Two G&D installs: a radio station in Amsterdam, an arena in Houston
KVM Matrix Switches: Real-World Installations
Managing multiple servers and systems across distributed locations requires robust infrastructure that minimizes downtime and operational complexity. Whether you’re running broadcast facilities or large-scale venues, centralized control over your technical environment is critical to maintaining seamless operations.
KVM matrix switches like the ControlCenter-Compact deliver multi-user access to servers across geographically dispersed installations, enabling teams to monitor and control systems from a single console. These enterprise-grade solutions support high-bandwidth video switching and redundant failover capabilities, making them ideal for mission-critical environments like radio studios and arena control centers that demand 24/7 reliability.
Two G&D installs: a radio station in Amsterdam, an arena in Houston
QMusic Netherlands runs four radio studios. The Houston Rockets run an NBA arena. Both sit on two ControlCenter-Compact matrix switches, which makes them two of the more useful KVM case studies published this year.
Most KVM case studies are hard to borrow from. The site is a national air traffic centre, or a broadcaster running 400 sources, and nothing about it maps onto the project on your desk. The equipment list runs to two pages and the budget is not in the same universe as yours.
Two that G&D published are easier to use. The hardware list is short, and the two sites have nothing in common beyond the core.
What is a KVM matrix switch?
A KVM matrix switch is a central unit that connects many computers to many workstations, so any operator can call up any machine on their own keyboard, monitor and mouse. The computers stay in a server room. Each computer connects to the matrix through a transmitter module, each workstation through a receiver module, and the switch decides who sees what.
This is what separates a matrix from a KVM switch or an extender. A switch gives one desk access to a handful of machines. An extender puts one machine at one remote desk. A matrix pools every source and every desk, and lets the assignment change during a shift.
QMusic Netherlands: four studios, and the kit had to leave the room
QMusic Netherlands moved into a new building in Amsterdam and rebuilt its technical infrastructure with the move. The KVM setup it had was no longer reliable enough for the way the station works.
Two constraints shaped the design. Producers and DJs work the same sources across four studios, so access had to be shared rather than partitioned. And the studios had to stay acoustically clean, which meant the computers had to come out of the room. Fans and drives are a problem in a space where a microphone is live.
G&D put two ControlCenter-Compact switches in the server room and joined them with Matrix-Grid, so a workstation in any studio reaches sources on either switch. MatrixGuard covers the failure case: if the switch currently holding the database leader role becomes unreachable, another switch in the grid takes the role automatically and the remaining components carry on.
The station tested demo equipment before committing, on the recommendation of colleagues elsewhere in the radio industry.
Houston Rockets: an arena that outgrew its analog infrastructure
Toyota Center hosts NBA games, concerts, esports competitions and other live events. A facility redesign moved workstations and systems around the venue, and the analog infrastructure already in place could not follow. System integrator CTI describes that legacy layer as the thing limiting flexibility and making evolving media workflows harder to manage.
CTI built the replacement on two ControlCenter-Compact switches connected over fibre. Servers and source systems sit on VisionXS CPU modules. Operator positions in the Control Room and Engineering run VisionXS CON modules, supporting both single-head and dual-head workflows.
The Rockets’ technical team already understood matrix architecture. They evaluated multiple vendors and spoke to peers at other NBA organisations before choosing G&D.
The two builds, side by side
| QMusic Netherlands | Houston Rockets | |
|---|---|---|
| Venue | Four radio studios, Amsterdam | Toyota Center, Houston |
| Core | 2 × ControlCenter-Compact | 2 × ControlCenter-Compact |
| Links | Matrix-Grid between the two systems | Fibre between the two systems |
| Endpoints | Workstations in each studio | VisionXS CPU and CON modules |
| Operating areas | Studios and production positions | Control Room and Engineering |
| Resilience | MatrixGuard leader takeover | Two interconnected matrices |
| Driving requirement | Shared access, quiet studios | Reliability, low latency, image quality |
Why two boxes is the interesting part
The ControlCenter-Compact family runs from 8 ports in 1 RU to 176 CAT ports in 4 RU, with fibre and mixed fibre-and-CAT variants in between. Every model in the range ships with a redundant power supply.
