Using a Remote Interface for LAN Access
This section contains information that applies to both Windows and Linux.
Keysight VISA provides three types of VISA LAN Client interfaces, implemented in the Keysight IO Libraries Suite as remote interfaces:
- Remote serial interface (ASRL VISA LAN Client)
- Remote GPIB interface (GPIB VISA LAN Client)
- Remote USB interface (USB VISA LAN Client)
Remote interfaces are configured using Connection Expert; they provide virtual GPIB, serial, or USB interfaces. They make it possible to remotely access a LAN-connected device as if it were connected to a local interface. If, for example, the GPIB2 interface is configured as a remote GPIB interface, a program controlling the devices GPIB2::5::INSTR and GPIB2::7::INSTR would not be aware of the fact that these devices are actually connected via LAN and not to a GPIB interface connected to the local machine.
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See the IO Libraries Suite Help (refer to IO Control icon) for more information. |
Remote Serial Interface (ASRL VISA LAN Client)
A remote serial interface can use only the SICL-LAN protocol. A remote serial interface can be configured to use the serial port on the Keysight E5810 LAN/GPIB gateway or the serial ports on a PC running the Remote IO Server software.
Remote GPIB Interface (GPIB VISA LAN Client)
A remote GPIB interface can use both the VXI-11 and SICL-LAN protocols. Typical uses for remote GPIB interfaces are with LAN/GPIB gateways (for example, Keysight E5810), PCs with GPIB interfaces that are running a LAN server, and VXI-11.2 LAN-based instruments.
A remote GPIB interface can only be used to communicate with VXI-11.2 (GPIB Emulation) devices. This is because the VISA GPIB interface type requires a primary and (optionally) a secondary address when communicating with a device. VXI-11.3 devices do not support the concept of a primary address, so they cannot be accessed with a remote GPIB interface.
Remote USB Interface (USB VISA LAN Client)
A remote USB interface can use only the SICL-LAN protocol. It can communicate with USB devices attached to a remote PC running the Remote IO Server software.
Note that if a VISA alias has been defined for a USB device on the remote I/O server (including the default alias assigned by IO Libraries Suite), you must either define the same (or another) alias for the remote USB device on the client PC, or use the full USB resource string. Alias definitions are not shared between the remote I/O server and the client.
Addressing a Session Using a Remote Interface
In general, the rules to address a remote session are the same as to address a local session. The only difference for a remote session is that you use the VISA interface ID (provided during I/O configuration via Connection Expert) that relates to the remote interface.
The following sample shows one way to open a device session with a GPIB device at primary address 23 on a remote PC that is running Remote IO Server software. A remote GPIB interface has been configured at GPIB2 to communicate with that machine. See Programming with VISA for more information on addressing device sessions.
ViSession defaultRM, vi;.
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viOpenDefaultRM(&defaultRM);
viOpen(defaultRM, "GPIB2::23::INSTR", VI_NULL, VI_NULL, &vi);
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viClose(vi);
viClose(defaultRM);