I can't imagine anything that would work better for the ethernet segment of this problem than a switch. They're cheap, require little cabling (and that has been somewhat of a hassle with the KVM switches).

The ones I use are from Zonet. I've had little trouble with 'em ... and they're cheap. The main cost, of course, is the cabling. I think I'd be happier with something that simply talked to the PC's through a module that interfaces via ethernet or something very similar, and kept the cable length down under 40 cm. My lab is crawiling with cabling, and, though it often is neatly accommodated, each time I rearrange the internals, or externals, of a PC, the cables are a mess again. Unfortunately, this often happens when I need to "do something" and that means that the mess has to be dealt-with later, which, I assure you, is not a good thing.

The KVM switch is convenient because the need for multiple monitors, keyboards, and mice is essentially eliminated. These switches even allow my UNIX-based logic analyzer, and LINUX boxes, to share the same comfortable mouse and large monitor, yet enable me to monitor processes running on various machines without disturbing the hookups. Further, they allow me to switch between Windows versions, thereby allowing me to use software that actually works, as opposed to much of the stuff that's been sold in the last decade. It even works with DOS, and supports different monitor pixel densities on the same large-screen monitor.

RE