usrp 2920 can't connect to PC(WindosXP)

[lf2eddie]

Hi all,

I got a NI USRP-2920 and want to connect to my PC which OS is WindowsXP.

when i put on the ethernet cable on both side(one on usrp and one on pc) and turn on the power of usrp,

the system always shows that "LAN Cable is disabled"

this usually happend when we did not have any cable and network, i don't know why this happened

i've install the labview 2011 and NI-USRP DVD drive

when i turn on the power, the logo of network (right-bottom of the screen) will show "connect" a moment(about one second), then it apear the info "LAN Cable is disabled" and the connection is off

i'm sure that the usrp and the cable are fine because i can use another PC to connect it, and ping 192.168.10.2 . which OS is Windows7 (without any driver, no labview and no NI-USRP driver)

my question is why i can't use XP connect successfully, is there any step that i missed?

PS i also tested the ethernet card and it can work fine when not connecting to the usrp, ex.connect to the internet

thanks,

Eddie

[ErikL]

Hello -

A few quick suggestions to help in troubleshooting:

1. Ensure you are using a direct cable (included in the box) and not a crossover cable.

2. Also, can you try another ethernet cable?

3. Please share the computer model as well as ethernet chipset vendor and model number. 

This can be found under Device Manager.

Thank you,

Erik

[Sarah_Y]

Please also check to make sure that the Ethernet port in your computer is a gigabit Ethernet port.  The USRP will not show up if it is not.  

If you right click on the Ethernet device, do you see an option to enable the device?  Since it is showing up as disabled and not that there is an unrecognized device I want to verify that the port is turned on and operating correctly.

[lf2eddie]

Hello,

thanks for the suggestions, now i have tried two ethernet different cables(one from the box), and both didn't work on this pc(but can work on others pc or laptop)

the Motherboard of the pc is ASUS A8V-MX and it has ethernet card inside.

i also add another ethernet card because it didn't work with the usrp, the additional card is D-Link DFE-530TX rev.A1

and i'm sure the ethernet device is enable because i can use it connect to the internet when connect to the hub

what should i do now? or should i just change the OS to windows 7? will that work?

thanks,

Eddie

[Sarah_Y]

Hi Eddie,

The reason your USRP isn't working with the PC is because of the ASUS card that you are using.  I pulled up the specs for it and it has a 10/100 LAN Ethernet connection, not a gigabit Ethernet connection.  The USRP must have the gigabit Ethernet.  

If you want to use this computer, a cheap solution is to buy a PCI or PCIe gigabit Ethernet card.  They will cost between $15 and $30.  From personal experience, if you are going to be doing any sort of streaming application or need fast Tx/Rx, I would get one of the higher end cards.  A cheap Ethernet card dramatically reduces that performance that you can get out of the USRP.  The one that I have that I am happy with is a Netgear GA311.  I have also tried using an ASUS NX1101 and was not happy with it at all.

Hope that helps and let me know if there's anything else I can do.

[sshearman]

I agree with Sarah's suggestion. Buying a new Gigabit Ethernet card is inexpensive and will ensure high throughput. I highly recommend Intel Gigabit network cards, because I've had good experience with the flexibility of their driver. 

This is a good option if you have a free PCI slot:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833106121#top

If you have a free PCIe slot and want some improved throughput, this may be the one you want:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833106036

Finally, if you have a free PCIe slot and really want to impress your friends with a single PC connected to 2 USRPs: 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833106014 

Look at the thing--you can almost feel the power eminating from it: 

Note that I'm not affiliated with Newegg in any way and my mention above of them isn't meant as an endorsement. I've personally had good experience with them though.

There is another option that would give you lower throughput but would allow you to use the existing non-gigabit port on your current PC indirectly through a gigabit switch--you can connect your 10/100 Ethernet connector on your PC to an unmanaged gigabit switch such as this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833122128

The configuration would look somethink like:

[sshearman]

I forgot to mention in the above post that this configuration will result in lower performance than other configurations. I've put together a new document that describes several configurations that can give you higher performance, please take a look here:

What are some options for connection / configurations for improved USRP performance?

[pixus]

hi. i have a problem. i can't connect usrp 2920 with my PC (OS XP, OS Win 7).

i was connected usrp with Gb cable, and everything seems to work properly, but my 

usrp utilities didn't recognize usrp device. Can enyone help me?

[ErikL]

Please ensure you set your Ethernet port to a static IP and your Ethernet controller supports 1Gb Ethernet. The common problem in this string of posts is that 10/100 Ethernet ports are not supported.

[pixus]

i was set my Ethernet port to static IP, and i think that my Ethernet conrtoller supports Gb Ethernet, but could you explain to me how to check that? what to do if it's not supported?