Articles
Background: LXI for Everyone
Guides
The LXI Brochure
The LXI Consortium has created a new brochure that highlights the power of LXI in the test and measurement market. The brochure is available in two formats, one for print and one for web viewing. You are invited to download and share them to spread the word of the power of LXI.
Edition 1 December 2015 for web
Edition 1 December 2015 for print
The LXI Primer
An overview of LXI, including the Core Features and Extended Functions
Guides for Using LXI
LXI Getting Started Guide, Building LXI-Based Test Systems, Introducing LXI to Your
Network Administrator, Performance of LXI-Based Test Systems, and Test Systems Using LXI
LXI Discovery Tool
LXI Discovery Tool
Download the latest version of the LXI Discovery tool, which provides users ability to discover LXI Devices over Ethernet LAN
Papers
LXI Technical Overview
An overview presentation to project team members, testers, managers, on technical aspects of implementing the LXI Standard
Wired Trigger Bus Physical Aspects
Sharpen your understanding of the LXI Wired Trigger Bus basics
Recommendations for LXI systems containing devices supporting different versions of IEEE 1588
This white paper outlines recommended system design practices that will prevent degradation of IEEE 1588 performance due to unwanted interactions between devices implementing version 1 and version 2 of IEEE 1588
LXI Conference Presentations
LXI Conference – Singapore 2014 – Presentations
Videos
Connecting With LXI
A clear, easy overview on building LXI test systems.
Getting Started With LXI
An easy path to get started using a single LXI device.
Building an LXI-Based Test System
This tutorial focuses on building an LXI test system with multiple instruments.
Remote and Long
Distance Data Acquisition Using LXI Instruments
A cellular router can be used to extend measurements over a very long distance, even around the world. LXI instruments enable remote and long distance data acquisition over Ethernet using low-cost commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products.
Comparing LXI and
PXI
Provides a brief overview of the PXI Standard as well as the LXI Standard, and then compares PXI vs LXI technology by discussing the advantages and disadvantages of each them.
Migrating from
GPIB to LXI
This video describes the migration from GPIB test instruments to LXI or Ethernet based instruments. It explains the advantages that LXI instruments provide over GPIB.
LXI
and Basic Remote Instrument Setup
LXI is an instrument connectivity standard that allows engineers to access their instruments remotely via a built-in Web interface using the Ethernet network.
The
Rise of Smart Devices and The Cloud
Using The Cloud for test with configuration examples of using smart devices such as an iPhone or Android phone or tablet PC such as the iPad to control LXI test instruments, to get data, monitor a test system or change a setting on a test system from a remote location.
Going
Wireless with LXI
Advantages of controlling LXI instruments wirelessly with configuration examples such as creating a wireless test station using a WiFi router and combining WiFi bridges with a WiFi router to make the whole test station wireless.
Going
the Distance with Wireless LXI
How to perform wireless testing using LXI instruments from a remote location over a long distance via 3 methods: WiFi repeaters, long distance RF Ethernet bridges, and cellular routers.
Getting
Around Firewalls and Network Security
Network security hurdles when trying to access LXI instruments remotely over a long distance and how to get around these network security issues.
LXI
Specification Now Includes Support for IPv6 and HiSLIP
Tom Fay, R&D engineer from Keysight Technologies(formerly Agilent) and technical representative with the LXI consortium explains how the LXI standard now includes support for IPv6 and HiSLIP.
LXI Auto-discovery of Ethernet or LAN Instruments
LXI instruments are auto-discovered using the LXI auto-discovery tool developed by Pickering Interfaces. Shows how to quickly and easily discover LXI ethernet or LAN instruments using LXI's free auto-discovery tool.
LXI Ethernet/LAN
Instrument Conformance or Compliance Testings
LXI Consortium conformance testing. LXI compliance or conformant products meet the standards as defined by the LXI Consortium. Lynn Wheelwright, a certified LXI conformance tester, describes the LXI Conformance process.
LXI Plugfest 2012 Hosted by Rohde & Schwarz
Jochen Wolle, R&D Director from Rohde & Schwarz and Chairman of the LXI Conformance Committee, describes the LXI Plugfest held in Munich that Rohde & Schwarz hosted. LXI members from all over the world participated to test their instruments for conformance with the LXI standard.
Articles
LXI Data-Acquisition System for Wind Tunnel Testing
Wind tunnel facilities provide the equipment and expertise to develop and conduct tests used to characterize the aerodynamic and propulsion parameters of aircraft and vehicles. With LXI, it is possible to perform remote
execution, monitoring, and debugging, which are necessary for harsh wind tunnel environments.
LXI in Automotive FM Receiver Testing
An LXI-based FM receiver test system composed of an AWG to create RF test signals and a spectrum analyzer to capture and analyze the received signal provides an optimal test solution for both production testing and in-vehicle integration testing of car radios.
