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Introduction to the PXIe Chassis Family IVI-C and IVI.NET Instrument Drivers

Introducing the PXIe Chassis Family IVI Driver for the Keysight PXIe Chassis

This chassis driver provides access to the functionality of the Keysight PXIe Chassis through a .NET server or ANSI C API which also complies with the IVI specifications. This driver works in any development environment which supports .NET or C programming, including Microsoft Visual C++, Microsoft .NET languages, LabVIEW, LabWindows CVI, MATLAB and others.

For more information on this driver, go to:

This document includes what would have normally been in the ReadMe.txt file. It also includes required IVI 2014 introduction and compliance information.

The IVI-C driver help file, KtMPxiChassis.chm, can be found in the <Program Files>\IVI Foundation\IVI\Drivers\KtMPxiChassis and <Program Files (x86)>\IVI Foundation\IVI\Drivers\KtMPxiChassis directories. These directories contain:

  • General information about using the driver
  • IVI compliance information
  • Reference information for all functions and attributes in the IVI-C driver
  • Information about using the driver in a variety of development environments including Visual Studio (C#, VB.NET, C++), MATLAB, and LabVIEW.
  • Example programs

The IVI.NET driver help file, Keysight.KtMPxiChassis.Fx40.chm, can be found in the <Program Files>\IVI Foundation\IVI\Microsoft.NET\Framework32\v4.0.30319\Keysight.KtMPxiChassis <version> and <Program Files>\IVI Foundation\IVI\Microsoft.NET\Framework32\v4.0.30319\Keysight.KtMPxiChassis <version> directories. These directories contain:

  • General information about using the driver
  • IVI compliance information
  • Reference information for all functions and attributes in the IVI.NET driver
  • Information about using the driver in a variety of development environments including Visual Studio (C#, VB.NET, C++), MATLAB, and LabVIEW.
  • Example programs

In addition to the two .chm files, the driver installs MS Help Viewer driver help (VS2013 or newer) and may optionally install integrated driver help for Visual Studio 2005/2008 (this may increase the install time by several minutes).

Driver Examples and Source Code

For the IVI-C driver:

Example programs (C++ and MATLAB) are associated with the IVI-C driver, and can be found in the folders:
     <Program Files>\IVI Foundation\IVI\Drivers\KtMPxiChassis
     <Program Files (x86)>\IVI Foundation\IVI\Drivers\KtMPxiChassis

Example programs for LabVIEW call into the IVI-C driver. If you have LabVIEW installed on the computer when the KtMPxiChassis drivers are installed, the LabVIEW driver and its examples will be placed into all LabVIEW versions found on the destination computer. The LabVIEW driver and its help file are also placed into the folders:
     <Program Files (x86)>\Keysight\KtMPxiChassis\LabVIEW Driver
     <Program Files (x86)>\Keysight\KtMPxiChassis\LabVIEW Driver Help

The IVI-C driver source code, if optionally installed, can be found in the folder:
     <Program Files>\IVI Foundation\IVI\Drivers\KtMPxiChassis\Source
     <Program Files (x86)>\IVI Foundation\IVI\Drivers\KtMPxiChassis\Source

The source code is a Visual Studio 2013 C++ project and may be updated to newer versions of Visual Studio. To use the rebuilt driver, the driver dll in the build output directory must be registered using the regsvr32.exe utility or by setting the VS project C++ Linker settings to do so. This driver provides the lowest-level API that is a reliable API.

For the IVI.NET driver:

Example programs (C# and VB.NET) are associated with the IVI.NET driver, and can be found in the folder:
     <Program Files>\IVI Foundation\IVI\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\Keysight.KtMPxiChassis <version>
     <Program Files (x86)>\IVI Foundation\IVI\Microsoft.NET\Framework32\v4.0.30319\Keysight.KtMPxiChassis <version>

The IVI.NET driver source code, if optionally installed, can be found in the folder:
     <Program Files>\IVI Foundation\IVI\Microsoft.NET\Framework32\v4.0.30319\Keysight.KtMPxiChassis <version>\Source

The source code is a Visual Studio 2013 C# project and may be updated to newer versions of Visual Studio. This driver provides the lowest-level API that is a reliable API.



