Synergy Introduction
The Internet is not just one thing, it's a collection of things — of numerous communications networks that all speak the same digital language. - James H. Clark
Photo by Thomas Jensen on Unsplash
I have used Synergy https://symless.com/synergy as a KVM solution since my days at the Naval Postgraduate School and I highly recommend it. It is an Ethernet-based client-server model architecture with one terminal serving as a server with one or more clients connected. It currently supports Linux, Windows, MacOS, and Raspberry Pi. I particularly like the full support for copy and paste between disparate KVM sessions.
I’m doing this on Windows 10 (server) and Ubuntu 20.04 (client).
Cost
Full disclosure: I did some beta testing for these folks and I received a Pro license for my trouble. However, this was only about 3 years ago and I have been using Synergy since around 2010.
Synergy costs are outlined on this page, and it is very reasonably priced. As of this writing: $29 for Synergy Basic which allows connections for 3 machines. For $39 you get 15 connections and TLS encryption.
Server
I have a server set up on my Windows 10 desktop machine. The Synergy window looks like this:
Synergy server window
To set up multiple instances on the server simply click the “Configure server” button. I only have one Linux instance connected, so the resulting pop up window looks like:
Synergy server configuration
As you can see my Linux box is situated to the left of my Windows desktop. Of course no restrictions are placed based on physical location. Feel free to put your boxes anywhere you like in the server configuration window. Many find that a configuration that matches your physical layout most convenient.
Client
The client window looks similar to the server version:
Synergy client window
Connect as many clients as needed, though I have never had a need to connect more than 3 or 4. As stated before, TLS encryption is available in the Synergy Pro version.
Pro Tip
I recommend configuring static IP addresses when working with Synergy. This has the added benefit of allowing the ability to survive things like expiring DHCP leases and power outages. This should be possible (setting up static IP addressing) via the network switch/router.
