Keysight IO Libraries Suite 17.2 Update 1

Keysight IO Libraries Suite 17 began the next generation of the former Agilent IO Libraries Suite, the libraries and tools you've come to rely on to speed up connection and control of your instruments. Agilent’s Electronic Measurement Group became Keysight Technologies in 2014; for more information, see http://www.keysight.com.

Table of Contents

• What is the Keysight IO Libraries Suite?
• System Requirements
• Installing the Software
• What's New in IO Libraries Suite 17.2 Update 1?
• Upgrading from Earlier Versions of IO Libraries Suite
• Known Issues
• Uninstalling the Software
• License Grant

The Keysight IO Libraries Suite is a collection of libraries and utility programs. The IO libraries enable instrument communication for a variety of development environments (Keysight VEE Pro, Microsoft Visual Studio, etc.) that are compatible with GPIB, USB, LAN, RS-232, PXI, AXIe, and VXI test instruments from a variety of manufacturers. Several utility programs help you quickly and easily connect your instruments to your PC.

Establishing communication between your instruments and your PC is as easy as 1, 2, 3:

1. Install the IO Libraries Suite: Get all the software you need to connect instruments to your PC via GPIB, USB, LAN, and other standard interfaces.
2. Install Instrument Software and Connect Your Instruments: Install any software that came with your instruments. Connect cables and apply power.
3. Run Keysight Connection Expert to Identify and Communicate with Instruments: See connected instruments, send commands to your instruments, and make configuration settings.

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

The following table lists the system configurations that Keysight tested IO Libraries Suite 17.2 on and that are therefore guaranteed to work. In general, any x86 or x64 (except Itanium) processor should work but there may be a decrease in performance.

Browser: Use a supported version of Internet Explorer; see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/969393.

¹ On older PCs with minimum RAM, installation can take a long time when installing the IO Libraries Suite and the .NET Framework.

² Because of the installation procedure, less disk space may be required for operation than is required for installation. The amount of space listed above is required for installation. The .NET Framework Runtime Components are installed by default with most Windows installations, so you may not need this amount of available disk space.

Who is licensed to install IO Libraries Suite?

See the License Grant at the end of this file to determine whether you are licensed to install this software.

What if I need support for an older operating system?

It is generally best to use the current version of the IO Libraries Suite. This version will support the newest interfaces and operating systems, and will have the most advanced features. However, you may need to install an earlier version of the IO Libraries Suite to support an older interface or operating system. Refer to http://www.keysight.com/find/iosuite to locate the version you need.

To install Keysight IO Libraries Suite:

First, disconnect any USB instruments, USB/GPIB converters, PXI and AXIe chassis, and FireWire (IEEE 1394)-VXI interfaces that are connected to your PC.

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

If you have the IO Libraries disk in your CD/DVD drive:

1. Open Windows File Explorer and browse the CD/DVD drive.
2. Browse to the Autorun folder and double-click to execute auto.exe.

If you are downloading Keysight IO Libraries Suite from the Web:

1. Go to http://www.keysight.com/find/iosuite.
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. Follow the instructions as prompted during the installation.
4. If you are prompted to restart your PC, do so.

You can select either a Typical or a Custom installation. In most cases, you can select a Typical installation which installs the IO Libraries Suite using the recommended settings. Select the Custom installation to:

• Install the IO Libraries Suite in another directory (for 32-bit operating systems only).
• Use Keysight 32-bit VISA with another vendor’s VISA on the same PC in side-by-side mode. Details on side-by-side mode are available at www.keysight.com/find/side-by-side-install and in the IO Libraries Suite Help following installation.

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

This update provides quality and stability improvements, including the following:

• An alias is now created automatically for each newly-discovered USB instrument. The alias is of the form USBInstrumentn (USBInstrument1, USBInstrument2, etc.). As with all aliases, if the USB instrument is disconnected, the alias is not deleted, but remains available for use when that same instrument is re-connected. You can delete unneeded aliases in the Aliases view.
• There was an issue that sometimes prevented installation of IO Libraries Suite 17.2 on non-English Windows 10 systems. This issue has been fixed.
• There was an issue that sometimes prevented launching Connection Expert from the Start Menu on a non-administrator account. This issue has been fixed.
• Several typographical errors/inaccuracies have been corrected in the VISA.NET help file.