Connecting to the Chassis

The driver help topic, “Driver Examples,” documents program examples for Visual Studio (C#, C++, VB), LabVIEW, and MATLAB. Each of these examples illustrates how to connect to an instrument in the respective development environment.

The IVI resources page (https://www.ivifoundation.org/getting-started/) has documents and videos that explain how to get started with an IVI-NET driver in different development environments:

Using IVI with Visual C++

Using IVI with Visual C# and Visual Basic .NET

Using IVI with LabVIEW

Using IVI with LabWindows/CVI

Using IVI with MATLAB



Configuring Instrument Settings

For the IVI-C driver:

The KtMPxiChassis IVI-C driver application programming interface (API) includes functions and attributes for setting instrument state variables, as well as functions for controlling the chassis and reading results from the chassis. These are documented in the help file: KtMPxiChassis.chm, in the section: KtMPxiChassis IVI-C Driver > IVI-C Reference.

There are two driver API hierarchies that client programs may use to control the instrument. The first is the instrument specific hierarchy. This hierarchy can be used to access all of the functionality of the instrument. This hierarchy is available to programs that use one of the driver constructors to instantiate the driver. For more information on initializing the driver, refer to the KtMPxiChassis IVI-C Driver > Initializing the IVI-C Driver help topic. For more information on using the instrument specific hierarchy, refer to the KtMPxiChassis IVI-C Driver > IVI-C Reference > Hierarchy > Instrument Specific help topic.

The second hierarchy is the optional IVI Instrument Class compliant hierarchy which supports limited, basic instrument functionality common to most instruments of similar type. To see if this driver supports an IVI Instrument Class, refer to the IVI Compliance Information help topic. If supported, this hierarchy can be used to access the IVI class API for the <ClassName > class.

The help topics that are not under the Instrument Specific section describe the IVI compliant functions and attributes.

For the IVI.Net driver:

The KtMPxiChassis IVI.NET driver application programming interface (API) includes methods and properties for setting instrument state variables, as well as methods for controlling the instrument and reading results from the instrument. These are documented in the help file: Keysight.KtMPxiChassis.Fx40.chm, in the section: KtMPxiChassis IVI-NET Driver > Reference.

There are two driver API hierarchies that client programs may use to control the chassis. The first is the instrument specific hierarchy. This hierarchy can be used to access all of the functionality of the chassis. This hierarchy is available to programs that use one of the driver constructors to instantiate the driver. For more information on using the driver constructors, refer to the information on The IVI.NET Driver Constructor in the KtMPxiChassis IVI-NET Driver > Instantiating the IVI-NET Driver help topic. For more information on using the instrument specific hierarchy, refer to the KtMPxiChassis IVI-NET Driver > Reference > Driver Hierarchy > IKtMPxiChassis help topic.

The second hierarchy is the optional IVI Instrument Class compliant hierarchy which supports limited, basic instrument functionality common to most instruments of similar type. To see if this driver supports an IVI Instrument Class, refer to the IVI Compliance Information help topic. If supported, this hierarchy can be used to access the IVI class API for the <ClassName> class. For more information on using the class compliant hierarchy, refer to the KtMPxiChassis IVI-NET Driver > Reference > Driver Hierarchy > IIviDriver help topic.



Configuring Driver Settings

IVI instrument drivers implement inherent capabilities including properties/attributes that control driver behavior, utility methods/functions, and identifying information. For more information on using the inherent capabilities in the IVI.NET driver, refer to the KtMPxiChassis IVI-NET Driver > Reference > Driver Hierarchy > IIviDriver help topic. For the equivalent information in the IVI-C driver, refer to the KtMPxiChassis IVI-C Driver > IVI-C Reference > Hierarchy > Inherent IVI Attributes help topic and Utility help topics.

Properties/attributes that control driver behavior such as simulation, range checking, and instrument status checking can be enabled/disabled when initializing the driver or by using configuration information in the IVI Configuration Store. For more information, in the IVI.NET driver, refer to the KtMPxiChassis IVI-NET Driver > Instantiating the IVI-NET Driver help topic. For the equivalent information in the IVI-C driver, refer to the KtMPxiChassis IVI-C Driver > Initializing the IVI-C Driver help topic.



