Table of Contents

What Is Agilent IO Libraries Suite?

System Requirements

Installing the Software

What's Changed?

Known Issues

Uninstalling the Software

Issues Resolved

License Grant

Agilent Developer Network

What Is Agilent IO Libraries Suite?

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Agilent IO Libraries Suite is a collection of libraries that give you the ability to use your instruments from a test and measurement program, and utilities that help you quickly and easily connect your instruments to your PC.

To quickly and easily establish communication between your instruments and your PC, follow these three steps:

1.  Install the IO Libraries Suite: Get all the software you need to connect via GPIB, USB, LAN, and other standard interfaces.

2.  Connect Your Instrument:  Connect cables & apply power.

3.  Run Agilent Connection Expert to Configure Your Connection: See your system graphically and send commands to your instruments.

If you received two CD-ROMs with your Agilent product, install the IO Libraries Suite first. Then browse the second CD to find instrument drivers, documentation, and other application software, depending on the product you have purchased.

 

Note on Version Numbering: Agilent IO Libraries Suite is an enhanced, improved successor to the Agilent IO Libraries product. Agilent IO Libraries versions began with A.01.00 and ended with M.01.01. Agilent IO Libraries Suite versions begin with 14.0, which is a higher version than M.01.01 for purposes of determining compatibility with other software and hardware products.

System Requirements for Agilent IO Libraries Suite 14.0

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The system requirements for Agilent IO Libraries Suite 14.0 are as follows:

Processor: 100 MHz Pentium II or higher required, 800 MHz recommended
Operating system: Any one of the following Microsoft® Windows® versions:

Windows XP Professional or Home Edition, Service Pack 1 or later

Windows 2000 Professional, Service Pack 4 or later
Windows Millennium Edition (Me)
Windows 98 Second Edition (SE)

Browser: Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 or greater (Internet Explorer can be obtained at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.asp.)
Available memory: 64 MB required, 96 MB or greater recommended
Available disk space:

215 MB required for installation: 160 MB for Microsoft .NET Framework + 55 MB for Agilent IO Libraries Suite
125 MB required for operation: 70 MB for Microsoft .NET Framework + 55 MB for Agilent IO Libraries Suite

Video: Super VGA (800x600) 256 colors or more

You may want the Adobe Reader, which will allow you to read Agilent IO Libraries Suite manuals in PDF format. It can be obtained at http://www.adobe.com.

 

Who is licensed to install IO Libraries Suite 14.0?

For every individual Agilent instrument, Agilent hardware I/O product (including Agilent GPIB cards and Agilent I/O converters), and development copy of Agilent T&M Toolkit or Agilent VEE Pro that you legally own or have a valid, legal license from Agilent to use, Agilent grants you one non-exclusive license of the Agilent IO Libraries Suite at no charge pursuant to the terms of the License Agreement. The License Agreement is displayed when you install the software and is available in the IO Libraries Suite Online Help.  

Installing the Software

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To install Agilent IO Libraries Suite 14.0:

First, disconnect any USB instruments, USB/GPIB converters, and FireWire-VXI interfaces that are connected to your PC.

Shut down all other applications that are running on the PC.

·      If you have the Automation-Ready CD in your CD-ROM drive:

1.      Click this link, which opens a Windows File Explorer for the CD.

2.      Browse to the Autorun folder and double-click to execute auto.exe.

·        If you are downloading Agilent IO Libraries Suite from the Web:

1.      Go to http://www.agilent.com/find/iolib.

2.      Download the IO Libraries Suite self-extracting zip file (*.exe) to any location on your hard disk.

3.      Double-click the .exe file to extract all files and start the installation process.

After the installation is complete, re-connect any devices that you disconnected prior to installing..

For detailed discussion of installation options, refer to the Agilent IO Libraries Suite Getting Started Guide. To read the Getting Started Guide online, follow the instructions above, click the Connect in 3 Steps button in the auto-run window, scroll down and click the button labeled Getting Started. You will need Adobe Reader (available at www.adobe.com).

What's Changed in Agilent IO Libraries Suite 14.0

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New Features of IO Libraries Suite

Agilent IO Libraries Suite provides a new and improved set of tools for establishing, verifying, and troubleshooting instrument-to-PC connections:

Agilent Connection Expert replaces the old IO Config utility with an integrated, task-oriented connectivity console. Connection Expert is designed for ease of use; it includes a task guide to help you quickly access important tasks, as well as an explorer view that lets you see and troubleshoot your devices and connections.

The IO Config utility is provided by IO Libraries Suite for backward compatibility only. The supported configuration utility for IO Libraries Suite is Connection Expert. IO Libraries Suite installs the unsupported IO Config utility in the installation directory as bin\iocfg32.exe.

