Remote Serial Instrument

A remote serial instrument is an instrument connected via serial (RS-232, or COM port) to a server on a LAN. The server is typically a computer running the Remote IO Server software.

Remote Serial Properties

Property Description
Test Station

The Select Test Station(s) dropdown shows the connected test station. Currently, it is not functional and a placeholder for future releases.
VISA Interface ID A name that Keysight software products and VISA use to uniquely identify this remote interface. The VISA interface ID for a remote serial interface is of the form ASRLn, where n is an integer.
Find Interfaces If the remote interface you want to use is connected to your local subnet, click Find Interfaces to search for the remote interface using common remote interface names (see Remote Instrument / Interface Search Criteria for more information). Select the interface you want to use. The software fills in the hostname or IP address and the interface name on the selected remote interface.
Hostname or IP Address
If you use the Find Interfaces button to select an interface, this field will be filled in for you.
If you know the hostname or the IP address of the remote host computer, and the SICL interface ID of its serial interface, you can enter this information manually. You will need to do this if the remote host computer is not on the local subnet.
Fill in the hostname (such as myinstr.mycompany.com) or static IP address of the gateway or remote computer. For help in deciding which to use, see Deciding Between Hostname and IP Address.
SICL Interface Name on Remote Host
If you use the Find Interfaces button to select an interface, this field will be filled in for you.
Otherwise, enter the SICL interface ID for the remote interface in the Interface name on Remote Host field (for example, COM1).
Verify Connection
Once you have configured the connection information, you can click the Test Connection button. The software will attempt to connect to the remote interface. The state of the connection is displayed to the right of the button.
The state of the connection is typically Verified or Failed. If the connection fails, details of the failure may also be displayed.
  • Failed: Timeout opening the connection: *IDN? response was not received.
  • Failed: Missing parameters in call: An internal error occurred.
  • Failed: No verification is available for...: The remote interface did not return valid verification data.
  • Failed: The device to be Verified does not have a Hostname or IP Address: The hostname/IP address field is blank.
  • Failed: Unable to create…: An internal error occurred.
  • Failed: The verification for … was unable to execute: An internal error occurred.
  • Failed: Error during manual verify: The remote interface did not return valid verification data.
Only the connection to the remote interface (PC or gateway) is tested, so the connection may be shown as Verified even if the serial instrument itself is not operational.
TCPIP Interface ID

The LAN interface to connect to the remote interface over the network. See LAN Interface settings for more information.

IO Libraries Suite does not support Remote GPIB Interfaces for VXI.
Auto-Identify This Instrument

If this check box is selected, an *IDN? query is sent to this instrument:

  • When you add the instrument
  • When you click Rescan All
  • When you change the instrument's configuration, click OK to apply the changes.

If this check box is cleared, *IDN? queries are not sent to this instrument.