need help with firmware upgrade for gpib-usb-b on redhat linux 2.6.18-274.7.1.el5

[food4all]

i have two exsiting gpib-usb-b cards and would like to continue using them for control purposes. i am changing from winxp to linux .  i have run into an issue that requires these devices be upgrade to latest firmware for use on newer linux box.

the cards will configure correct on the linux box and can be used for my proposed project. the issue comes when i try to use them on linux with 2.6.32-358.el6.x86_64. after reading the forums and device support doc i find that u can upgrade these gpib-usb-b devices with a later level firmware gpib_firmware-2008-08-10. the instruction are fairly clean for the linux level that was used as an example but i can not properly upgrade because the file structure is different, i am using the older box that the devices show green ready light to do this upgradeand i am root user, download the fxload, configured it and it is working.

[root@gb095 CHAMBER_GPIB]# rpm -ivh fxload-2008_10_13-2.el5.i386.rpm
warning: fxload-2008_10_13-2.el5.i386.rpm: Header V4 DSA signature: NOKEY, key ID 66534c2b
Preparing...                ########################################### [100%]
   1:fxload                 ########################################### [100%]
[root@gb095 ni_gpib_usb_b]#  fxload -D /proc/bus/usb/001/002 -I niusbb_firmware.hex -s niusbb_loader.hex
No such file or directory : /proc/bus/usb/001/002
[root@gb095 ni_gpib_usb_b]#  fxload -D /proc/bus/usb/001/001 -I niusbb_firmware.hex -s niusbb_loader.hex
can't modify CPUCS: Broken pipe
[root@gb095 ni_gpib_usb_b]#  fxload -D /proc/bus/usb/001/001 -I niusbb_firmware.hex -s niusbb_loader.hex
can't modify CPUCS: Broken pipe
[root@gb095 ni_gpib_usb_b]#  fxload -D /proc/bus/usb/002/001 -I niusbb_firmware.hex -s niusbb_loader.hex
can't modify CPUCS: Broken pipe
[root@gb095 ni_gpib_usb_b]#  fxload -D /proc/bus/usb/003/001 -I niusbb_firmware.hex -s niusbb_loader.hex

the readme file stated that u have to repeat this evey time the card is installed , and to place these files into the usb devise

config location. looking at the location given there is none and this path does not exsit on either box. My question is will the upgrade even work for the linux box,2.6.32-358.el6.x86_64, and are there any instuction on how to load the firmware for 2.6.18-274.7.1.el5 and where is the location for hotplug usb devices on this box . then once this is done i think i can use the devices on the later linux box.  

The firmware files can be uploaded to your NI GPIB-USB-B adapter
using fxload.  Example:

fxload -D /proc/bus/usb/001/002 -I niusbb_firmware.hex -s niusbb_loader.hex

If you wish for the firmware to be automatically loaded through hotplug,
copy the firmware files to the /usr/share/usb/ni_usb_gpib/ directory
(or wherever the /etc/hotplug/usb/ni_usb_gpib script expects to find them).

Thanks go to Michael Ritzert for figuring out how to extract the firmware
from a usb sniff log.  The log that was used is included
(file name is "ni-usb-b-initialization-log.txt"), as well as the perl
script for creating the hex file ("firmware_extract.pl").

Oct 22 11:26:36 gb095 kernel: usb 5-1: USB disconnect, address 4
Oct 22 11:26:51 gb095 kernel: usb 4-1: new full speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 3
Oct 22 11:26:51 gb095 kernel: usb 4-1: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
Oct 22 11:26:53 gb095 kernel: usb 4-1: USB disconnect, address 3
Oct 22 11:26:57 gb095 kernel: usb 4-1: new full speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 4
Oct 22 11:26:57 gb095 kernel: usb 4-1: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
Oct 22 11:28:33 gb095 kernel: usb 5-1: new full speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 5
Oct 22 11:28:33 gb095 kernel: usb 5-1: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
Oct 22 11:28:35 gb095 kernel: usb 5-1: USB disconnect, address 5
Oct 22 11:28:38 gb095 kernel: usb 5-1: new full speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 6
Oct 22 11:28:39 gb095 kernel: usb 5-1: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
Oct 22 11:28:42 gb095 kernel: usb 5-1: USB disconnect, address 6

[Catherine-B]

Hi food4all, 

I am a little confused about your system setup. Do you have two Linux machines? With different versions of redhat?