Interactive IO is a software utility that lets you interactively send commands to instruments and see their responses. It is integrated into Connection Expert, and can also be run in its own window from the IO Control. It provides improved ease of use over the older VISA Assistant utility, which is still included in IO Libraries Suite.

LAN local-subnet device discovery is a new feature that allows Connection Expert to discover devices that are connected directly, or via a remote I/O server or gateway, to the local subnet of your local area network. This means that you do not need to know the IP address or host name of a local-subnet instrument in order to add it to your test system.

The IO Libraries Suite extends support of VISA aliases (programming aliases) to instruments on all interfaces. VISA aliases make your test programs simpler and more portable, because you no longer need to embed addresses in your code or header files. Connection Expert provides an easy graphical way to create and browse these aliases

The IO Libraries Suite includes improved versions of the Agilent IO Libraries — VISA, VISA COM, & SICL — with many defect fixes and performance enhancements, and with module files to allow the use of VISA in the Microsoft .NET languages. The VISA COM library has been updated to fully support the VISA 3.0 standard and to use the new, standard Global Resource Manager.

New Base Installation Directory

The default installation directory for Agilent IO Libraries Suite is

C:\Program Files\Agilent\IO Libraries Suite

You can choose a different installation location when you install the software.

Changes to the VISA COM Library

Agilent IO Libraries Suite 14.0 includes the IVI Foundation standard Global Resource Manager (GRM) for VISA COM programming.  The standard GRM supersedes the Agilent specific resource manager (RM) distributed in recent versions of Agilent's IO Libraries.  The Agilent RM will still work with VISA COM, but the Agilent RM .NET primary interop assemblies are no longer distributed with this product.  The standard Global Resource Manager allows VISA COM programs to interchange with VISA COM implementations from multiple vendors.

Changes to Locations of SICL Files

The locations of some files used by SICL programs have moved. The sicl.h and sicl.bas files are in the include directory beneath the IO Libraries Suite installation directory. The sicl32.lib file is in the lib directory beneath the IO Libraries Suite installation directory.

Change in Operating System Support

The Agilent IO Libraries Suite is not supported on Microsoft Windows NT®. If you are using Windows NT, please download the previous version (M.01.01) of Agilent IO Libraries from www.agilent.com/find/iolib.

Change in Documentation Structure

In past revisions of Agilent IO Libraries, the Readme.htm file included extensive information on product usage, such as a troubleshooting guide, application notes, and information on compatibility of the IO Libraries with National Instruments products. This information now resides in the IO Libraries Suite Online Help. Once you have installed the IO Libraries Suite, click the IO Control (circled IO icon in the bottom right corner of your screen) and use the Documentation menu to open the IO Libraries Suite Online Help; or open the Help Topics from the Connection Expert's Help menu.

Change in Default Treatment of Serial Ports

In past revisions of Agilent IO Libraries, the I/O configuration automatically included an RS-232 instrument on each serial port (COM port) on your computer. For example, if you have two serial ports (COM1 and COM2), your I/O configuration would include two serial instruments, whether there were actually instruments present on those ports or not. This was done because serial instruments cannot be automatically discovered.

In IO Libraries Suite 14.0, the I/O configuration includes serial instruments only if you have manually added them or if they have been imported from a pre-existing I/O configuration. If you upgrade from a previous IO Libraries version and, during the IO Libraries Suite installation, you choose to preserve your I/O configuration, you will see the serial instruments that were automatically added to your configuration by the earlier IO Libraries version. If you do not want to see these instruments in your configuration, you can delete them using Connection Expert.

If You Have Agilent Documentation that Refers to Previous Versions of the Agilent IO Libraries

Because of changes and improvements in the IO Libraries Suite software, there may be inaccuracies in Agilent product documentation that predates the IO Libraries Suite 14.0 revision. This list provides updated information.

• The Agilent IO Libraries Suite is provided on a CD-ROM called the Automation-Ready CD, which contains the Agilent IO Libraries Suite software and documentation. This CD-ROM replaces the disk formerly labeled “Agilent Technologies IO Libraries for Instrument Control”.

• You should install the Agilent IO Libraries Suite before connecting your instrument to a PC, and before installing any other software that came with your Agilent product(s).

• The IO Config utility program has been replaced by Agilent Connection Expert. Where your product documentation refers to IO Config, please use Connection Expert instead. All capabilities of IO Config are available through Connection Expert, but screen layouts may be different. Full information on using Connection Expert is available in the IO Libraries Suite Online Help.