Obtaining the latest Introduction and PXIe Chassis Family driver

Obtaining the latest revision of this Introduction: This document is re-released with a new revision letter whenever any information in this document changes. The revisions to the Introduction are listed in the table below, with the most recent revision listed first.

Date (YYYY-MM-DD) Revision Description
2016-12-16 (Revision letter is embedded in the file name of this document.) First release of the Introduction for driver.

To see if a later revision of the Introduction is available for this driver, perform the following steps:

  1. Go to:
    - www.keysight.com/find/M9010A.
    - www.keysight.com/find/M9018A.
    - www.keysight.com/find/M9018B.
    - www.keysight.com/find/M9019A.
  2. Click "Visit Technical Support".
  3. Select the "Drivers, Firmware & Software" tab.
  4. Click the "PXIe Chassis Family Drivers" link.
  5. Find your version of the driver.
  6. The link to the latest revision of the Introduction is provided under the "Supporting Documentation" label. It is recommended that you use the Introduction accessible from this link if it is a later revision than the Introduction you're reading now.

NOTE: In addition to checking for a later revision of this Introduction for your current driver version, you may also want to consider installing a later version of this driver, if available. See the next section to determine if a later driver version is available.

Obtaining the latest version of this driver: To see if a later version of this driver is available, perform the following steps.

  1. Go to:
    - www.keysight.com/find/M9010A.
    - www.keysight.com/find/M9018A.
    - www.keysight.com/find/M9018B.
    - www.keysight.com/find/M9019A.
  2. Click "Visit Technical Support".
  3. Select the "Drivers, Firmware & Software" tab.
  4. Click the "PXIe Chassis Family Drivers" link.
  5. Click the "Current Version" tab to view the latest version of this driver, and compare it to the driver version that you have.
  6. If the current version is later than your driver version, click the "Download" button and follow the instructions to download the current version and install it.

Previous Driver Versions:

  • Version: 1.5.80.1 supports M9018A and M9108B (with M9018A features only)
  • Version: 1.6.2.1 supports only the M9018A and M9019A
  • Version: 1.6.242.1 Supports M9010A, M9018A, M9018B, M9019A



Hardware and Software supported with this driver

Chassis supported with this driver: Keysight M9010A PXI Chassis, M9018A, M9018B, M9019A PXI Chassis

Hardware Revision Strings

      Access the revision string for your chassis from the Soft Front Panel Help > About.

Chassis Chassis
Manager
Firmware
Monitor
Processor
Software
Power
Supply
Hardware
PCIe
Switch
Fabric
Default Fabric
M9010A 2.02 3.11 1 a1.2.a2.2 2-Link Configuration: 1x8, 1x16 [Gen3 speed max]
M9018A 1.07 0.59 5 1.1.257.1 2-Link Configuration: 2x8 [Rev. 2]
M9018B 2.02 3.11 1 3.2.259.2 2-Link Configuration: 2x8 [Rev. 2]
M9019A 2.02 3.11 1 a1.2.a2.2 2-Link Configuration: 1x8, 1x16 [Gen3 speed max]

Operating Systems Supported with this driver:

  • Windows 7 (SP1)
  • WES 7
  • Windows 8.1 Update 1
  • Windows 10

Keysight's IO Libraries Suite: The IO Libraries Suite must be installed prior to installing the PXIe Chassis Family driver. The following IO Libraries Suite releases are supported with this driver, with the most recent release listed first.

Release Date Release Version Comments
2016-10-26 17.3 17.3.21412 Use of the latest version is recommended. See www.keysight.com/find/iosuite for the latest version.
2016-05-25 17.2 Update 2 17.2.20818.0
2016-08-21 17.2 Update 1 17.2.20605.2
2016-01-05 17.2 17.2.20407.1
2015-11-21 17.1 Update 1 17.1.20011.4

IVI Compliance

This page provides IVI-required compliance information for the PXIe Chassis Family driver. IVI Compliance is describes in the IVI Specifications at: http://ivifoundation.org/specifications/default.aspx

IVI Compliance Category: IVI drivers come in a variety of types and configurations. This section provides IVI-required compliance information on the various categories of IVI compliance for the PXIe Chassis Family driver.

