Specifications

18 Multiport Power Meter Getting Started
1 Getting Started
many users at on-site and remote locations. The instrument’s
application and/or your company’s IT (Information Technology)
department may have guidelines that help decide the type of
network (private or site) used. If a network configuration has
not been determined, refer to the following considerations
concerning each type.
Private LAN Considerations
Among the basic parameters of a private LAN network to
consider are security, performance, reliability, and IP address
availability.
Security A private network generally involves a direct
connection between the computer and the instrument, or to
multiple instruments using switches or routers. Access to the
instrument is limited to users on the private network, as
opposed to users on a site network that could locate and access
the instrument from any location.
Private networks can reduce the possibility of tests being
disrupted by unplanned or unauthorized access. Code
generation for test systems on a private network is often
simplified, as provisions against unauthorized users may not be
required.
Performance Test systems where large amounts of data are
transferred usually have faster throughput on a private
network. On a site network, heavy and unpredictable LAN
traffic affects each instrument (node) on the network.
The impact on a test system is that repeatability is difficult to
achieve as latencies are difficult to account for.
Reliability Private networks are fundamentally more reliable
than site networks as they host fewer users and are less
complex than site networks.
Private networks are isolated from conditions that could bring
down (crash) a site network.
IP Address Availability Every instrument (node) on a LAN
(private or site) has an IP (Internet Protocol) address. Due to
the expanding use of the internet, the number of site network IP
addresses available is limited. By using a router with Dynamic
Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) capability on a private
network, the router can assign an IP address to each instrument
thus creating a sub-network (subnet) that does not consume site
IP addresses.