• The Agilent IO Libraries Installation and Configuration Guide for Windows has been replaced by the Agilent IO Libraries Suite Getting Started Guide. This manual is available in PDF format on your Automation-Ready CD and is installed when you install the IO Libraries Suite.

• The Agilent IO Libraries Suite no longer provides a runtime version. All users must install the full version (but can omit the manuals and code samples if desired).

Known Issues

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1. The Agilent IO Libraries Suite utilities require the Microsoft .NET Framework; if the .NET Framework is not already installed on your PC, the IO Libraries Suite installation process will attempt to install it. There is a known issue that can cause you to receive an "Error 1935" error message, and/or a "Fatal Error during Installation" message, during this .NET installation. If you see either or both of these errors, follow these steps to complete your installation:

   1. Clean your Temp directory, as follows:

      • In an MS-DOS window, type set and press Enter.

      • Note (write down) the TEMP directory value displayed.

      • Use Windows Explorer to navigate to this Temp directory. Delete all files and subdirectories in the Temp directory.

   2. Now try the Agilent IO Libraries Suite installation again.

   3. If the installation still fails, note the error messages displayed.

      • If you see "Fatal Error during Installation" or if you see both "Error 1935" and "Fatal Error during Installation", go to http://consumer.installshield.com and search on "Error 1603". Follow the instructions given by InstallShield to resolve the error.

      • If you see only "Error 1935", go to http://www.microsoft.com and search on "Error 1935". Follow the instructions given by Microsoft to resolve the error.

2. If you install IO Libraries Suite on a Windows Me system on which Windows Installer 2.0 is not installed, the IO Libraries Suite installation process may display a message that it cannot install the .NET framework.  When asked if you want to continue, select "No", then select "Finish" when the finish dialog appears.  You will then see a message that Windows Installer has been installed, requesting you to restart the PC.  At this point you may reboot your PC and rerun the IO Libraries Suite installation; it should now complete successfully.

3. If you connect (plug in) devices to your PC while the Connection Expert is starting up (i.e. while the auto-configuration and discovery process is occurring, and the small Connection Expert splash screen is displayed), Connection Expert may show incorrect states of some devices and interfaces in the explorer view. For example, devices may display Communication Failure states when they are actually operating correctly. Close Connection Expert and restart it to resolve this problem.

4. If you change the properties of the Remote IO Server software while it is running, or if you change the properties of a shared interface on the remote I/O server PC, the changes will not take effect until you stop and restart the Remote IO Server software.

5. If the SICL interface ID and/or logical unit of a shared GPIB, USB, or serial interface is changed on a remote I/O server (a PC running the Agilent Remote IO Server software), that interface cannot be accessed remotely until the Remote IO Server software is stopped and re-started on the server PC.

6. If the IO Control icon disappears from your taskbar notification area, click Start > Programs > Agilent IO Libraries Suite > Utilities > IO Control. If a dialog box asks whether you wish to exit and restart the IO Control, click Yes.

7. If you upgrade from Agilent IO Libraries G.02.02 to IO Libraries Suite 14.0, some LAN devices may be deleted from your I/O configuration even if you have selected the option to save your configuration. If this happens, you will need to use the Connection Expert utility to add these devices manually.

8. You will see the following defect only when using the Remote IO Server software on a Windows 98 SE system: When you start the Remote IO Server, it opens a console window. This window contains text telling you to press CTRL+C to stop the server software and close the window. If you click the X in the upper right corner of the server window instead of pressing CTRL+C, the window will close and the Remote IO Server will stop, but the Connection Expert utility will be confused as to the state of the Remote IO server.  The state of Remote IO Server menu items in the Connection Expert menu will be wrong, and you will be unable to restart the server software from Connection Expert.  To recover from this situation, go to the Windows Start menu; select Start > Programs > Agilent IO Libraries Suite > Utilities > Remote IO Server. This will restart the server and re-synchronize the Connection Expert utility.  Now select the console window and press CTRL+C to stop the server software while maintaining synchronization with Connection Expert.

9. Do not attempt to install Agilent IO Libraries version H.01.02 or G.02.02 (or other versions beginning with "H" or "G") after you have installed Agilent IO Libraries Suite 14.0. The software will not warn you that you are installing an older version of the software over a newer version, and the resulting system configuration is unsupported.

10. The following defect may be seen by users of Agilent T&M Toolkit 1.x who have installed Windows XP Service Pack 2. There is a known issue using VISA COM and the T&M Toolkit DirectIO class in console applications that use the STAThread attribute. The application will hang on exit, and the Agilent IO Monitor (part of the T&M Toolkit) will not capture VISA COM trace information.  To prevent these applications from hanging on exit, modify the "VISA COM Tracing Enabled" registry entry as follows. NOTE: Always use extreme care when modifying the registry.

