Remote Control Basics
R&S
®
SMB100A
238
Operating Manual 1407.0806.32 ─ 21
preconfigured on the instrument. Software for instrument control and (for specified pro-
tocols only) the VISA program library must be installed on the controller.
VISA library
Instrument access via VXI-11 or HiSLIP protocols is achieved from high level program-
ming platforms using VISA as an intermediate abstraction layer. VISA encapsulates
the low level VXI or GPIB function calls and thus makes the transport interface trans-
parent for the user. See
Chapter 6.1.1, "VISA Libraries"
on page 236 for details.
IP address
Only the IP address or the computer name (LAN device name) is required to set up the
connection. The IP address/computer name is part of the "visa resource string" used
by the programs to identify and control the instrument.
Forms of the VISA resource string:
●
TCPIP::host address[::LAN device name][::INSTR]
●
TCPIP::host address::port::SOCKET
Where:
●
TCPIP
designates the network protocol used
●
host address
is the IP address or host name of the device
●
LAN device name
defines the protocol and the instance number of a subinstru-
ment:
–
inst0
selects the VXI-11 protocol (optional, default)
–
hislip0
selects the newer HiSLIP protocol
●
INSTR
indicates the instrument resource class (optional)
●
port
determines the used port number
●
SOCKET
indicates the raw network socket resource class
Example:
●
Instrument has the IP address
192.1.2.3
; the valid resource string using VXI-11
protocol is:
TCPIP::192.1.2.3::INSTR
●
The DNS host name is
RSSM1
; the valid resource string is:
TCPIP::RSSM1::hislip0
(HiSLIP)
TCPIP::RSSM1::INSTR
(VXI-11)
●
A raw socket connection can be established using:
TCPIP::192.1.2.3::5025::SOCKET
Identifying instruments in a network
If several instruments are connected to the network, each instrument has its own IP
address and associated resource string. The controller identifies these instruments by
the resource string.
Remote Control Interfaces and Protocols
