Remote Control Basics; Remote Control Interfaces And Protocols; Usb Interface - R&S NRP P Series User Manual

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R&S NRPxxP

10 Remote control basics

For general information on remote control of Rohde & Schwarz products via SCPI,
refer to www.rohde-schwarz.com/rc-via-scpi.

10.1 Remote control interfaces and protocols

For remote control, communication between the R&S NRPxxP power sensors and the
controlling host is established based on various interfaces and protocols.
Depending on the power sensor type, the power sensors support different interfaces
for remote control.
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Table 10-1
Table 10-1: Remote control interfaces and protocols
Interface Supported by
USB All power sensors
*) VISA is a standardized software interface library providing input and output functions to communicate with instruments. A VISA
installation on the controller is a prerequisite for remote control over USBTMC and LAN (when using VXI-11 or HiSLIP protocol)
interfaces.

10.1.1 USB interface

For remote control using USB connection, the computer and the power sensors must
be connected via the USB interface. A USB connection requires the VISA library to be
installed. VISA detects and configures the R&S power sensors automatically when the
USB connection is established. Apart from the USBTMC driver (which comes with the
installation of the R&S NRP Toolkit), you do not have to install a separate driver.
USB Test & Measurement Class Specification (USBTMC) is a protocol that is built on
top of USB for communication with USB devices. It defines class code information of
the power sensor that identifies its functionality to load the respective device driver.
Using VISA library, it supports service request, triggers and other operations that are
commonly found in GPIB devices.
Besides USBTMC, the NRP legacy protocol is available to ensure the compatibility of
the R&S NRPxxP power sensors with the R&S NRP‑Z series of power sensors. The
usage of this protocol is not recommended for new applications.
The resource string represents an addressing scheme that is used to establish a com-
munication session with the power sensor. It is based on the power sensor address
and some power sensor- and vendor-specific information.
User Manual 1179.5760.02 ─ 02
R&S NRPxxP USB power sensors are always accessed using USB.
describes the protocols that are supported for each interface.
Protocols, VISA
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Remote control interfaces and protocols
*) address string and Library
USBTMC
USB::<vendor ID>::<product ID>::<serial number>[::
INSTR]
VISA
NRP legacy protocol
Remote control basics
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