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My question about finding a KVM that meets my needs was closed. Superuser seemed like the best place for the question because it was about computer hardware. The issues involved are technical and complex so the insight of the community here would be very helpful.

Since I have not purchased the KVM, it is fair to call it a "shopping" question. But really it is about avoiding hardware incompatibility.

Is it allowed way to ask a question of the form: "I need to use X, Y, and Z together in a system. My research indicates various reported issues with incompatibilities. Can anyone report on specific products for X, Y, and Z that are working together properly for you?"

If not Superuser, is there any Stack Exchange site where such a question could be posted?

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    you could always drop by chat and talk and figure what to buy
    – Sathyajith Bhat Mod
    Commented Apr 27, 2013 at 17:59
  • Asking for specific products for X, Y, and Z would still be too localized, both in terms of the buying situation and time – think about the other question that became outdated: we don't want questions where we know they become outdated soon.
    – slhck Mod
    Commented Apr 27, 2013 at 20:07

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These questions, if asked on the main site, are either off topic as product recommendation questions or too localized as they are too specific to the products in question.

If you have a question that is off topic for the above reasons but are otherwise on topic for Super User, Stack Exchange Chat, in particular the Root Access chat room, is the best venue to ask these questions.

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  • +1 for Root Access!
    – allquixotic
    Commented Apr 30, 2013 at 23:26
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Its a bit tricky here. Logically, the best person to answer your question would be someone who has had the exact same hardware, at at least, a very similar setup. These incompatibilities might be fixed, or sparked off by different firmware versions and other variables.

Its also hypothetical - what if you're told 'they work fine' and you buy the parts only to find out they don't? What if you decide to get a totally different set of parts (rendering yourself unable to select the right answer, leaving a broken window of a question).

The moment you're looking for a specific product recommendation, it is a purchase recommendation. While for software, there's a workaround (how do i solve X), and for hardware we have ("What do I look for when buying Y"), with your specific needs, its pretty hard to ask a question of a form that works were here. Asking for solutions about specific incompatibilities might work as well, but would be more useful once you have narrowed the scope to what you want to buy.

Its pretty hard to get a concrete answer to a question like that. Chat's the 'right' place, but you'd need to get someone who knows KVMs well around at that time to get an answer.

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