem', and it started doing NAT, and my router no longer had a publicly routable IP) and the MeshCentral2 connection was maintained thru the NAT. That allowed me to remotely put the ISP modem back into bridge mode, which was fun...

I connect the ISP into a managed switch, so I have 2 redundant PPPoE sessions established, directly from the fiber. In case of router failure, I have a backup way to get in and fix stuff.

I've had some RAM go bad before. I sent completely new hardware (an entirely new system), and had them slowly/painfully connect the device to the PiKVM, attach my USB key, and I did the redeployment remotely.