Chassis View

This section contains information specific to the Windows product.

From the Instruments view, you see a list of all the PXI and AXIe chassis that have been discovered or manually added.

From the Instruments view, select a chassis. This allows you to explore the chassis details or select from several options:

  • Chassis Content - This view shows the selected chassis in the system, and identifies the modules installed in chassis slots (see the graphic below).

  • Chassis Triggers - This view allows you to reserve trigger lines and create trigger routes. See Chassis Triggers for more information.

  • Chassis Numbers - You can change the numbering of the chassis to better correspond to your system's physical layout or to match the numbering used by an existing test program. This is typically used in multiple chassis systems. See Chassis Numbers for more information.

You can set additional PXI options, including the active resource manager and default trigger manager, in the PXI System Options view.

The Discovery Service can find and identify PXI and AXIe chassis that are registered according to PXISA specifications. VXI and other chassis are not shown in the PXI/AXIe Chassis view. (See If a Chassis Is Not Shown, below.)

PXI-1 chassis are generally not auto-discovered. If Keysight PXI Resource Manager is the active resource manager, you can manually add PXI-1 chassis to your configuration with the Add Legacy PXI Chassis utility, and then these chassis will be shown in Connection Expert. To run the Add Legacy PXI Chassis utility, click the IO Control icon , then click Utilities > Add Legacy PXI Chassis.

Chassis Content — Showing Chassis Details and Module Details

Select a chassis in the list to see additional information, such as:

  • Manufacturer
  • Model number
  • Serial number
  • Parent chassis, for multichassis systems
  • Controller address
  • Backplane address
  • Shelf manager address, for AXIe chassis
Each PXI and AXIe chassis appear twice in the Instruments View My Instruments list, once as a VISA INSTR resource and once as a VISA BACKPLANE resource.

 

The chassis address is not a VISA address. For USB-PXI chassis, the address is in the form: PXI10::chassis_id::INSTR. It is used by applications to open a connection to the chassis.

In the Chassis Content list, a red "X" indicates that the chassis has been disconnected from the host PC (for example, the USB cable has been unplugged). To permanently remove a disconnected chassis from the chassis list, click the "Delete Chassis" button.

 

Taking Action on a Chassis or a Card

You can take various actions on a chassis by clicking links in the action area on the right side of the window.

  • Action links for a card (modular instrument) are available just to the right of the listing for that card.
  • Available actions depend on the capabilities of the selected chassis or card.

Chassis view - (compact view, unexpanded): 

The screen capture shown below is an example of a multi-slot module. The visible differences between single-slot and multi-slot are as follows.

For any slot details:

Alternating color (light and dark gray) is used to show different modules. For example, the screen capture below shows some details of an 18-slot chassis with three separate modules. In compact view, you will see only the default details. The default is defined as this: the leftmost link for multi-link; the first endpoint (index = 0) for multi-endpoint; and the only link for multi-slot.

If desired, you can click the right-facing arrow (circled in red above) to expand slot information. The result of clicking this arrow is shown below:

Chassis view - (expanded for more detail): 

The capture below (expanded view) shows more information (such as sub-modules) than compact view. In this example, slots 11-18 comprise a single (8-slot) module, with details of the sub-modules included.

Additional actions:

View Chassis Information Online

This link is available only in the Chassis Content view, not the My Instrument list view of the chassis. It opens a browser on the Keysight Technologies Web page for this chassis product.

Start Soft Front Panel

Many modular instruments and chassis have Soft Front Panel (SFP) software for monitoring and controlling the instrument or chassis; some have more than one. When installed, the Soft Front Panel software is an interactive user interface for the instrument or chassis. Refer to the instrument's SFP help file for instructions on using the SFP.

Select a chassis in the Chassis Content view, then use the Soft Front Panel icon to start (in a new window) soft front panels for chassis or modules. This icon is only shown if a soft front panel is installed for the selected chassis or module.

If a non-Keysight soft front panel is installed in a non-standard location, Connection Expert may not be able to find it. In that case, you will have to locate and run the soft front panel outside of Connection Expert (for example, in Windows Explorer).

If a Chassis Is Not Shown

If a chassis you are expecting to see is not shown in the Chassis Content view, consider the following:

  • Only PXI and AXIe chassis are shown in this view. Other chassis are shown differently:
    • VXI chassis are not shown, but their modules (instruments) are shown in the Instruments view.
    • Other chassis, such as the Keysight 34980A Multifunction Switch/Measure Unit, are shown in the Instruments view as individual instruments.


  • If chassis software is not correctly or completely installed, the chassis may not be discovered. (In some cases, the chassis may be displayed in the Instruments view but not in the Chassis view.) In that case, you may:
    • Install or reinstall the software that came with your chassis. This may cause the chassis to show up in the Chassis Content view.
    • Manually add the chassis using the Add Legacy PXI Chassis utility. Once you have manually added the chassis, it will be shown in Connection Expert. You can do this only if Keysight PXI Resource Manager is the active resource manager; you can set the active resource manager in the PXI System Options view.


  • PXI-1 chassis are generally not auto-discovered. If Keysight PXI Resource Manager is the active resource manager, you can manually add PXI-1 chassis to your configuration with the Add Legacy PXI Chassis utility, and then these chassis will be shown in Connection Expert. To run the Add Legacy PXI Chassis utility, click the IO Control icon , then click Utilities > Add Legacy PXI Chassis. Modules in PXI-1 chassis are shown in the Connection Expert Instruments view.


  • PXI and AXIe chassis may not be properly registered under PXISA even though modules in these chassis are shown in the Connection Expert Instruments view. In this case the chassis may not be displayed in the Chassis Content view.

See Also

Instruments View

Chassis Numbers

Chassis Triggers

How to Install and Add PXI Equipment

How to Install and Add AXIe Equipment