Multiple gigE linescan cameras from one PC

[LightWorker]

Hi,

I have two Aviiva gigE linescan cameras (4K) that I am trying to control from a single PC via a dual port ethernet card (Intel Pro /1000 PT). The problem is that it is not always possible to see both cameras in MAX. When I do see two cameras then I am only able to configure one of them.  When I try to access the 2nd camera then it says "camera already in use". Often however, only one camera appears in MAX under IMAQdx devices.

I have also written a simple snap VI to capture an image from each camera at the same time. I get a similar error message after the first image is obtained. It looks as though LabView is struggling to see both cameras as separate entities or assign different IP addresses. Has anyone else had this problem or could someone suggest a solution?

I am using National Instrument gigE drivers and have tried setting IP addresses manually as well as automatically, all to no avail.

Thanks Simon 

[BlueCheese]

Hi Simon,

Maybe the firmware for the Aviiva has gotten better, but the one I have here certainly has its share of issues. However, if you are getting one to work and only having problems with more than one, then maybe that is not your issue...

How do you have your cameras and PC's network ports IP configuration set? Depending on your OS, the recommended setup might be a little different...

-On XP and earlier, the easiest way is to bridge the two network ports into a single port and then use link-local-addressing (automatic 169.254.x.x addresses) which the camera should default to. This is only a good option when using the NI High Performance Driver on your network interface (Intel Pro/1000's only)

-On Vista and later, you don't need to do anything to use multiple link-local addresses because the system routes the traffic properly. You just plug them into each port and it works.

If you are assigning IP addresses manually (not recommended unless you have some specific need) then you need to understand how to assign the addresses correctly and ensure that the ports are on different networks.

Eric 

[LightWorker]

Hi Eric

Thanks for your reply.

I'm working in XP at the moment.

I did have issues with a single camera - got an "unknown gigE error" error message when closing the camera in LabView. I just wrote some code to ignore the error message which seemed to be relatively harmless. Also the grab function in MAX gave a similar error when grab was stopped.

With dual port NIC you see two configurations in control panel / network connections. I've set them up identically with NI gigE drivers, automatically assigned IP addresses, jumbo packets = gigE only. No experience of  bridging - how do you do this?

What Aviiva camera do you have and what issues have you had with it?

Simon

[LightWorker · Accepted solution]

Solved by using only one of the ports on the dual ethernet card. Now using an ethernet switch to route both cameras through just one port. Worked first time.

[BlueCheese]

Hi Simon,

If that is working with a switch, you probably want to try using the bridge method. With the switch you have to be very careful that you are never exceeding the bandwidth of your single link between the switch and your PC which is hard with more than one camera. By bridging the ports, you are essentially moving the switch into your PC with a virtual link to it that is as wide as all the ports in the bridge.

To enable the bridge, simply go to the network connections panel in your control panel, select both ports, right-click and select "bridge connections." That is it.  Windows will then create a virtual bridge port that represents the two ports that you would use as your network port for the cameras.

Eric 

[LightWorker]

OK,Thanks

I'll try this out and let you know if it works.

Simon

[Jois]

Hi

  I have a similar problem but with two USB cameras uEye

only one camera appears in MAX under IMAQdx devices

have someone a idea?

Thanks
Jois

[LightWorker]

You could try using an ethernet hub and plugging into one PC ethernet port like I did.