Remote Control Basics
R&S
®
SMU200A
449Operating Manual 1007.9845.32 ─ 15
6 Remote Control Basics
This chapter provides basic information on operating an instrument via remote control.
6.1 Remote Control Interfaces and Protocols
The instrument supports different interfaces for remote control. The following table gives
an overview.
Table 6-1: Remote control interfaces and protocols
Interface
Protocols, VISA
*)
address string
Remarks
Local Area
Network
(LAN)
Protocols:
●
VXI-11
●
socket communica-
tion (Raw Ethernet,
simple telnet)
VISA
*)
address string:
TCPIP::host
address[::LAN device
name][::INSTR]
A LAN connector is located on the front or rear panel of the
instrument, or both.
The interface is based on TCP/IP and supports various protocols.
For a description of the protocols refer to:
●
chapter 6.1.3.1, "VXI-11 Protocol", on page 452
●
chapter 6.1.3.2, "Socket Communication", on page 452
GPIB (IEC/
IEEE Bus
Interface)
VISA
*)
address string:
GPIB::primary
address[::INSTR]
(no secondary address)
Optional GPIB bus interfaces according to standard IEC 625.1/
IEEE 488.1 are located on the rear panel of the instrument.
For a description of the interface refer to chapter 6.1.4, "GPIB
Interface (IEC/IEEE Bus Interface)", on page 453.
*
) VISA is a standardized software interface library providing input and output functions to communicate with
instruments. A VISA installation on the controller is a prerequisite for remote control over LAN (when using
VXI-11 protocol). However, no VISA installation is necessary to remote control while using socket commu-
nication. For more information, see chapter 6.1.1, "VISA Libraries", on page 450.
Within this interface description, the term GPIB is used as a synonym for the IEC/IEEE
bus interface.
SCPI (Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments)
SCPI commands - messages - are used for remote control. Commands that are not taken
from the SCPI standard follow the SCPI syntax rules. The instrument supports the SCPI
version 1999. The SCPI standard is based on standard IEEE 488.2 and aims at the
standardization of device-specific commands, error handling and the status registers.
The tutorial "Automatic Measurement Control - A tutorial on SCPI and IEEE 488.2" from
John M. Pieper (R&S order number 0002.3536.00) offers detailed information on con-
cepts and definitions of SCPI.
Tables provide a fast overview of the bit assignment in the status registers. The tables
are supplemented by a comprehensive description of the status registers.
Remote Control Interfaces and Protocols
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