This topic provides information on the following items:
The VXG signal generator uses two different standards for its IO interfaces. Refer to the Data Sheet for specifics, such as LAN speed.
Regardless of the interface being used, always ensure that the cables connected to the instrument meet the standard for the IO interface connection. Some interface cables may be more susceptible to data loss due to noise or other environmental conditions.
| Standard | Instrument IO Interface—Connection Type |
|---|---|
|
TCP/IP |
Data transfer over the LAN using the following protocols to communicate with the VXG signal generator:
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This method of control is typically slower. It is also physically restricted by location and distance between instruments and controller. |
You can program the VXG signal generator using a variety of programming tools, languages and Application Development Environments (ADEs).
There are also several software driver technologies that you can use to program the VXG signal generator, which offer various tradeoffs between the programming tool, ADE, and driver technology. The following table explains the relative advantages of each programming method and driver technology.
|
Method |
Description |
|
|---|---|---|
|
Features |
Instrument drivers are built upon, and offer a higher level of abstraction than VISA drivers. Instrument drivers also offer a shorter learning curve than VISA drivers, but at the expense of reduced operational flexibility. |
|
|
Acquisition & Licensing |
Free download from Keysight and IVI Foundation web sites. |
|
|
Requires Separate ADE? |
Yes, but depending on your program development requirements, you may be able to use a free download. |
|
|
Driver Support |
IVI Class drivers and Instrument-Specific IVI drivers. These are enhanced developments of the older VXI plug & play drivers. Also referred to as IVI.NET drivers. |
|
|
Features |
VISA is a driver technology that operates at a lower level of abstraction than Instrument drivers. As such, it offers greater flexibility, at the expense of a longer learning curve. VISA is a generic, industry-wide standard, unlike Instrument drivers, which are instrument-specific. |
|
|
Acquisition & Licensing |
Free download from Keysight web site. |
|
|
Requires Separate ADE? |
Yes, but depending on your program development requirements, you may be able to use a free download such as one of the Microsoft Visual Studio Express editions. |
|
|
Driver Support |
VISA |
|
|
Features |
An integrated, graphically-oriented, standalone ADE, which supports instruments from Keysight and other manufacturers. |
|
|
Acquisition & Licensing |
License must be purchased from Keysight. |
|
|
Requires Separate ADE? |
No |
|
|
Driver Support |
Supports both Instrument drivers and VISA. |
|
The following figure shows a conceptual overview of the hierarchy of drivers that are available for programming and mentioned in the table above.
IVI drivers are defined by the IVI Foundation, as an enhanced development of the earlier VXIplug&play instrument drivers.
With IVI drivers, you do not need to have in-depth test instrument knowledge to develop sophisticated software.
The VXG signal generator supports IVI drivers for the following architecture:
IVI.NET drivers are based on the Microsoft .NET framework. This driver works in any development environment which supports .NET programming including Microsoft Visual C#, VB.NET, and others.
IVI Shared Components are required by all IVI.NET drivers. IVI Shared Components are automatically installed when you install the Keysight IO Libraries Suite.
Download KtSigGen Microwave Signal Generator IVI Instrument Drivers to support the VXG signal generator.
For a complete list of all instrument drivers from Keysight, visit www.keysight.com/find/drivers.
IO libraries are used by a programming language to send instrument commands and receive instrument data. Before you can communicate and control the VXG signal generator, you must have an IO library installed on your computer.
Keysight offers an I/O libraries suite, which is a collection of libraries, Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and utility programs. The Keysight IO Libraries Suite enables instrument communication for a variety of development environments (Keysight VEE Pro, Microsoft Visual Studio, etc.) that are compatible with GPIB, LAN, RS-232, PXI, AXIe, and VXI test instruments from a variety of manufacturers. Some aspects of the utilities help you quickly and easily connect your instruments to your PC and verify instrument communication.
The Keysight IO libraries are available for download at no cost, from the Keysight web page. The following list includes some of the features and libraries in the Keysight IO Libraries Suite (refer to the IO libraries documentation for a full list of features, benefits, and descriptions):
VISA, SICL, VISA COM, and Keysight 488 libraries
Connection Expert
IO Monitor
Interactive IO
Interactive LXI
VISA Open Report
The following table describes some of the Keysight IO Libraries Suite drivers:
|
Library Name |
|
|---|---|
| Keysight Virtual Instrument Software Architecture (VISA)1 |
The VISA API is a programming interface originally developed and standardized by the VXIplug&play Alliance (now the IVI Foundation) as an industry-wide standard for communicating with instruments over various hardware interfaces. The definition includes the standard visa.h header file for use with C and C++, which provides declarations for the visa32.dll library. Additionally, Keysight has developed the header files visa32.cs and visa32.bas, to permit the VISA DLL to be used with C#.NET and Visual Basic.NET respectively. For more information, see the VISA Documentation Help in the Keysight I/O Libraries Suite. |
| VISA for the Common Object Model (VISA COM)1 |
The VISA COM I/O API is a programming interface standardized by the IVI Foundation for communicating with instruments over various hardware interfaces. Keysight offers an implementation of the VISA COM I/O standard that is compatible with Keysight hardware as well as computer standard I/O interfaces. VISA COM I/O is an update of the older VISA C API to work in and with Microsoft’s COM technology. For more information, see the VISA COM Help in the Keysight I/O Libraries Suite. |
| Keysight Standard Instrument Control Library (SICL)1 |
SICL is compatible only with Keysight interfaces, whereas VISA is an industry-wide standard. This library is not described further in this document. For more information, see the SICL Documentation Help in the Keysight I/O Libraries Suite. SICL is supported only for the C and VB6 languages; there is no SICL support for .NET languages. |
|
Keysight 488 |
Compatible with the NI-488.2 Application Programming Interface (API) from National Instruments, and used for GPIB programming only. This library is not described further in this document. For more information, see the Keysight 488 Help in the Keysight I/O Libraries Suite. |
1. Using VISA functions and SICL functions in the same IO application is not supported.
Keysight VEE (Visual Engineering Environment) Pro provides a graphical language and integrated development environment that permits efficient development of measurement and analysis solutions, while requiring minimal custom programming.
You can select and edit objects from drop-down menus or tool bars and connect them to each other by virtual wires to specify the program's data flow, mimicking the order of tasks you want to perform.
Keysight VEE Pro can communicate with any instrument from any vendor, using GPIB, LAN, RS-232, VXI or LXI.
For further details, see the web page for Keysight VEE Pro.
For information about using IVI Instrument Drivers with Keysight VEE, see Keysight Application Note 1595.
There are three communications modes that the VXG signal generator uses during remote operations:
|
Listener |
A listener is a device capable of receiving data or commands from other instruments. Several instruments in the system can be listeners simultaneously. |
|
Talker |
A talker is a device capable of transmitting data. To avoid confusion, a system typically allows only one device at a time to be an active talker. |
|
Controller |
A controller, typically a computer, can specify the talker and listeners (including itself) for an information transfer. Only one device at a time can be an active controller. |
When the VXG signal generator is in one of these modes, it also displays an annunciator on the front-panel display.