Academic Company Events NI Developer Zone Support Solutions Products & Services Contact NI MyNI
This Document is not yet Rated  Rate this Document

Using an Ethernet Instrument with Multiple Ethernet/Network Cards

Primary Software: Driver Software>>NI-VXI
Primary Software Version: 1.0
Primary Software Fixed Version: N/A
Secondary Software: N/A

Problem:
I have an Ethernet based instrument that I am trying to find using Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX). I have two ethernet/network cards and MAX is only scanning the first and missing the second. How can I select which card/port to search?

Solution:
You cannot select which port MAX will search; it will automatically search the default port. However, there are two methods for getting MAX to find your device:
  1. With multiple ethernet/network cards installed, the operating system will only try to access the second one if the first port is dead. If you disconnect everything from the first port and then search for instruments using MAX, your instrument should be recognized. If you then plug back in your network, or whatever you have on the first port, MAX will remember where it found your instrument.
  2. When searching for an instrument, MAX will query the default network interface for any instruments. So, your other option is to change the default network connection. Do this in Windows by going to Start»Control Panel. Then open Network Connections and go to the menu Advanced»Advanced Settings. In the Connections box you can see an ordered list of your network connections, and you can use the up and down arrow to change the order. The network connection listed at the top of the list will become your default network connection, where MAX will search for your device.
  3. When trying to connect to a remote device using a Windows PC, the default for the OS is to try and communicate with the device having the highest IP address number first.  If you are continuing to have trouble communicating with the desired device, change the device's IP address to be higher than the others' so Windows will attempt to communicate with it first.


Related Links:
KnowledgeBase 42I77BXJ: Connecting to Ethernet Targets with Multiple Network Cards in the Host

Attachments:





Report Date: 10/23/2006
Last Updated: 10/10/2007
Document ID: 42MG6A4M

Your Feedback! poor Poor  |  Excellent excellent   Yes No
 Document Quality? 
 Answered Your Question? 
  1 2 3 4 5
Please Contact NI for all product and support inquiries.submit