Instrument Form Factors Offer RF Test Flexibility: Adding LXI to RF Interface Unit
Bench, portable, and modular instruments are offering increasing flexibility for RF and microwave test applications, based on exhibits at Autotestcon 2013 and subsequent product introductions by vendors who exhibited there.
EADS North America Test and Services introduces 1256L, LXI switching system
The company’s switching systems are used to automate functional testing of a wide range of devices, resulting in improved performance for test time, repeatability, and signal fidelity.
LXI Test System for Missile Launcher
The importance of product testing becomes far more intense when the product is a ground-based missile defence system developed to preserve the safety and well-being of a country.
Compact LXI Data Acquisition System Saves Gas Turbine Manufacturer Time and Ensures
Reliability
Today’s leading suppliers of power generation and energy delivery products require cutting edge technology and superior performance to meet the world’s most demanding energy requirements.
LXI in Cloud Computing for Test and Measurement
With today’s global economy, companies have their resources distributed around the world. These global engineering resources must work closely together and maximize the test instruments at their disposal throughout the design and testing life cycle of a product.
Embracing LXI and PXI for Switching
There always are examples of where PXI and LXI implementations will have different compromises on cost, performance, and size. Vendor-designed enclosures usually will convey performance advantages to LXI solutions; a modular chassis system can offer advantages in cost and size for diverse systems. LXI solutions can be modular.
Pulse Radar System Testing with LXI VNA
Since this VNA is LXI conformant and therefore LAN enabled, trace data can be transferred via the Gigabit Ethernet at the same time measured data is being captured by the high-speed buffer RAMs and calculated by the DSP software.
Whole-Body Vibration Testing Using LXI Devices
Since most WBV measurements must be taken in remote workplace environments, Ethernet-based LXI devices can facilitate the performance of vibration testing. The LXI standard offers low-cost, open-standard LAN (Ethernet) as the system backbone and ensures software and hardware compatibility of LXI-compliant test and measurement equipment.
Designing a Vibration Measurement Application With LXI
The emergence of the LXI standard holds the promise of plugging together off-the-shelf measurement boxes that can quickly accomplish these vibration tests. Compatibility in software and hardware with the known experience of Ethernet, the basis of LXI, makes system tests feasible under the rapid time pressures for these new consumer products.
LXI Positioned for Challenging Applications
LXI (LAN extensions for Instrumentation) is the standard for Ethernet control of intelligent instrumentation. LXI provides a powerful, low-cost bus alternative to GPIB for communication with instruments and integrates seamlessly into existing test systems using GPIB or other instrumentation standards such as VXI, PXI, PXI Express, or AXIe.
Using LXI in Satellite System Testing
LXI is particularly favoured by the aerospace/defence industry where strict adherence to standards and compliance is a necessity. All LXI products are certified compliant with the LXI standard, ensuring test engineers that a combination of LXI products will integrate well together and that there is a consistent user experience between products.
Safety Considerations
for Configuring LXI-based ATE Systems When IP Addresses Become Logical Addresses
LXI brings powerful timing and synchronization capabilities that are required by demanding test and data acquisition applications. However, for large-scale ATE systems, the flexible configuration options that are inherent to Ethernet devices present new challenges as they relate to system maintenance
LXI Instrumentation applied to bioanalytical electrical characterization in life
sciences and clinical analysis – article in Laboratory Equipment
In chemical analysis and the life sciences, fast, accurate and repeatable measurements are of paramount importance. These needs match well with test systems that utilize test equipment compliant with the LAN eXtensions for Instrumentation (LXI) standard. LXI-based systems are a cost-effective solution because they eliminate the need for expensive cardcages, embedded controllers and specialized computer interfaces.
LXI vs. PXI in Switching Applications
When comparing LXI to PXI for specific applications, all the advantages aren’t always on LXI’s side. The PXI platform comes into its own with systems that use relatively diverse and compact switching and compact instrumentation from multiple vendors.
But there also are many circumstances where LXI offers a better switching solution than PXI.
LXI
helps engineers across the globe...literally!
Companies are becoming more geographically dispersed, travel costs are continuing to increase, and schedules are increasingly being compressed. The LXI benefit of remote troubleshooting reduces travel and speeds problem resolution clearly helping to mitigate many business challenges faced by engineering professionals today.
Papers
Introducing LXI To Your Network Administrator
This document describes how LXI Devices interact with the LAN, so the Network Administrator can maintain LAN security and maximize performance while meeting the requirements of the test and measurement system.
Malware Protection White Paper
The paper discusses the use of anti-virus software, with recommended configuration settings. It also outlines how to keep the Windows® XP operating system properly updated through regular installation of OS
patches.
Guide to Configuring an LXI Instrument
This step-by-step guide emulates configuring multiple instruments on a private LAN using a commercial PC and router.
Introducing LXI to your IT Department
As you build new or upgrade existing test systems, there are several items you normally consider such as; budget, space and time frames. With the addition of LXI-based instruments to your test arsenal, you have a new factor to consider – your network. LAN connectivity is likely under the reign of any company’s IT department. Any device that has an RJ-45 connection and plugs into the company network comes under their scrutiny.
