Posted on by richay

Using a JetKVM as a Homelab Test Bench

Status: CURRENT
Last reviewed: 31 August 2026
Applies to: JetKVM used as a temporary PC/server test-bench KVM

I somehow spent time trying to work out a clever way to stop moving keyboards, mice and monitor cables around every time I test another PC… while already owning a JetKVM. Once that penny finally dropped, my test bench became considerably less stupid.

I test a fair bit of random homelab hardware.

Old PCs, replacement motherboards, Raspberry Pis, Proxmox boxes, fresh Linux installs, machines I’m trying to PXE boot, machines that were working five minutes ago and have now decided they no longer believe in Ethernet.

The annoying part wasn’t normally the computer itself.

It was this shit:

Unplug keyboard
Unplug mouse
Find spare monitor input
Find cable
Move cable
Realise target PC only has DisplayPort
Find another adapter
Crawl under desk
Boot machine
Need BIOS
Repeat forever


I was literally thinking I needed some sort of monitor/USB switch or dedicated test-bench setup.

Then I remembered:

I OWN A FUCKING JETKVM.


Oh.

Problem solved 😂.

What JetKVM actually replaces on my bench

JetKVM is a KVM-over-IP device — Keyboard, Video and Mouse over the network. It gives me the target computer’s display in a browser and presents remote keyboard/mouse input back to that machine.

The key difference from RDP, SSH, VNC, AnyDesk or whatever else is that the target operating system doesn’t need to be working yet.

Normal remote desktop:
PC boots
→ OS boots
→ network works
→ remote service starts
→ then I can connect

JetKVM:
press power
→ BIOS appears
→ I'm already there


JetKVM’s current documentation specifically lists BIOS changes, boot failures and fresh operating-system installations as normal use cases. It streams up to 1080p60 video and sends keyboard/mouse input directly to the target machine.

For a test bench, that’s the whole bloody point.

My extremely complicated test bench

Target PC
   │
   ├── video out ─────→ JetKVM HDMI input
   │
   └── USB ───────────→ JetKVM
                         │
                         └── Ethernet / network
                                 ↓
                           my normal PC
                                 ↓
                              browser


That’s basically it.

I leave my normal keyboard, mouse and monitors exactly where they are. The test machine gets JetKVM.

Then I open the JetKVM web interface and suddenly the random PC sitting on the bench is just another browser tab.

DisplayPort target? Watch the adapter direction

One of the machines I wanted to use on the bench only had DisplayPort available, while JetKVM takes HDMI video.

So I grabbed a short adapter/cable rather than rearranging the whole desk again.

Adapter direction matters. For a PC with DisplayPort output going into JetKVM’s HDMI input, you want a cable/adapter intended for DisplayPort source → HDMI display/sink. HDMI-to-DisplayPort adapters are not necessarily reversible, and some conversions need active electronics.

It’s a tiny thing, but nothing improves your mood like buying an adapter that physically fits both ends and electronically does absolutely fuck-all.

Fresh OS installs without a keyboard, mouse or USB stick

This is where JetKVM goes from convenient to genuinely excellent for a test bench.

Its Mount Drive feature can emulate a read-only CD/DVD or disk drive to the target PC, and the virtual media is available during BIOS/UEFI boot.

Current JetKVM supports:

ISO
IMG
QCOW2
WDI
VMDK


Only one image can be mounted at a time, but for installing an OS that’s hardly a problem.

JetKVM currently gives you three ways to provide the image:

  • Storage mount — upload the image to JetKVM first; JetKVM recommends this for the best performance.
  • URL mount — JetKVM streams an image from an HTTP/HTTPS URL.
  • Browser mount — stream the image from the computer running your browser; the browser tab needs to remain open.

So my new fresh-install process can basically be:

Plug test PC into JetKVM
        ↓
Power on
        ↓
Enter BIOS remotely
        ↓
Mount ISO in JetKVM
        ↓
Boot virtual media
        ↓
Install Proxmox / Debian / Windows / whatever
        ↓
Never move my keyboard


Which is considerably nicer than my previous enterprise-grade solution of “where the fuck did I leave that Ventoy SSD?”

