Solution
Crossover Cables:If the Ethernet port on your device does not support automatic crossover detection, you must use a crossover cable for a direct connection between your computer and your Real-Time controller. Many Ethernet cards can perform Automatic Crossover detection. To determine if your device supports Automatic Crossover, check your card's specifications. The specifications may refer to Automatic Crossover as
Automatic MDI/MDI-X,
Auto Uplink and Trade, Universal Cable Recognition or
Auto Sensing.
Troubleshooting the Connection:
A common indicator that you are using the incorrect cable is the LINK LED, which will not light on the Real-Time (RT) controller if you have the wrong cable connection. This is not foolproof; however, since the LINK LED may be off for other reasons. Additionally, if the computer in use has multiple network adapters, be sure that you only enable the adapter that the device is plugged into. You may also check for more information on this topic by visiting
Connecting to my PXI Real-Time Target on the Network.
Computer Network Settings:When making a direct connection to a LabVIEW Real-Time controller using an Ethernet cable, you must first disable DHCP on your Host PC. If you do not disable DHCP, you may find that some communication with the controller is not working properly. For example, the system may fail to appear in Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX), or the system may fail to install software on the system. Below are instructions for various operating systems.
Windows 7/8/10
- Go to Start»Control Panel.
- Select View network status and tasks.
- On the left hand side, select Change adapter settings.
- Right-click on Local Area Connection, and select Properties.
- Under the Networking tab, highlight Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4). Click the Properties button.
- On the General tab, select Use the following IP Address.
- At this point, you can enter your own IP Address and Subnet Mask. A typical set of settings for a standalone computer are an IP Address of 169.254.1.1 and subnet mask 255.255.0.0. Press the OK button and exit the Network control panel.
- Reboot may not be necessary.
Windows Vista
- Go to Start»Control Panel.
- On the left hand side, switch to Classic View.
- Select Network and Sharing center.
- On the left hand side, select Manage network connections.
- Right-click on Local Area Connection, and select Properties.
- Under the Networking tab, highlight Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4). Click the Properties button.
- On the General tab, select Use the following IP Address.
- At this point, you can enter your own IP Address and Subnet Mask. A typical set of settings for a standalone computer are an IP Address of 169.254.1.1 and subnet mask 255.255.0.0. Press the OK button and exit the Network control panel.
- Reboot may not be necessary.
Notes:
Make sure your static IP address assignment takes effect by going to
Start»Run, then typing
cmd. In the window that opens, type
ipconfig and verify that the IP address appears as assigned. If it is inconsistent with what you've assigned (for example 0.0.0.0), there may be IT restrictions limiting which IP addresses you can assign yourself. In that case, contact your network administrator.
If the RT controller already has a static IP address, make sure that the controller's settings are consistent with the IP settings on your host computer. The host and RT controller will need unique IP addresses that are on the same subnet.
For the example above, an IP address of 169.254.1.2 and a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0 would be on the same subnet. If the controller has not been configured, you could also use the Suggest Values button in MAX to select a valid IP address and subnet mask now that the host computer has a static IP address.