Section 2: General operation
Models 707B and 708B Switching Matrix Reference Manual
2-42
707B-901-01 Rev. B / January 2015
Instrumentation connection to enterprise routers or servers
This connection uses an existing network infrastructure to connect instruments to the computer
controller. In this case, you must get the network resources from the network administrator.
Usually, the instruments are kept inside the corporate firewall, but the network administrator can
assign resources that allow them to be outside the firewall. This allows instruments to be connected
to the Internet using appropriate security methods. Data collection and distribution can be controlled
from virtually any location.
Figure 37: Instrumentation connection to enterprise routers or servers
Setting up an isolated instrument network
The following describes how to set up a simple isolated Class C network for communicating with two
LAN instruments using static IP addressing. This network example is similar to the network shown in
(on page 2-40), but without the corporate network connection to the hub.
The standard Ethernet hub basically repeats anything it receives from one port, making that data
available to all its other ports. Hub connections are made with straight-through cables. The hub is
connected to the network interface card in the computer. The network interface card and its driver
must be properly installed on the computer according to the manufacturer’s instructions. You can also
use a switch; the benefit of a switch is that it does not forward network packets out all of the ports. It
only forwards those that are being addressed by the packet.
To set up the network:
1. Create IP addresses for the three hosts (the network interface card and two instruments) on the
network. This is a Class C network, so the subnet mask is 255.255.255.0. From the table in
(on page 2-45), note that the first three parts of the IP address make
up the network ID. For purposes of this example, a network ID of 192.68.1 is used, which is the
default network ID that is shipped with the most of Keithley’s instruments.
If a corporate network is also connected to the same computer using dual network interface
cards, the instrumentation network ID must be different than the corporate network ID.
2. Assign the host ID portions of the three IP addresses. In this example, a host number of 1 is
assigned to the network interface card. The first instrument is assigned a host number of 10 and
the second instrument becomes host number 20. The complete IP addresses are listed below.
Example host IP address
Card or instrument
IP address
Network interface card
192.68.1.1
First instrument
192.68.1.10
Second instrument
192.68.1.20
