Keysight IO Libraries Suite 2021

Keysight IO Libraries Suite 2021 adds support for secure instrument communication:

• Support HiSLIP (IVI-6.1) Revision 2.0
• Support VISA (VPP-4.3) Revision 7.1
• VISA Shared Components - Upgrade to 7.1

Another important change included is that users are no longer forced to install .NET Framework 3.5/2.0 during installation. Users can choose to install this when they run the installer.

However, if users want to use VISA.NET drivers which are provided by the IVI Organization rather than Keysight Technologies, Inc., then they must install .NET Framework 3.5/2.0.

Defect fixes:

• A PXIe module interoperability issue is fixed. With this fix, Keysight VISA can properly handle other vendor's PXIe modules when Keysight PXI Resource Manager is not the active one.
• An interrupt handling issue with HiSLIP devices is fixed. 

Known issue:

• There is a backwards compatibility issue with VISA Shared Components 7.1 and Keysight Instrument or Measurement software that utilize the instrument’s IVI-COM drivers. If you have this set up, do not update to IOLS 2021. IOLS 2020 U1 that has VISA Shared Components 5.12 does not have this issue. We are currently working with IVI.org and other test and measurement vendors to resolve the issue.

Keysight Secure Instrument Communication Expert

Keysight Secure Instrument Communication provides a secure way to control instruments using HiSLIP protocol revision 2.0 (r2). HiSLIP r2 enables secure connections, which are achieved using the Transport Layer Security (TLS) for encryption and decryption. HiSLIP r2 also enables authentication: the server (instrument) authenticates its identity by sending an X.509 certificate to the client (VISA library) when the TLS connection is established. The client authenticates to the server using a server-supported SASL (Simple Authentication and Security Layer) mechanism.

The challenges to establish a secure connection are: how to proffer the required certificates and authentication information, how to authenticate server/client mutually, and how to configure server/client compatibly, etc.

To overcome the challenges and support secure communication between instruments and test stations, Keysight is providing updates to certain instruments and Keysight IO Libraries Suite. Keysight also provides a configuration tool called Keysight Secure Instrument Communication (SIC) Expert to configure both instruments and test stations to perform secure communication.

Keysight Secure Instrument Communication system consists of three main elements:

• Keysight instrument that supports SIC
• Keysight IO Libraries Suite (installed on test station)
• Keysight Secure Instrument Communication Expert (SIC Expert)