Simplify LXI with LabVIEW
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LAN eXtensions for Instrumentation (LXI) is an emerging instrument control standard based on Ethernet. NI is active in the LXI Consortium as part of its ongoing commitment to support all instrument control buses – including GPIB, LXI, and PXI – by offering a complete suite of instrument control software. Additionally, NI software investments for LXI minimize the changes to your test systems as the LXI Consortium continues to revise the standard.
Evaluating software for your instrument control application requires understanding how to configure, automate, and debug communication across the bus. Most are familiar with how to control an instrument using GPIB but not as familiar with LXI (see table below).
To keep it simple, assume you want to connect two instruments to a PC and perform an identification query to ensure good communication with the instruments. The GPIB connections use a GPIB card; the LXI connections use an Ethernet router to connect the PC and two LXI instruments. NI instrument control software simplifies system configuration and debugging. The table compares the steps taken to configure LXI and GPIB using NI Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX), NI-VISA, and NI Spy.
Note the first two steps for LXI are much like setting up a home network. With LXI, one of the many important decisions is whether to use DHCP or static IP addressing. Once you finish configuring all the Ethernet and TCP/IP settings, the subnet is working, and the instruments are properly configured, then the remaining steps are similar. After establishing communication with your instrument, NI provides all the software you need to control, acquire, analyze, and present your measurements.
Instrument Control Software
NI instrument control software simplifies LXI setup and debugging.
The LXI Consortium recently revised the LXI standard to include new discovery and identification options. With more revisions in progress, the following NI instrument control software tools simplify the use of LXI today and in the future:
- LabVIEW – Controlling Ethernet instruments has long been a part of instrument control support. Because LXI uses Ethernet, LabVIEW has many of the core LXI standards and technologies. This includes compatibility for TCP/IP, UDP, hardware and software peer-to-peer signaling, Web servers, and Internet browsers.
- MAX – MAX is a configuration utility that discovers and configures instruments using LXI, GPIB, PXI, and other buses. NI-
- VISA – NI-VISA abstracts the application software from the bus by using an industry-standard API and discovers LXI instruments using the VXI-11 discovery protocol.
- NI Spy – NI Spy monitors message traffic on the instrument buses to help debug message content and timing.
- Instrument drivers – NI develops and supports plug-and-play and IVI instrument drivers for LabVIEW, LabWindows™/CVI, and Measurement Studio for Visual Studio. This includes access to more than 6,000 drivers from more than 200 vendors at ni.com/idnet.
The mark LabWindows is used under a license from Microsoft Corporation. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries.
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