Anyone have advice about what to look for and what to avoid when it comes to KVM switches, especially of the 16, 24 & possibly the 32 port kind.
Thanks!

ISTR that you work for a large SAN company; is it safe to assume that you're looking to spend their $$$ ?

If so, I'd heartily recommend looking at Rose Matrix KVMs. Pricey, IIRC about $6k for 16 ports, but they are stackable to large numbers, and support both Sun and PCs. You'd get to attach 4 workstations, any/all of which can attach to any of the 16 machines.

You really want to consider your potential need for matix capability, especially as the number of machines increases; the likelihood of somebody needing to access a different machine whilst you already connected increases..Non-matix KVMs are significantly cheaper.

You also want to consider the distances involved; video signals degrade over distance, so KVMing 16 machines in the same rack to a workstation sitting next to that rack is easier/cheaper than KVMing 16 machines that are spread across a large building. Some of the cheaper brands dont even have a workable solution for large distances; and if large distances are involved, you might want to consider if you really need the video console, or whether a serial terminal server might be a workable solution... depending on security and performance requirements X tunneled over ssh in conjunction with serial access might do the trick nicely.

Another thing to consider; the Rose switches, and possibly some of the other matrix-type switches, have configurable security. It's possible to set each workstation to be able to view/control differing combinations of machines. This can also help in lab presentations. If you've ever had a dozen people trying to crowd around one workstation whilst giving a demo, then this can help you out - configure 3 of the screens to be view only, and you can control the machine from the 4th, allowing them to get a better view, and saving yourself from any halitosis issues.

I was very recently a sys admin at Brandeis University (sold my house and semi-retired!), and for my servers I used Black Box KVM switches. We had 3 16 port Affinity boxes linked together. They were pretty bombproof. All I can say about them is they did what we wanted and never complained. We had both PC's (win and Linux) and Sun boxes hooked up. And as we added more and more machines we just kept adding more KVM cards and boxes. Nicely expandable, and the built in software worked well. Good security, and fairly easily configurable.
Their KVM terminal extender is a nice option too. Outputs a video terminal up to a 1000 feet from the KVM switch, over basic network wiring (I had one in my office so I didnt have to get up every 2 minutes).
Based on my experience I give them a high recommend.
They are a little pricey though.

Why, oh why, would you connect a Sun machine to a KVM? Or even have a frame buffer installed in the thing if it's not being used as a workstation?

Your memory serves you well genixia, and while the company does have a nice bank balance my boss spends money as if it was his own.

These will be used in standard racks and only be connected to servers in that rack. At this time I am uncertain as to how many servers will be in each rack.
So the stackable & long distance options sound overkill.
The setup will primarly be used for ghosting and testing the servers, in case that makes a differance.

So far it seem like a std KVM switch would do the job though.

It was the Sun guys idea.
I claim no responsiblity.

Z~