Two of them, gridded, is a small system. It is also the same platform the arena runs. A Matrix-Grid holds up to 24 systems in line, tree, ring, star or mesh topologies, so a station that starts with four studios and grows to twelve is adding switches rather than replacing a platform.
That is the practical argument for a matrix over a stack of point-to-point extenders. Extenders are cheaper on day one, and stop being cheaper the third time somebody moves a workstation.
When a matrix earns its place
More than a handful of sources. Operators who need different machines at different times of day. Rooms where the equipment cannot sit next to the person using it. Any of those three, and a matrix is the cheaper answer over the life of the room.
When it does not
One operator, two machines, one room, no plan to change. That is an extender or a desktop KVM switch, and paying matrix money for it is not a good trade.
Two things worth being clear about.
Matrix-Grid and MatrixGuard are licensed premium features, not defaults on the switch. Price them in at the start of the project rather than after the hardware budget is approved.
Neither case study publishes a latency figure. G&D describes the performance as low latency, and both customers report it as sufficient for live production. If latency is a hard requirement on your project, test it against your own sources rather than accepting a number from a case study.
Questions we get asked about this
What KVM system do QMusic Netherlands and the Houston Rockets both use?
Both installations are built on two G&D ControlCenter-Compact KVM matrix switches. QMusic joins its pair using the Matrix-Grid feature and adds MatrixGuard for automatic failover of the database leader role. The Houston Rockets connect their pair over fibre and use VisionXS CPU and CON modules as the endpoints.
What does the Matrix-Grid feature do?
Matrix-Grid combines several G&D matrix switches from the ControlCenter-Compact and ControlCenter-Digital series into a single matrix network, so a workstation on one switch can reach computers connected to another. A grid can contain up to 24 systems and supports line, tree, ring, star and mesh topologies. It is a licensed premium software feature rather than a default capability.
What does MatrixGuard do if a matrix switch fails?
With MatrixGuard enabled, any matrix switch in the grid can take over the role of database leader if the current leader fails or becomes unreachable. The handover follows rules defined in advance, the remaining grid members connect to the new leader, and the system restarts so the rest of the installation stays operable.
How large can a ControlCenter-Compact system get?
A single ControlCenter-Compact runs from 8 to 176 dynamic ports over CAT, 16 to 48 over fibre, or 32 to 112 in mixed fibre and CAT configurations, in chassis from 1 RU to 4 RU. Every model carries a redundant power supply. Beyond a single chassis, Matrix-Grid links up to 24 systems into one network.
Why move the computers out of a radio studio?
Acoustics. Fans and drives generate noise that a live microphone picks up, and every machine in the room adds heat that the air conditioning then has to remove, which adds more noise. Moving the computers to a server room and leaving only a monitor, keyboard and mouse at the desk was one of the stated design goals at QMusic Netherlands.
Is G&D the same company as Panoptec?
G&D, Guntermann & Drunck, now trades as Panoptec Europe GmbH and presents itself as Guntermann & Drunck by Panoptec. The G&D product lines and the Siegen engineering base continue under that name. VuWall is part of the same Panoptec group, which is why G&D KVM and VuWall video wall systems are increasingly specified together.
Sizing a matrix for your room
Enova Technologies is an authorised G&D partner in Singapore. Send us your source count, operator position count and cable distances, and we will size the matrix and the endpoint modules against them, including the licence items that are easy to miss at budget stage.
Size my matrixSources: G&D case study, Win in the Morning: KVM Strikes the Right Tone at QMusic. G&D case study, Houston Rockets, Toyota Center. Product specifications from the G&D ControlCenter-Compact range and the Matrix-Grid and MatrixGuard feature pages.
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eNOVA Technologies is Singapore's specialist distributor for data centre IT management solutions, representing Adder, Guntermann & Drunck, Raritan, Sunbird, ZPE Systems, and VuWall across Singapore and Southeast Asia. Our technical content is produced with AI assistance and reviewed by our in-house team before publication.
This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by the eNOVA Technologies team. All technical claims are verified against manufacturer documentation.
