What is the VXI-11 server?

What is the VXI-11 server?

Tektronix VXI-11.2 Client/Server technology adds another important piece to the connectivity picture. The VXI-11 Server-side component, combined with TekVISA’s virtual GPIB, provides a software passageway for connecting your Windows-based oscilloscope over an Ethernet LAN to remote PCs. On each remote PC, you would install another copy of TekVISA to make use of its built-in VXI-11 Client-side component.

LAN connectivity to your oscilloscope is supported through an industry standard communications protocol called VXI-11. Developed by the VXIbus Consortium, the VXI-11 standard specifies an instrument protocol for TCP /IP computer networks. It supports writing and reading data to and from instruments in a manner similar to the VISA API standard, only across a network and with a smaller set of functions. VXI-11 function calls are issued over client-server connections using the Open Network Computing Remote Procedure Call (ONC RPC) protocol.

TekVISA provides virtually transparent network access to your oscilloscope by including VXI-11 client and server software components.

The VXI-11 LAN Server is installed on your Tektronix oscilloscope as part of the TekVISA software installation. The VXI-11 LAN Client is included as just another VISA instrument resource type on any client PC with TekVISA software installed on it. Any existing VISA-based application may use TekVISA to access a remote oscilloscope running the LAN Server.

Your VISA-based applications can issue GPIB commands across the LAN link in the same way that they issue commands locally on the oscilloscope PC. This is possible because the LAN Server uses the same virtual GPIB interface to access the embedded oscilloscope software as is used locally.