PiKVM Full Kit

by Pimoroni

The full PiKVM kit, everything you need for a feature-rich, production grade, open-source, Raspberry Pi based KVM over IP device.

Contains

Power supply and microSD card are not included, but we have many options on the store :-)

Note: This kit comes as separate items, you will need to build it yourself!

PiKVM allows you to turn on/off or restart your computer, configure the UEFI/BIOS, and even reinstall the OS using the Virtual CD-ROM or Flash Drive. You can use your remote keyboard and mouse or PiKVM can simulate a keyboard, mouse, and a monitor, which are then presented in a web browser as if you were working on a remote system directly. It’s a true hardware-level access with no dependency on any remote ports, protocols or services!

  • HDMI Full HD capture based on the TC358743 chip (extra low latency ~100ms and many features like compression control).
  • OTG Keyboard & mouse; Mass Storage Drive emulation.
  • Ability to simulate "removal and insertion" for USB.
  • Onboard ATX power control.
  • Onboard fan controller.
  • A real-time clock.
  • RJ-45 and USB serial console port (to manage PiKVM OS or to connect with the server).
  • No need for soldering or breadboarding. It's a ready-made, reliable board which you can use yourself or provide to your clients.
  • Continued use of PiKVM OS - all the software will be fully open.

Fully-featured and modern IP-KVM

  • Easy to build - A ready-to-use OS images and friendly build environment. The hardware can be made in half an hour and without soldering.
  • Very low video latency - ~100 milliseconds of video latency. This is the smallest delay of all existing solutions.
  • Extra lightweight Web UI and VNC - No weird proprietary clients. No ugly applets. Just use your favorite browser to connect to the PiKVM. No flash plugins either! Ah, and VNC is also supported.
  • Keyboard & mouse - Mouse usage works directly in the browser. The keyboard emulator supports displaying the state of the keyboard LEDs.
  • Mass Storage Drive - On the Raspberry Pi 4 and ZeroW, PiKVM can emulate a virtual CD-ROM or Flash Drive. A live image can be uploaded to boot the attached server.
  • ATX power management - With a very simple circuit that can be assembled on a breadboard, the power button of the attached server can be controlled using the ATX button headers on the motherboard.
  • Security - PiKVM can be opened to the Internet and no one will get access without the authorization. SSL is used to protect traffic from being intercepted by third parties.
  • Local monitoring - PiKVM monitors the health of the Raspberry Pi board and will warn you if it's too hot or is not receiving enough power.
  • GPIO management - You can control GPIO and USB relays via the web interface. The extensible interface allows you to make anything out of it.

Production-ready

  • Linux-based embedded OS - The PiKVM OS is based on Arch Linux ARM and can be customized for any needs. Thousands of pre-built binary packages are at your service and can be updated with a single command!
  • Read-only filesystem - By default the OS runs in read-only mode, as an embedded system should. This prevents damage to the memory card due to a sudden power outage.
  • VNC server - The managed server and its BIOS can be accessed using a regular VNC client which supports JPEG compression.
  • IPMI BMC/SoL and Redfish - Use ipmitool, ipmiutil or any existing network infrastructure that supports IPMI to manage the server's power and access to serial port via LAN. Redfish and redfishtool supported too.
  • Wake-on-LAN - PiKVM can be configured to power up a managed server using WoL. This will be available in the Web menu.
  • Extensible authorization methods - Multiple PiKVMs can be configured to use a common authorization service. PAM and its rich authorization mechanisms can also be used to integrate PiKVM into your existing authentication infrastructure.
  • Macro scripts - If repetitive actions must be performed on the attached server (or on several different servers), a macro can be recorded with keyboard & mouse actions and can be played back multiple times.

Open Source

  • Open & free - PiKVM is Free and Open Source Software released under the GPLv3.
  • Community & support - PiKVM has a large community. Join the Discord chat if you have any questions.
  • Extensible - PiKVM was designed as a set of microservices with a plug-in architecture. It's very easy to modify and maintain.
  • Comprehensive API - Everything that can be done via the user interface can also be done via a powerful HTTP API.
  • Know-how - PiKVM created thei very own MJPG video server written in C with multi-threading support and GPU video encoding - the fastest streaming solution available to provide the best video quality for PiKVM. They also tested a lot of hardware configurations so that you can be sure devices you assemble will work reliably.

PiKVM started a few years ago as a small pet project to develop a Do-It-Yourself KVM over IP. They wanted it inexpensive and better than existing commercial units. To reach this goal, they gathered a large community of IT experts with a lot of experience in DIY solutions, and used their ideas, suggestions and feedback to create the first PiKVM HAT for Raspberry Pi. It successfully transformed Raspberry Pi into a reliable and convenient KVM over IP.