Using Third-Party Switches

NI Switch Executive uses IVI driver sessions and/or IVI logical names as a way to communicate with all IVI-compliant switches. For NI Switch Executive to recognize a third-party switch, you must create an IVI configuration.

Complete the following steps to create an IVI configuration for a third-party, IVI-compliant switch:

Create a Driver Session

1. Launch NI MAX with NI Switch Executive.
2. Expand IVI Drivers.
3. Right-click Driver Sessions.
4. Select Create New (case-sensitive). A driver session with a default name of NewDriverSessionX is created.
5. Select the General tab at the bottom of the window that displays on the right.
6. Edit the driver setup string as needed. You may need to modify the driver setup string to specify appropriate topology information. Refer to your third-party software vendor for more information.
7. Select the Hardware tab.
8. Select the hardware in the Hardware Assets window.
9. (Optional) Click the Add and Remove buttons to add and remove hardware assets.
10. Edit the resource descriptor as needed. Refer to the instrument driver vendor for information about specifying the resource descriptor.
11. Select the Software tab.
12. Select the IVI driver for the switch from the Software Module drop-down listbox.

    Note  If the software module does not display in the drop-down listbox, contact the instrument driver vendor for an updated installer.

13. Cycle through the tabs and make any additional changes where appropriate.
14. Click in the NI Switch Executive taskbar to save the changes.

Create a Logical Name

1. Launch NI MAX with NI Switch Executive.
2. Expand IVI Drivers.
3. Right-click Logical Names.
4. Select Create New (case-sensitive). A logical name with a default name of NewLogicalName is created.
5. Select the driver session you created for your switch from the Driver Session drop-down listbox in the window on the right.
6. Click in the NI Switch Executive taskbar to save the changes.