Absolute versus Relative Mouse in AMI MegaRAC IPMI 2.0 based KVM-over-IP

One question I get weekly is whether or not one should use Absolute or Relative mouse in the AMI MegaRAC-based IPMI 2.0 KVM-over-IP solutions. The answer is relatively simple: it depends.

For many users it is frustrating that AMI has not traditionally labeled the two options with appropriate use cases on the UI. Recently I started testing the Supermicro H8DG6-F which is a dual AMD socket G34 solution with an onboard LSI SAS2008 controller and remote management functions. Supermicro enhances the standard AMI MegaRAC management suite and one thing I saw on this particular board’s remote management interface was a clearly labeled absolute mouse versus relative mouse setting.

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As the screenshot shows, absolute mouse is the setting for Windows and relative mouse is a good setting for Linux. I installed Ubuntu 11.04 Desktop x64 on the machine last evening and saw firsthand that problem this alleviates. The absolute mouse setting had my cursor virtually stuck in the upper left corner. Some users may also experience a mouse that jumps to the top left corner upon mouse click. Switching to the relative mouse setting did alleviate the problem and I was able to use the Ubuntu UI with ease. This experience was in-line with what I have experienced with various products using the remote KVM-over-IP suite but the screen above was the first time I saw good labeling of the options.

While to the casual user, this may not seem like a big deal, if one is trying to use a GUI and has a mouse constantly stuck to the top left corner, this setting becomes very important.