Troubleshoot Instrument Connections

The BenchVue Lab application uses Keysight Connection Expert, which is part of the Keysight IO Libraries Suite, to automatically configure your instrument IO and populate the BenchVue Lab Instrument Panel. Connection Expert displays the status of your instruments as determined by the Keysight Instrument Discovery Service, which loads whenever your computer is running with IO Libraries Suite installed. Most instruments are automatically discovered by the Instrument Discovery Service and you will see those instruments in the BenchVue Lab Instrument Panel. In some cases, however, you may need to launch Connection Expert to manually add an instrument to your configuration.

If an instrument you are expecting to see is not shown in the BenchVue Lab Instrument Panel, launch Connection Expert to manually add that instrument to your configuration – usually for serial (RS-232) instruments and LAN instruments that are not on your local subnet or are older LAN-based instruments. Note that if one of your instruments was discovered at an earlier time but communication can no longer be established with that instrument, it will not be shown in Connection Expert. In most cases, this means that the instrument has been disconnected or turned off. If you are experiencing connection issues with an instrument, be sure to verify that the instrument is turned on and is properly connected to the selected interface. Then try refreshing the instrument list in BenchVue Lab by clicking the Refresh button at the bottom right corner of the Instrument Panel.

Note: In order for BenchVue Lab to recognize and communicate with a PXI modular instrument, you must first enable the HiSLIP interface from the instrument's Soft Front Panel (SFP). For more information, see Connecting to PXI Modular Instruments.

For more information on troubleshooting connectivity issues, see "Troubleshoot Instrument Connections" in the main BenchVue Help.

Common Connectivity Issues

Below is a list of common connectivity issues to review if you are having problems connecting your instruments to BenchVue Lab.

Verify IO Communication - Verify that you can communicate with your instrument using Keysight Connection Expert. To start Connection Expert, go to the "Manage Your Bench" icon in the lower right corner of the BenchVue Lab application and select "Launch Connection Expert". For more information on using Connection Expert, see the Connection Expert Help.

Check Proxy Settings - Proxy servers are commonly used to control access from an internal network to the external Internet. In some situations, you may not be able to establish communication with an instrument if you are using a proxy server. By default, BenchVue uses the proxy settings configured for your computer.

Supported Instruments - Although we are continually adding support for new instruments, BenchVue Lab does not currently support all Keysight instruments. For a complete list of instruments supported by the BenchVue Lab application, go to www.keysight.com/find/BenchVueInstruments.

Keysight IO Libraries Suite - From the Windows Control Panel, uninstall the following two shared components: (1) IVI Shared Components and (2) VISA Shared Components. Then perform a "Repair" (not "Modify") of Keysight IO Libraries Suite, which will reinstall the two shared components.

Keysight IO Libraries Suite and NI MAX - If National Instruments Measurement & Automation Explorer™ was previously installed and then removed in a "side by side" installation with Keysight IO Libraries Suite, you will need to restore some missing files. From the Windows Control Panel, find Keysight IO Libraries Suite and then select "Modify" (not "Repair") to restore the missing files.

Keysight USB/GPIB Converter and NI MAX - If you are using the Keysight 82357B USB/GPIB Interface Converter with National Instruments Measurement & Automation Explorer™, make sure to select the "Passport to Tulip" option in NI MAX.

Keysight USB/GPIB Converter and Addresses to Avoid - If you are using the Keysight 82357B USB/GPIB Interface Converter, avoid the following GPIB addresses: 9, 11, 13, 25, 27, and 29. These addresses do not always respond correctly to a Serial Poll operation which BenchVue Lab uses. Note that some Keysight instruments, such as the Keysight 34970A, use "9" as their default GPIB address; be sure to change the address to ensure proper operation.

Refresh LAN Connection - If you are connecting to your instrument via LAN, right-click on the instrument icon in the BenchVue Lab Instrument Panel and then select "Refresh" from the menu bar. This will split the device into multiple instrument icons on the Instrument Panel, each with a different communication protocol (e.g., Sockets, HiSLIP, and VXI-11) – select the instrument icon with the VXI-11 protocol.

PXI Modular Instrument Connections - In order for BenchVue Lab to recognize and communicate with a PXI modular instrument, you must first enable the HiSLIP interface from the instrument's Soft Front Panel (SFP). For more information, see Connecting to PXI Modular Instruments.

Verify RS-232 Settings - If you are connecting to your instrument via RS-232, make sure you have configured the COM port settings on your computer to agree with your instrument settings (baud rate, parity, etc.). Since some instruments work best with handshaking enabled, you might also try using a USB/RS232 interface converter (such as the FTDI US232R-100 converter). Make sure you have installed the correct driver for the USB/RS232 interface converter and that it shows up in Windows Device Manager.

Install Latest Instrument Firmware - Make sure your instrument firmware is up to date. To check for the latest instrument firmware from the BenchVue Lab application, right-click on the instrument icon in the BenchVue Lab Instrument Panel.

Verify User Login - Make sure that you are logged into your computer with the same User Name as your last session. If BenchVue Lab is running while a second user logs into the same computer, the second user will not be able to launch the BenchVue Lab application.

Troubleshoot Favorite Instruments

If you are filtering the list of instruments in BenchVue Lab using "favorites", make sure that the instrument you are looking for is selected as a "favorite" in Connection Expert.

Click the My Instruments button to toggle the list of "favorite" instruments on or off (not available in the Demo Mode). "My Instruments" are those instruments that you plan to use frequently and you have marked them with a gold star in Connection Expert. From BenchVue, a blue star indicates that the instrument list is currently being filtered based on the selected "favorites"; a gray star indicates that all discovered instruments are currently shown in the instrument list.

When an instrument is added to the Instruments view as a "favorite" in Connection Expert:

By default, instruments on all interfaces except LAN are marked as favorites. When a non-LAN instrument is either auto-discovered or manually added, it is marked as a favorite (gold star). You turn off an instrument's Favorite status at any time by clicking the icon (gray star).
By default, auto-discovered LAN instruments are not favorites because such instruments may be added to your subnet without your knowledge, and may not be relevant to your system. When a LAN instrument is auto-discovered, its Favorite icon is not selected (gray star). You turn on an instrument's Favorite status at any time by clicking the icon (gold star).
By default, manually-added LAN instruments are favorites. When a LAN instrument is manually added, its Favorite icon is enabled (gold star). You turn off an instrument's Favorite status at any time by clicking the icon (gray star).

Note: For more information on using Connection Expert, see the Connection Expert Help.

Troubleshoot Hidden Instruments

Make sure that the instrument that you are looking for is not set to Hide.

To view the current status of Hidden or Unsupported instruments, click at the bottom right corner of the Instrument Panel. To enable a Hidden instrument, click the icon and select the Show button.

Troubleshoot Instrument Connections

Common Connectivity Issues

Troubleshoot Favorite Instruments

Troubleshoot Hidden Instruments

See Also