What versions of redhat are you using? What versions of the Linux GPIB package?

Best, 

[food4all]

lets stay with one system , redhat linux  2.6.18-274.7.1.el5,  i have 2 gpib-usb-b devices.  i need to upgrade firmware

i have tried the readme file this, used fxload i get this error

firmware_extract.pl  niusbb_firmware.hex  ni-usb-b-initialiation-log.txt  niusbb_loader.hex  README
[root@gb095 ni_gpib_usb_b]#  fxload -D /proc/bus/usb/001/002 -I niusbb_firmware.hex -s niusbb_loader.hex
No such file or directory : /proc/bus/usb/001/002
i have installed  ni4882-2.9.0f0  ni4882-2.9.0f0.tar.gz and in

[Catherine-B]

Where did you get the firmware update and readme file from? Are they distributed by NI?

Also, it looks like only redhat enterprise linux, not redhat linux, is supported for NI-488. So, the drivers may work but it is not an officially supported setup.

[food4all]

seems i got directed to this area of gpib support

This tarball contains firmware for the following devices:

NI GPIB-USB-B   (subdir ni_gpib_usb_b/)
Agilent 82357A and 82357B       (subdir agilent_82357a/)
Agilent (HP) 82341C and 82341D  (subdir hp_82341/)
Agilent (HP) 82350A     (subdir hp_82350a/)

*****

NI GPIB-USB-B and Agilent 82357A/B:

The firmware can be uploaded to the device with the fxload
program, and generally needs to be uploaded each time the device is
plugged into your computer.  Linux drivers and
hotplug scripts for these devices are available
as part of the Linux GPIB package at http://linux-gpib.sourceforge.net.
See http://linux-hotplug.sourceforge.net for more information about linux
hotplugging.

*****

Agilent (HP) 82341C, 82341D, and 82350A:

The firmware for these boards is uploaded by passing the appropriate
firmware file to gpib_config using the -I or --init-data command
line option.

[Catherine-B]

The links appear to be from a 3rd party, not National Instruments. I have not found any National Instruments firmware updates for the GPIB-USB-B, or anything that indicates that a firmware update is required. If you are having difficulties with the 3rd party download, you will need to contact the person who made it as it is not distributed by NI.

What prompted you to look for a firmware update? Was the GPIB-USB-B not working or being recognized? 

According to the readme file for NI-488.2 2.9.1, the GPIB-USB-B is supported with Redhat Enterprise Linux for kernels up to 2.6.24. There are no indications that additional software is needed to be able to interface with the GPIB device.

Best, 

[food4all]

okay thanks for that infomation on firmware issue. so now lets go to the linux box i really need these board to work on. this is Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.4 edtion 4 , uname - r  2.6.32-358.el6.x86 64

when i plug in my gpib-usb-hs the yellow light is on, when i plug in the gpib-usb-b there is no light, so i was thinking since the light is green when plugged into the older level box that after finding a link that suggested firmware upgrade would fix this issue, that is where the 3rd party stuff came from. we will not venture into that area anymore and just concentrate on the newer box.as i stated above the gpib-usb-b those not have a light on not yellow, not red nothing. i do have NI488.2 for linux vers 2.9.1 installed typing in ./gpibexplorer gives me the Explorer screen with no devices and one of each is now plugged in. pluging in the HS the active light goes green for a split second then out then the ready light is yellow , nothing happends when B is plugged in and niether show up on this screen

[Catherine-B]

According to the readme file for NI-488.2 2.9.1, 64 bit operating systems are not currently supported. In addition, the latest kernel supported is 2.6.24. So, unfortunately, the operating system on the new linux machine you are trying to set up is not currently really compatible with the GPIB-USB-B.

Best,

[food4all]

okay i need to use these devices for projects, can i make my own modifacation and get these configured. how do i get the gpib-usb-hs full funtional , it has a yellow light on it and not showing up on explorer  . how do i get the gpib-usb-b configured.  where do i start.links, kits, examples

[Catherine-B]

Hi food4all, 

In addition to NI-488.2, you also need NI-VISA. This can be downloaded from the following link:

http://joule.ni.com/nidu/cds/view/p/id/4234/lang/en

However, as I mentioned above, these two drivers are only compatible with 32-bit applications. Also, as mentioned above, the GPIB-USB-HS and GPIB-USB-B are not supported for kernels higher than 2.6.24, so may not work with your newer machine (2.6.32). 

Best,