1. Run REGEDIT.EXE

2. Open the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Agilent\IVI Trace Architecture

3. Change the value of the key "VISA COM Tracing Enabled" to 0.

11. In some cases, you may experience PC performance problems if you put your PC into Windows Standby mode while the IO Control process is running. If this occurs, you will see very slow PC operation and high CPU utilization after exiting Standby mode. To prevent this problem, exit the IO Control (click on the  IO Control icon in the taskbar notification area and click Exit) before going into Standby mode. After you leave Standby mode, restart the IO Control by clicking Start > Programs > Agilent IO Libraries Suite > Utilities > IO Control.

12. The following defect may be seen if you are using USBTMC instruments on a hyperthreaded or dual CPU PC, and if multiple processes on the PC are receiving VISA events. If, after receiving the events, two processes attempt to disable events simultaneously (or almost simultaneously), memory corruption can occur. This will cause an exception in the affected process. To work around this problem, boot the PC in single-processor (non-hyperthreaded) mode, or synchronize the processes so that they disable events sequentially.

Uninstalling the Software

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Use the Windows Control Panel (Add or Remove Programs) to remove the Agilent IO Libraries Suite. It is inadvisable to delete files directly.

Removing the IO Libraries Suite does not delete the standard VISA directory, standard VISA COM files, standard IVI (Interchangeable Virtual Instrument Foundation) files, and IVI shared components. There is no reliable way for the IO Libraries Suite uninstaller to be sure that no other installed product (whether from Agilent or another vendor) is using these files and directories.

Issues Resolved in Revision 14.0

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The following software issues existing in Agilent IO Libraries M.01.01 have been resolved in Agilent IO Libraries Suite 14.0. Some of these fixes were published in Patch1, Patch2, and Patch3 to Agilent IO Libraries, all of which have been incorporated into Agilent IO Libraries Suite 14.0.

Agilent IO Libraries Suite 14.0 is a major revision of the Agilent IO Libraries product. The tools for configuration and troubleshooting of connections have been redesigned and substantially improved, as described above in What's Changed in Agilent IO Libraries Suite 14.0. The issues listed below are only some of the improvements to the IO Libraries software.

1. Two changes have been made in LAN interface configuration to improve performance and reduce delays:

   • A Connection timeout has been added (its default value is 5000 milliseconds).  This timeout represents the time the software will wait when attempting to open a connection to an instrument.  In previous releases of the IO Libraries, this timeout was not user-configurable, so there could be up to 2 minutes' delay before returning an error when attempting to connect to a LAN instrument that was disconnected or turned off.

   • The Client delta timeout default has been changed from 25 seconds to 5 seconds.  This reduces the maximum wait when you attempt to open a very busy LAN device.

2. Read transfer performance issue: This revision increases the "READ" transfer rate for small buffer sizes when using the Agilent 82357A USB-GPIB converter. For buffer sizes below approximately 20 bytes, read transfers will be 2-3 times faster than in previous IO Libraries versions.

3. 82357A USB-GPIB converter defect where the GPIB EOI line is not handled properly. This defect causes an error condition on certain older instruments when the instrument query response is terminated with EOI. This defect will also cause the 82357A to continue to handshake up to two bytes past the byte with EOI asserted if the instrument has more data available to be read.

4. 82357A USB-GPIB resume/suspend behavior defect

5. Additional control over LAN timeout behavior: A configuration option labeled "Connect Timeout" has been added. This option will set the time, in milliseconds, that the LAN client software will wait for a connection to be established to a remote I/O server.

6. 82350A/B PCI-GPIB interface defect that could result in stale data being read after a timeout on the GPIB.

7. "ERROR in IWRITE / Unicode to ANSI conversion failed" error on the Japanese Windows operating system

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License Grant

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For every individual Agilent instrument, Agilent hardware I/O product (including Agilent GPIB cards and Agilent I/O converters), and development copy of Agilent T&M Toolkit or Agilent VEE Pro that you legally own or have a valid, legal license from Agilent to use, Agilent grants you one non-exclusive license of the Software at no charge pursuant to the terms of this Agreement.  You may download one copy of the Software, and store or run that copy of the Software for internal use and purposes in accordance with this Agreement and the documentation provided with the Software.  Such documentation may include license terms provided by Agilent's third party suppliers, which will apply to the use of the Software and take precedence over these license terms.  In the absence of documentation specifying the applicable license, you may store or run one copy of the Software on one machine or instrument.  If the Software is otherwise licensed for concurrent or network use, you may not allow more than the maximum number of authorized users to access and use the Software concurrently.