Articles
Introducing LXI to a Network Administrator
All LXI Devices adhere to LAN standards and have predictable behavior. In fact, they are required to operate very much like a computer when connected to LAN. Like computers, some have security issues which much be addressed, but those risks need to be addressed carefully when the instrument is not in a test procedure. Test systems involving LXI Devices are typically configured using an Open system or Isolated system configuration, whichever best suits the needs of the test engineers. Your expertise is needed to make recommendations for the test system computer configurations, the Routers, and Switches used to tie the LXI Devices together.
Coordinate With IT for a Smooth LXI Rollout
Network management is not a simple task. Working with your IT department early on—before connecting that instrument to the network—can help ensure a successful project. Your IT department has the knowledge and experience to help your LXI system deployment go smoothly.
Every LXI device provides an
IVI instrument driver. IVI drivers offer a standard software interface
and enable you to easily build automated tests in your preferred software. A list
of IVI drivers for LXI instruments can be found at the
IVI Foundation Driver Registry.
All LXI instruments include a web interface. You can quickly view basic information
about your instrument and configure its LAN settings in any browser. In addition,
many LXI instruments allow complete control of the instrument through the web interface,
through text-based commands over the VISA interface, and through instrument drivers
designed for specific software tools. Several member companies offer software packages
designed to work with LXI instruments.
LXI Member Companies - Software Offerings
Learn more about how to build LXI test systems using software from these LXI member
companies:
LXI Reference Design V1.50
The LXI Reference Design, version 1.50 was released on April 24, 2019.
Enhancements and New Features
- Support Windows 10 Update 1809
- Support Ubuntu 18.04
- Upgrade Virtual Instrument
- Upgrade TSEP RemoteSystem
Bugfixes
- Linux: mDNS servicename persistent after start
- Linux: IPv6 webpages not working with Nginx
- Set and reset RQS flag correctly
- Fix build directory for Windows 10
General Remarks
For getting started, please note the hints in the How-to document.
Hardware
The LXI Clock Synchronization which basically covers the IEEE1588 standard is heavily hardware depended, therefore it is crucial to have drivers available for Windows and Linux systems.
For Linux there is an open source solution available and can easily be acquired with the linuxptp package. In this case handling the ptp hardware is achieved with the commonly known functions ‘syscall’ and ‘setsockoptions’.
For Windows, however, there is no such open source solution available therefore TSEP has implemented for this purpose a 1588 stack which includes necessary drivers to access the 1588 hardware clock as well as filter and stamp incoming 1588 messages. These drivers are available for all LXI members alongside the LXI Reference Design. The drivers support the Intel network chip families I21x and I35x.
The 1588 Algorithm
The IEEE 1588 tries to synchronise several independent clocks. Each of these clocks is in general implement as counters, which increment their counter at a given frequency. With the frequency and the counter value it is possible to derive the current time. As it is technically not possible to generate the exact same frequency by several oscillators, one has to readjust the frequency. As it is technically easier to manipulate, the counter cycle is altered. The adjustment has to be achieved by a control algorithm, as the adjustment is influenced by various disturbances. Additionally disturbances on the transport path must also be taken in account. As each IEEE 1588 implementation is based on their hardware and hardware-topology, there is no such thing as “the controlling algorithm”.
Read more >>
Papers
LXI Reference Design Overview
One of the strategies of the LXI Consortium to achieve its vision of LXI global adoption and utilization is to provide a “technical blueprint” for vendors to use when building LXI instruments. This document provides an overview of the LXI Reference Design.
LXI Reference Design Articles
LXI Reference Design V 1.30
LXI Reference Design: Support
Expanding LXI with the Reference Design
The LXI Reference Design is "Code Complete"
TSEP Kerberos – Self-Certification Tool and More
Press Releases
LXI Consortium Releases the LXI Reference Design
March 17, 2016
LXI Software End User License Agreement
The LXI Software End User License Agreement is posted here so that companies considering joining the LXI Consortium and using the LXI Reference Design will be able to evaluate this agreement. As we've stated, only members in good standing are allowed to use the LXI Reference Design. To view or download the End User License, click here.
Support Plan
To ensure success with vendors’ adoption of the LXI Reference Design, the LXI Consortium will implement an ongoing support plan. The support plan will help vendors design LXI interfaces more quickly with lower engineering investment in the long term, in turn leading to more software re-use.
Elements of the support plan include:
- Presentations and videos on how to get the full value from the reference design software.
- An LXI Vendor Forum that will share questions and answers on technical issues regarding the implementation of the reference design. The LXI Vendor Forum is for members only. (To view, click here.)
- Access to the LXI Reference Design Working Group, which oversees, improves, and maintains the reference design.
- Access to TSEP, the company that developed the reference design with the LXI Consortium.
- Defect management and maintenance releases.
- LXI implementation of a virtual instrument model for testing.