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IOGEAR Thunderbolt 2 KVM / Docking Station

by ATEN International Company

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Share Your Peripherals Quickly and Easily With the IOGEAR Thunderbolt 2 KVM / Docking Station

The IOGEAR Thunderbolt 2 KVM / Docking Station is a unique take on a docking station and takes advantage of IOGEAR's long history in providing KVM solutions in the market.  While most Thunderbolt docking stations is the market only allow you to connect to one Mac or PC, the IOGEAR Thunderbolt 2 KVM / Docking Station allows you to connect to two computers.

The IOGEAR Thunderbolt 2 KVM / Docking Station is the next generation of KVM solutions designed for Thunderbolt 2 computers.  KVM solutions allow a user to keep the same keyboard, mouse, and display setup to control multiple computers.  In traditional KVM solutions, you need to have multiple USB, audio, and display cables to connect each computer but with a Thunderbolt KVM, all you need is a single Thunderbolt cable for each upstream computer.

The IOGEAR Thunderbolt 2 KVM / Docking Station has two upstream Thunderbolt 2 (20 Gb/s) ports to connect to two Thunderbolt based Mac's or PC's.  There is also another Thunderbolt 2 port to daisy chain other Thunderbolt peripherals.

On the docking side, there are three USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 Gb/s), two USB 2.0 (480 Mb/s), one eSATA Gen 3 (6 Gb/s), one HDMI 1.4, one Gigabit Ethernet, and one microphone and one speaker 3.5 mm audio ports.  Note all USB ports are USB Type-A based.  Unlike Thunderbolt 3 which uses USB Type-C, Thunderbolt 2 uses a mini DisplayPort connector.

The IOGEAR Thunderbolt 2 KVM / Docking Station comes in professional retail friendly packaging.

Inside the box, you'll find an AC power adapter, power cable, Thunderbolt 2 cable, base stand, and setup documentation.

While the IOGEAR Thunderbolt 2 KVM / Docking Station has a rubberized bottom so that it can stand vertically, you can also comfortably place it on its side to lie horizontally.

If you want to give the IOGEAR Thunderbolt 2 KVM / Docking Station more stability when standing up vertically, you can use the included base stand which clicks into the bottom of the dock.

Although most of the interface ports are on the back of the IOGEAR Thunderbolt 2 KVM / Docking Station, there is one USB 3.1 Gen 1 port conveniently placed in the front.

The defining feature of the IOGEAR Thunderbolt 2 KVM / Docking Station are its two round buttons at the top which allow you to select which computer to connect the peripherals to.  The two buttons are simply differentiated by having one dot or two dots at the center of the buttons.

The IOGEAR Thunderbolt 2 KVM / Docking Station is a great way for users that want to use the same set of peripherals and switch between say a MacBook and an iMac at a work desk.  IT professionals, video professionals and enthusiasts, and gamers that have a lot of peripherals and want to work various Thunderbolt 2 computers can save a lot of time with the IOGEAR Thunderbolt 2 KVM / Docking Station.  Rather than having to continually connect and disconnect all your peripherals, you simply need to connect a single Thunderbolt cable and press a button to switch over.

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