New in IO Libraries Suite 17.2

IO Libraries Suite 17.2 provided several enhancements, including the following:

• The new VISA.NET API is a VISA API designed specifically for .NET CLS-compliant languages such as C# and VB.NET. See the new VISA.NET Help, available from the IO Control, for details of VISA.NET.
• Keysight IO Libraries Suite is now supported on Microsoft Windows 10 (including Windows 10 Home, Pro, Enterprise, and Education).
• Keysight Connection Expert includes a new Chassis Trigger view, where you can reserve PXI trigger lines and create routes.
• Keysight IO Libraries Suite 17.2 includes IVI VISA Shared Components 5.6.0 and IVI VISA.NET Shared Components 5.6.0.

IO Libraries Suite 17.2 also provides improvements in performance and stability. Instrument discovery is now a two-phase process, to reduce the effective boot time.

Keysight IO Libraries Suite 17.0 marked a significant update in the architecture of the IO Libraries Suite infrastructure, as well as an all-new Connection Expert. To learn more about those changes, see the Transition Guide in the IO Libraries Suite Help. To find this help, click the IO Control in the Windows notification area, then select Documentation > IO Libraries Suite Help.

Note: The IO Libraries Suite GPIB auto-scan feature is incompatible with certain instruments, including some Keysight 34980As and 34410As; in some cases, compatibility depends on the version of firmware on your instrument. If IO Libraries Suite detects an incompatible instrument on a GPIB interface, it will automatically turn off auto-scan for that GPIB interface.

In addition, some older instruments do not respond correctly to the SCPI identification query, *IDN? These instruments may experience problems when queried by the IO Libraries Suite. After two failures, IO Libraries Suite will stop sending *IDN? to that instrument until the next reboot or reconnect. You can prevent *IDN? from ever being sent to an instrument by manually adding the instrument and turning off its auto-identification property. (To do this, in Connection Expert, select Manual Configuration, then Edit Existing Instruments/Interfaces. Select the instrument in question, and clear the check box labeled Auto-Identify This Instrument.)

For more information on the auto-scan and auto-discovery features, click the IO Control in the Windows notification area, then select Documentation > IO Libraries Suite Help and search for "auto-scan" or "auto-discover" in the help file. For up-to-date information about compatibility issues and solutions, visit www.keysight.com/find/iosuitecompatibility.

There are no issues upgrading from IO Libraries Suite 17.0 or 17.1 to 17.2.

When you upgrade from versions prior to IO Libraries Suite 17.0, in general, your configuration is retained. However, you may see some changes in your configuration and some instrument properties may be lost. For detailed information and workarounds, see Upgrading from Earlier Versions in the IO Libraries Suite Help. To find this help, click the IO Control in the Windows notification area, then select Documentation > IO Libraries Suite Help.

1. Unlike versions of IO Libraries Suite before version 17.0, this version constantly monitors mDNS traffic in order to detect new and deleted connections and other changes in instrument status. In rare cases, certain instruments may produce large amounts of mDNS traffic. If this happens, you'll see a large number of extraneous messages in Connection Expert's message area. To eliminate this traffic, you can go to the instrument's Web interface or front panel and turn off mDNS.
2. The range of valid VISA interface IDs for Remote USB interfaces is now USB1 through USB254. Until IO Libraries Suite 17.1, it was possible to assign interface IDs up through USB299. If you defined a Remote USB interface ID above 254 (using a release of IO Libraries Suite prior to 17.1), when you upgrade to IO Libraries Suite 17.2, its VISA interface ID will be blank. To change it to a valid interface ID, in Connection Expert, select Manual Configuration > Edit Existing Instruments/Interfaces, select this Remote USB interface, and choose a new VISA interface ID from the drop-down menu.
3. In some cases, when you upgrade to IO Libraries Suite 17.2, Keysight 488 may be disabled even though it was previously enabled. To enable Keysight 488, in Connection Expert, select Settings, then Options, then Keysight 488 Options. Select the check box labeled Enable Keysight GPIB cards for 488 programs.
   

Use the Windows Control Panel to remove the Keysight IO Libraries Suite. Do not delete files directly. To uninstall or modify the Keysight IO Libraries Suite, select Keysight IO Libraries Suite from the list of installed programs.

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

Keysight grants you a non-exclusive license of the Software 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. You may download the Software, and store or run 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 Keysight'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 the Software on your PC(s) and instrument(s). 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.

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