Synergy is software that allows multiple computers to share keyboard and mouse, and copy-paste functionality, etc.
I typically have
5 machines connected together (about
12 monitors) using Synergy and have, at times, had up to
10 machines connected together (about
20 monitors).
One problem with Synergy and lots of monitors is that sometimes one can lose track of where the mouse is located.
Aside: In older versions of Synergy, it would sometimes crash requiring a reboot (as one would lose use of the keyboard and mouse). One way around this was to remote login to the Windows machine in order to restart Synergy and the keyboard and mouse.
Note: Synergy has been moving from a free model to a model where a license key is needed.
Synergy appears to still be usable in free mode without license key, but I did obtain a license key from the Synergy site (about $10 a few years ago).
I have used Synergy for many years. The configuration is beyond the current scope, but some information is here in case you are interested.
There is a free Synergy version, but there is also a low-cost license version.
The Synergy web site is at
https://symless.com/synergy .
After installing, run Synergy from the GUI to do configuration. Synergy should be located in the "
Accessories" part of the menu.
Follow the instructions on the "
Setup Synergy" menus.
In this case, the computer used for example is
CENT1 and will act as "
Client".
It is assumed that you have Synergy running from another computer that acts as the "
Server". The server used here is
AX8. The Synergy running on that computer needs to be configured to recognize
CENT1 and know the geometry of where
CENT1 is located relative to the main screen of
AX8.
Synergy has a GUI configuration tool which works well, but for more precise control (and automation) I use the configuration file approach, not discussed further here.
Change the server Synergy configuration.
Stop and start the Synergy server.
Configure the client
During the Synergy configuration, Synergy will ask for a license key - which is a very long random sequence.
I cancel out of this, then configure, then connect, then use the copy-paste feature of the main computer to add the license key. In my case, the license key upgraded Synergy to what is called "Synergy Pro".
I uncheck "Auto-config", which can cause issues, and type the "Server IP" which can be, in my case, AX8 or 192.168.100.131.
Start Synergy at the client.
Now that mouse, keyboard, and copy-paste can be shared, I add the license key.
The default version of Synergy from CentOS 7 default install on 2019-08-19 was
1.8.8. The Synergy configuration screen said that version
1.10.2 is now available. Unless there is a good reason, I usually stay with the default version.
more to be added later
