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How Do I Setup a Multiple Chassis VXI System with a GPIB-VXI/C?

Hardware: GPIB>>Plug-in Controllers>>GPIB-VXI/C

Problem:
How do I setup a multiple chassis VXI system using a GPIB-VXI/C interface? The system consists of two chassis, each containing a GPIB-VXI/C card, each of which are cabled to the same GPIB board.

Solution:
The following procedure describes how to set the first GPIB-VXI/C to GPIB Primary Address 0 (the default) and the second GPIB-VXI/C to GPIB Primary Address 2. Setting the GPIB-VXI/C interfaces to have different GPIB Primary Addresses is a requirement when configuring a multi-chassis system. The Logical Addresses for each GPIB-VXI/C controller should be set to zero (which is the default setting)in order for it to be a slot zero resource manager. This procedure requires the following software:
    NI-VISA 2.5.2 or newer, NI-MAX 2.1 or newer, and IEEE 488.2 1.6 or newer
Note: National Instruments recommends using the latest version of all drivers that support your hardware. Setup Procedure:
  1. We will start by setting the GPIB Primary Address on the second GPIB-VXI/C.
    1. Setup your second chassis by connecting the GPIB-VXI/C contained in the second chassis to the GPIB board in your computer. Do not connect the first chassis yet. If you would like to see RESMAN run on the system, or you intend to use a serial interface to communicate with the GPIB-VXI/C, then connect a serial cable to the serial port on the GPIB-VXI/C and to the serial port on your computer. You will need to open a HyperTerminal session to the COM port being used. Refer to the related link on "Changing the GPIB Address of the GPIB-VXI/C" (below).
    2. Switch the chassis on. If you are using a serial connection, you should see RESMAN run on the HyperTerminal window. Otherwise, wait for RESMAN to finish running; this is signaled when the Online LED is the only LED lit on the front panel of the GPIB-VXI/C.
    3. Open the Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX). Once it finishes loading, press the "F5" key to refresh the list of "Devices and Interfaces". Expand the "Devices and Interfaces" heading by clicking on the "+" sign next to it. You should see "GPIB-VXI System 0" listed here.
    4. Right-click on "GPIB-VXI System 0" and choose "Hardware Configuration" from the pop-up menu. (Note: If MAX reports that your GPIB-VXI/C does not support a configuration through MAX, then the GPIB Primary Address of the GPIB-VXI/C must be set through the HyperTerminal window. The procedure for changing the GPIB Primary Address through this interface is detailed in the "Changing the GPIB Address of the GPIB-VXI/C" page linked below).
    5. Change the GPIB Primary Address to 2.
  2. Close all programs, including MAX.
  3. Using "Find" from the Start menu, search for the visaconf.ini file on your system.
    1. Make a backup copy of this file in another location on your system. For example, you could create a backup folder within this directory and copy the visaconf.ini file to it.
    2. Open the visaconf.ini file with a text editor (like Notepad). Find the section heading called "[GPIB-VXI-RSRC-ALIAS]" in this file. Delete that heading and everything immediately below it, so that there is no GPIB-VXI-RSRC-ALIAS section in the visaconf.ini file.
    3. Save the file and close it. This step cleans up any old GPIB-VXI/C configurations in MAX, so that we can start fresh.
  4. Now, make sure both GPIB-VXI/C interfaces are connected to the GPIB board and powered on, and that RESMAN has finished running on both (only the Online LED should be lit on both).
  5. Open MAX. Press the "F5" key to refresh MAX.
  6. Now, even though both GPIB-VXI/C interfaces are online, the system that was just set to GPIB Primary Address 2 will not appear in MAX. You will see a "GPIB-VXI System 0" entry in MAX, but this entry will be for the GPIB-VXI/C system that was previously powered off. It will have a default GPIB Primary Address of 0. You must add the second GPIB-VXI/C system to MAX manually:
    1. Right-click on the "Devices and Interfaces" heading and select "Add New" from the pop-up menu.
    2. Select "GPIB-VXI" and click the Next button.
    3. Set the Primary Address to 2 and the Secondary Address to 0 (not "none").
    4. Select the GPIB Controller Number, which specifies the GPIB controller board to which this system is cabled (typically 0) and click the Next button.
    5. Set the GPIB-VXI number to "2" (setting the GPIB-VXI number to "1" is not currently supported in VISA) and set the Logical Address to 0. Click the Next button.
    6. Enter whatever you would like (or nothing) for the Alias. Click the Finish button to finish adding the second GPIB-VXI/C system.
  7. Press the "F5" key to refresh MAX.
At this point, you should see two GPIB-VXI System entries in MAX. One is System 0, and the other is System 2. Currently, VISA communication to "GPIB-VXI System 2" is not currently supported through MAX, so you will not be able to open a VISA session through MAX to this system. However, communication through the VISA Interactive Control (VISAIC), as well as all VISA programming functions, are supported. To launch the VISA Interactive Control, go to the Tools » NI-VISA » VISA Interactive Control When the VISA Interactive Control launches, it should list both systems. Also, you can double-click on any instrument to open a VISA session to that instrument and test communications.

Note for Solaris, Linux, and Mac OS X users:National Instruments recommends using Windows to configure the Primary Addresses in step 1. Also replace the above Step 6 with the following Step 6.
  1. Open "visaconf" (default path for solaris is "/opt/vxipnp/sun/NIvisa/", but may also be in user's path since there is a soft link to it in /opt/bin, default for Linux is "/usr/local/vxipnp/linux/NIvisa/visaconf", VisaConfig is the configuration application in Mac OS X and its install path is "/Applications/National Instruments/NIvisa/VisaConfig.app").
    Answer "Yes" when it prompts "Would you like VISA to query your system for dynamic resources?". Now, even though both GPIB-VXI/C interfaces are online, the system that was just set to GPIB Primary Address 2 will not appear in "visaconf". You will see a "GPIB-VXI" entry in "visaconf", but this entry will be for the GPIB-VXI/C system that was previously powered off. It will have a default GPIB Primary Address of 0. You must add the second GPIB-VXI/C system to "visaconf" manually:
    1. Click the "Add Static" button at the bottom left of the "visaconf" front panel.
    2. Select "GPIB-VXI Controller."
    3. Set the Primary Address to 2 and the Secondary Address to 0 (not "none").
    4. Set the "Interface Number" to 2.
    5. Click on "Ok". Save and Exit the "visaconf" application (these options are accessible through the "File" menu item).


Related Links:
VXI Support: Using and Troubleshooting the GPIB-VXI/C
VXI Support: Changing the GPIB Address of the GPIB-VXI/C


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Report Date: 11/27/2001
Last Updated: 08/30/2007
Document ID: 2FQDE3UK

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