BNC 845-M User Manual
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Model 845-M Programmer’s Manual V1.1 2011
• IP Address: Every computer/electronic device in a TCP/IP network requires an IP address. An IP
address has four numbers (each between 0 and 255) separated by periods. For
example: 192.168.1.50 is a valid IP address.
• Subnet Mask: The subnet mask distinguishes the portion of the IP address that is the network ID from the
portion that is the station ID. The subnet mask 255.255.0.0, when applied to the IP address given above,
would identify the network ID as 192.168 and the station ID as 1.50. All stations in the same local area
network should have the same network ID, but different station IDs.
• Default Gateway: A TCP/IP network can have a gateway to communicate beyond the LAN identified by the
network ID. A gateway is a computer or electronic device that is connected to two different networks and can
move TCP/IP data from one network to the other. A single LAN that is not connected to other LANs requires a
default gateway setting of 0.0.0.0. If you have a gateway, then the default gateway would be set to the
appropriate value of your gateway.
• MAC Address: A MAC address is a unique 48-bit value that identifies a network interface card to the rest of
the network. Every network card has a unique MAC address permanently stored into its memory.
Interface between the signal generator and other devices on the network is via a category five (CAT-
5) interface cable connected to a network. This cable uses four twisted pairs of copper insulators terminated
into an RJ45 connector. CAT-5 cabling is capable of supporting frequencies up to 100 MHz and data transfer
speeds up to 1 Gbps, which accommodates 1000Base-T, 100Base-T, and 10Base-T networks.
The instrument can be remotely programmed using the VXI-11 protocol. A VISA I/O library (like NI- VISA™) is
used on the server side to facilitate the communications. A VISA installation on the controller is a
prerequisite for remote control over LAN interface. VISA is a standardized software interface library
providing input and output functions to communicate with instruments. For more information about
VISA refer to the VISA library supplier’s documentation.
The SCPI command set listed in the Model 845-M programmer’s manual applies to LAN programming as well.
Only the IP address or the device name is required for link setup. The IP address/device name is part of the
"visa resource string" used by the programs for identification and control of the instrument. The visa
resource string has the form:
TCPIP::ipaddr::inst0::INSTR
ipaddr has to be replaced by the IP address or the computer name of the instrument.