GPIB-ENET Support under Windows 10

[joeqsmith]

I recently purchased a new PC with Windows 10 for my home use.   I have two GPIB-ENET Ethernet GPIB controllers that I use with Labview 2011 to run my test equipment.   The whole reason I went with Ethernet was to remove any problems with NI not having driver support for an obsolete PC bus.   I had been using these with Windows XP 32-bit.   The problem now is that I seem to be unable to install the software for them under Windows 10.   I tried XP compatibility mode and it comes up with some obsure error.    To use them with Labview 2011, I had been using the 2.2.4.3500 version as the 2.2.8 that was included no longer supported it.  Strange as its Ethernet.  

The only way I have found that I can use them is to use Oracle VM VirtualBox and create a Windows XP image.  I then install and run Labview under XP.  Everything works find but I can't believe I need to go to this to get an Ethernet device that NI produced working.  

Looks like $1200/ea for the 1G controllers.   I really don't need that sort of BW on GPIB and can't see investing it all new hardware a second time for home use.  

Does anyone else know of a way to get these working with Windows 10? 

[RenKylo2]

Hi Joe,

Are you using this one? If not, can you link us the product page?

[joeqsmith]

Mine are the original and may be seen here:

https://sigrok.org/wiki/National_Instruments_GPIB-ENET

They have worked very well over the years.  

[RenKylo2]

Unforutnately the NI-488.2M driver for the GPIB-ENET is not tested for Windows 10 and likely unsupported. I think the VM is your best option here.

[joeqsmith]

Is there a document on interfacing with the GPIB-ENET directly (using the Labview stack calls)?  

[RenKylo2]

It looks like the NI-488.2m driver is the gpibmngr.dll. You might be able to call it using a Call Library Function Node. The NI-488.2M Function Reference Manual explains each functions in detail

[joeqsmith]

If you just post the command set for it, it will save me the time of having to sniff the bus to back it out.  I have not looked yet but guessing it would not be too difficult to bypass everything and talk with it direct.   My plan is to then just make a small library to mimic the orginal GPIB commands.

[RenKylo2]

Hi Joe,

I'm not quite sure what you meant by commands. If you are talking about the commands that the GPIB instrument takes (the device that the GPIB-ENET is connected to), that is most likely device specific, please check its manual for that. Most GPIB instruments should have a command manual.

If you are talking about the functions you can use to call the commands, all the functions are in the 488.2M Function Reference Manual. I think it is a better resource. 

[joeqsmith]

I was asking about about the low level interface of the GPIB-ENET which is why I mentioned sniffing the Ethernet bus.  I am pretty clear on the commands used to control my equipment.   I would assume there was a document that the sofware developers used to write the interface originally.  This is what I would be interested in.  

[RenKylo2]

Hi Joe,

Unfortunately that is not something we normally provide. If this is absoulatly nessasaary, please create a Service Request by calling in to 866-275-6964.