PXE booting is nicer too

PXE is another perfect test-bench use case because JetKVM doesn’t care whether the target OS has an IP address yet.

JetKVM only needs its own network connection. The target PC can be sitting in BIOS with no operating system whatsoever.

I can remotely:

Power / boot test PC
        ↓
enter BIOS or boot menu
        ↓
select network / PXE boot
        ↓
watch DHCP + PXE attempt
        ↓
fix whatever I broke
        ↓
try again without leaving chair


That’s useful when I’m testing network booting because the machine I’m troubleshooting obviously can’t run RDP if it currently contains precisely zero operating systems.

Keyboard and mouse are emulated by JetKVM

I originally wondered whether a keyboard and mouse would need to be plugged directly into a PC during a fresh install.

Nope.

JetKVM presents the keyboard/mouse input over USB to the target, so BIOS and installers can see them without drivers from the installed operating system.

It also has a virtual keyboard and a Paste from Host feature, which is extremely handy when an installer wants a hostname or some horrible password that I have no intention of typing manually.

Current JetKVM documentation notes that its keyboard mapping is US layout, so keep that in mind if your local keyboard layout expects symbols in different places.

What about powering the test PC on and off?

For a quick bench test I can obviously just press the case power button like some sort of caveman.

If I want the full remote experience, JetKVM also has an optional ATX Extension Board that provides remote desktop-PC power and reset control.

That makes more sense for a machine that stays connected to JetKVM permanently. For machines constantly arriving and leaving the test bench, physically pressing the power button is hardly the part of the workflow that was ruining my life.

Powering JetKVM itself

The normal setup can power JetKVM from the target computer’s USB-C connection if that port remains powered.

JetKVM also ships with a USB-C power/data splitter so power can come from a separate 5V supply while USB data still goes to the target PC.

For a test bench I actually like separate power because JetKVM stays alive even while I’m shutting the target down, breaking it, rebuilding it and generally treating the machine with the respect test hardware deserves.

Local access is enough for my bench

JetKVM supports optional remote/cloud access, but for a machine sitting a few metres away on my own network I don’t need to make this complicated.

JetKVM’s local web interface is available directly from its IP address, which is shown on the device’s front screen.

Current JetKVM lets you password-protect local access, and I would enable that. Without it, anyone on the same network who knows the IP can access the KVM interface.

A KVM literally gets keyboard/video access to a machine before the operating system has started. Probably not the device to protect with “eh, she’ll be right”.

My actual before and after

Before JetKVM entered my brain:

Need to test PC
→ find spare keyboard
→ find mouse
→ steal monitor cable
→ wrong connector
→ find adapter
→ crawl around desk
→ install OS
→ put everything back
→ repeat next time


After remembering the JetKVM sitting there:

Need to test PC
→ HDMI/DP adapter + USB
→ open browser
→ done


My god.

I was so happy when I realised this that it was immediately followed by the much less flattering realisation that I already owned the bloody thing.

Things JetKVM is now useful for around my homelab

  • Testing random PCs without stealing my desktop peripherals.
  • BIOS/UEFI configuration.
  • Fresh Proxmox, Linux and Windows installations.
  • PXE boot testing.
  • Diagnosing a machine with broken networking.
  • Watching boot errors before SSH/RDP could possibly exist.
  • Recovery environments and bootable ISOs.
  • Temporary access to a headless server that has decided today is the day it stops booting properly.

Basically, anything where my normal reaction used to be:

"sigh... guess I need to plug a monitor into it"


is now a JetKVM job.

Would I use one specifically as a test-bench tool?

Absolutely.

A normal KVM switch is great when the same few computers stay permanently wired to one desk. My problem is different: the computer keeps changing.

JetKVM means the permanent side of the test bench is my browser. Only the target-side HDMI/USB cables move.

And virtual media means even the installation USB stick can fuck off.

Very elegant solution.

Would’ve been even more elegant if I’d remembered I owned it before spending half an hour trying to invent it again 😂.

References

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