IVI Generation: IVI-2014
Category Name: IVI-NET/C Custom Specific Instrument Driver
Class Specification Version: No IVI instrument class supported.

The PXIe Chassis Family driver supports the IVI Inherent Capabilities required of all IVI drivers. For detailed information, refer to the PXIe Chassis Family driver help file.

Optional Features: This section provides IVI-required information regarding optional IVI driver features supported by the PXIe Chassis Family driver.

Interchangeability checking: No
State caching: No
Coercion recording: No

Driver Identification: This section provides IVI-required identity information for the PXIe Chassis Family driver.

Driver Revision: See driver version previously listed.
Driver Vendor: Keysight Technologies
Driver Description: IVI Driver for the PXIe Chassis Family
Prefix/Component Identifier: PXIe Chassis Family
Supported Models: Keysight M9010A, M9018A, M9018B, M9019A PXIe Chassis

Hardware Information:

Instrument Manufacturer:Keysight Technologies
Supported Instrument Models:Keysight M9010A, M9018A, M9018B, M9019A PXIe Chassis
Supported Bus Interfaces:PXI, PXIe

32-bit Software Information:

Supported Operating Systems:Windows 7 (SP1) 32-bit, Windows Embedded 7, Windows 8.1 Update 132-bit, Windows 10 32-bit
Unsupported Operating Systems:Windows XP, Windows Vista
Support Software Required:VISA
Source Code Availability:Source code is installed with this driver.

64-bit Software Information:

Supported Operating Systems:Windows 7 (SP1) 64-bit, Windows Embedded 7, Windows 8.1 Update 1 64-bit, Windows 10 64-bit
Unsupported Operating Systems:Windows Vista 64-bit
Support Software Required:VISA
Source Code Availability:Source code is installed with the driver.

Unit Testing

Test Setup Instrument:

Instrument Models (FW Revision):Keysight M9019A, M9018A, M9018B, M9019A PXIe Chassis
Bus Interface:PXI, PXIe
Operating System (Service Pack):Windows 7 (SP1), Windows Embedded 7, Windows 8.1 Update 1, Windows 10
OS Bitness/Application Bitness:32-bit/64-bit
VISA Vendor and Version:Keysight VISA (IO Libraries Suite version 17.2)
IVI Shared Components Version:2.2.1

Test Setup Simulation:

Chassis Models:Keysight M9019A, M9018A, M9018B, M9019A PXIe Chassis
Bus Interface:N/A
Operating System (Service Pack):Windows 7 (SP1), Windows Embedded 7, Windows 8.1 Update 1, Windows 10
OS Bitness/Application Bitness:64-bit/32-bit, 64-bit/64-bit
VISA Vendor and Version:N/A
IVI Shared Components Version:2.2.1

Driver Installation Testing:

Operating System (Service Pack):Windows 7 (SP1), Windows Embedded 7, Windows 8.1 Update 1, Windows 10
OS Bitness:32-bit, 64-bit

Driver Buildability:

Operating System (Service Pack):Windows 7 (SP1), Windows Embedded 7, Windows 8.1 Update 1, Windows 10
OS Bitness:32-bit, 64-bit
Visual Studio Version:VS2013



Known Issues

Keysight Technologies has evaluated and tested this driver to verify that it meets all applicable requirements of the IVI specifications at the time this compliance document was submitted to the IVI Foundation and agrees to abide by the dispute arbitration provisions in Section 7 of the IVI Specification, section IVI-1.2: Operating Procedures, if the IVI Foundation finds this driver to be non-conformant.

There are no known issues with the driver at the time of shipment.

Additional Information

For more information about this driver and other instrument drivers and software available from Keysight Technologies visit: http://www.keysight.com/find/drivers



Contact Support

If you have feedback or need help using this driver, contact Keysight Technical Support:



Trademarks

© Keysight Technologies 2016

Microsoft, Windows, MS Windows, and Windows NT are U.S. registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.