Vertiv LRA185KMM-G01 18.5" 1U Rack-Mount KVM Console
Overview
The Vertiv Avocent LRA185KMM-G01 is an 18.5-inch 1U rack-mount KVM console tray designed for data center technicians who need reliable, clutter-free local access to servers and network gear. Where crash carts eat floor space and standalone keyboards pile up on top of racks, this console integrates a widescreen LED LCD display, full desktop-style keyboard, and touchpad into a single 1U drawer — eliminating the peripheral sprawl that slows down troubleshooting, firmware updates, and routine system monitoring.
The LRA185KMM-G01 (often searched as LRA185KMM G01) is TAA compliant, making it a straightforward procurement choice for federal contractors and government-adjacent IT environments where Trade Agreements Act conformance is a hard requirement.
Key Features
- 18.5" Widescreen LED LCD at 1366 x 768 @ 60 Hz: The 16:9 aspect ratio and 60 Hz refresh rate give you a stable, full-width view of server output — enough screen real estate to work comfortably in a CLI or BIOS without the eyestrain of a cramped 15-inch display. The 1366 x 768 native resolution renders standard console sessions without scaling artifacts.
- 1000:1 Contrast Ratio: At 1000:1, text and UI elements stay legible in the mixed ambient lighting typical of live data center aisles — you can distinguish terminal text from background without cranking up brightness or fighting washed-out blacks.
- 250 cd/m² Brightness: 250 nits is sufficient for brightly lit computer rooms and hot-aisle/cold-aisle environments where overhead fluorescents reflect off screens. It's not a high-ambient outdoor display, but for a rack console in a standard data center it reads cleanly without eye fatigue.
- 1U Form Factor: One rack unit means you're trading a single U of rack space for a permanent, always-available local access point. That's a straightforward trade-off versus the floor space, cable drag, and setup time of a rolling crash cart on every service call.
- USB and VGA Interfaces: Standard USB and VGA keep compatibility broad — this console connects to virtually any server or network device produced in the last 15 years without adapter gymnastics. USB handles keyboard and touchpad input; VGA handles video. If your environment has already moved entirely to DisplayPort or HDMI at the server level, budget for the appropriate adapters before deployment.
- Full Desktop-Style Keyboard with Touchpad: A full-pitch keyboard with integrated touchpad eliminates the need to attach external peripherals during a service window. For rack environments where IPMI or out-of-band management is unavailable or down, having a functional local input device built into the console tray is operationally significant.
- Low Standby and Operating Power Draw: The LRA185KMM-G01 is designed for minimal power consumption at idle — important in high-density racks where PDU headroom is already allocated tightly and every watt counts toward UPS runtime calculations.
- TAA Compliance: Verified TAA compliant, meaning this unit is manufactured or substantially transformed in a TAA-designated country. Procurement teams on GSA schedules, DoD programs, or state/local government contracts can specify this console without a waiver process.
Integration and Compatibility
The LRA185KMM-G01 is built to work within the Vertiv Avocent ecosystem. When connected to a compatible Avocent KVM switch, the console provides single-point local access to multiple servers — making it practical to manage entire blade chassis or server rows from one tray rather than requiring individual direct connections. It is compatible with all Vertiv Avocent data center KVM switches, which covers a wide range of analog and digital switch families commonly deployed in enterprise and colocation environments.
The USB and VGA interface combination means the console pairs directly with most rack servers and network devices without requiring OS-level driver installation — connection is at the hardware level, so it works during boot, BIOS configuration, and OS recovery scenarios where network-based management tools are unavailable. For teams building out or refreshing a rack infrastructure, this console integrates cleanly into standard 19-inch EIA racks alongside existing Vertiv power and cooling equipment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is the LRA185KMM-G01 TAA compliant?
A: Yes. The LRA185KMM-G01 is verified TAA compliant, making it suitable for federal, DoD, and government-affiliated procurement on GSA schedules without requiring a compliance waiver.
Q: What video and input interfaces does the LRA185KMM-G01 support?
A: The console uses standard VGA for video output from the connected server and USB for keyboard and touchpad input. These interfaces are broadly compatible with servers and network devices. If your servers use only DisplayPort or HDMI video outputs, you will need appropriate adapters.
Q: How much rack space does the LRA185KMM-G01 occupy?
A: It is a 1U rack-mount unit, occupying one rack unit in a standard 19-inch EIA rack.
Q: Which KVM switches is the LRA185KMM-G01 compatible with?
A: It is compatible with all Vertiv Avocent data center KVM switches. When paired with a compatible Avocent KVM switch, the console provides local access to multiple servers from a single tray.
Q: What is the display resolution and size on the LRA185KMM-G01?
A: The display is an 18.5-inch widescreen LED LCD with a native resolution of 1366 x 768 at 60 Hz and a contrast ratio of 1000:1 at 250 cd/m² brightness.
Q: Does the LRA185KMM-G01 include a keyboard and pointing device?
A: Yes. The console tray includes a full desktop-style keyboard with an integrated touchpad, eliminating the need for separate peripherals during local server access.
The LRA185KMM-G01 does one thing well: it gives you a permanent, zero-setup local access point in a single rack unit. The 18.5-inch panel at 1366 x 768 and 1000:1 contrast is genuinely usable for extended BIOS work or OS recovery — not just a status screen you glance at. Where I see this console earn its keep is in environments where out-of-band management (IPMI, iDRAC, iLO) is either unavailable on older gear or has itself gone down and needs to be reconfigured locally.
Technical Highlights:
- 1000:1 Contrast / 250 cd/m² Brightness: In a live data center aisle with overhead fluorescent or LED lighting, these numbers translate to readable text without needing to shade the screen or adjust brightness mid-task. Not a high-brightness outdoor panel, but right for the environment it's specified for.
- USB + VGA Interfaces: Broad hardware-level compatibility means this console connects during pre-boot and OS recovery, not just when an OS driver stack is running. That matters when you're reflashing firmware or rebuilding a failed boot volume.
- TAA Compliance: A hard procurement gate for GSA schedule contracts and DoD programs. The LRA185KMM-G01 clears that gate without needing a waiver — which simplifies the purchasing cycle on government and government-adjacent deployments considerably.
Deployment Considerations:
- Plan your KVM switch pairing before ordering — the console reaches its full value when connected to a compatible Avocent KVM switch that lets you manage multiple servers from the single tray. Standalone, it's just a 1U console for one server at a time.
- VGA-only video is the constraint to flag early. If your server refresh cycle has moved to servers with DisplayPort or HDMI-only video output, budget for adapters or verify VGA availability on the server's rear I/O before committing to this console.
This console fits squarely in government data centers, colocation cage environments, and enterprise server rooms where TAA compliance is mandatory, crash carts are a liability, and the team needs dependable local access that survives network outages without any configuration overhead.
