Performance Considerations
Although PathWave BenchVue application does not limit the number of instruments that can be connected or the number of simultaneous operations allowed, there are a few practical limitations that should be noted. As described below, there are IO interface and computer resource limitations to keep in mind.
Limitations of Remote Instruments
PathWave BenchVue application operates best with instruments that are connected locally to the computer running the PathWave software application. Instruments that are connected via LAN from remote locations or on a slow LAN may experience degraded performance and intermittent disconnects from PathWave BenchVue application. Remote IO server connections will also suffer from degraded performance since they introduce another computer to the IO pathway.
Connection Issues with USB 3.0
If you are using USB to connect to your instruments, make sure you are using USB 2.0 ports. At this time, you might experience connection integrity and performance issues with USB 3.0 (indicated by "SS" next to USB connector on computer).
Limitations of GPIB
IO operations over GPIB are by nature serial transactions and performance will possibly degrade to the slowest instrument if multiple instruments are sharing the same GPIB bus. For example:
- Two DMMs performing data logging on the same GPIB bus will run at the speed of the slowest DMM.
- Multiple power supplies performing data logging will be paced by the speed of the slowest power supply.
If you are experiencing performance issues with GPIB, try using separate GPIB interfaces or consider moving your instruments to USB for higher performance.
Limitations of RS-232
Since serial interface operations are much slower in comparison to USB and LAN, we caution the use of RS-232 with PathWave BenchVue application. Although PathWave BenchVue application does support RS-232 on some instruments, the overall performance will be degraded and some functionality might not be available when using this interface.
Limitations Due to Computer Resources
The processing power and memory capacity of your computer will determine the number of simultaneous operations allowed without degrading overall performance. Operations that require significant computational power, such as data logging and fetching of large data arrays, will be most affected by your computer's resources.
For computers of all performance levels, exporting data while a data logging operation is in progress will likely impact the overall timing of the data log. Since data logging operations are paced by your computer, the timing will be affected by other activities that place a higher processing burden on your computer.