NI-488.2 is unable to locate the GPIB-USB-HS hardware on a Ubuntu 8.04 system

[asydney007]

Hi Everyone,

                    I attempting to install the GPIB-USB-HS controller to a system running Ubuntu 8.04 (2.6.24-31-generic) following the instruction from this link (and using a bit of trickery):

https://decibel.ni.com/content/docs/DOC-6742

All modules load just fine:

# modprobe nikal

# modprobe nipalk
# modprobe gpibprtk
# /etc/init.d/nipal restart (does not restart because the daemon is already running)

However, when I run the following command, the NI-488.2 software is unable to locate the attached USB controller:

# gpibtsw

Specifically, from the window that pops up, "NI-488.2 Software Presence  Verified" has a green check but "GPID Hardware Presence Verified" has a red X.  How can I resolve this?

Cheers!

Syd

[NathanS]

Hi asydney007,

I am sorry to hear that you are experiencing this problem. Please take a look at the following two knowledgebase articles. They may be of help in troubleshooting your issue. Thanks.

http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/8311FFF18B5308ED86256C0200653B3B

http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/DA87370E9FDB8516862571D5006D0587?OpenDocument

Regards,

[Syd007]

Hi Nathan,

               Thanks for your reply. The NI Enumeration service is running just fine:

syd@gateway2:~$ ps aux | grep gpibenumsvc
root 5700 0.0 0.0 11572 1688 ? Ssl Apr11 0:00 /usr/local/sbin/nipalsm /etc/natinst/nipal/services/libgpibenumsvc.so.2.5.1

And so the next step was to perform an NI IO trace using the "niiotrace" app. First off, the service is actually called "nispy" (for those unable to find niiotrace as specified online). Secondly, and most importantly, I am unable to capture any information. i.e. I configure "nispy" as detailed online, and when I click on "start", no data is captured. I have tried the USB interface on all USB ports on the system, but to no avail. What do you suggest?

Cheers!

Syd 

[NathanS]

Hi Syd,

NI I/O Trace has replaced the older NI Spy. For newer drivers, you should use NI I/O Trace. Here's some info on that:

http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/websearch/35FB4F8147512A23862578DF006EEE72

http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/A1F611E9E40503FB86257186003B4153?OpenDocument

Regards,

[Syd007]

Hi Nathan,

               I've got a few questions:

1. Are there updated instructions on installing NI-488 on Ubuntu? I have been following the instructions (which seem outdated) from the link below that seems to install Nikal, NI488.2, NiVASA4.5, PyVisa and NIdaqmxBase (with versions of these application specific for the distribution of Ubuntu i.e. 8.04):

https://decibel.ni.com/content/docs/DOC-6742

2. If the instructions are still applicable today, should I then obtain the latest versions of the applications mentioned in 1. (i.e. will the new versions of these applications be compatible with Ubuntu 8.04)? If yes, where can I obtain the latest version of Nikal?

3. Since I'm only trying to install the GPIB-HS-USB controller, can I simply install Nikal and NI-488 or must I install all the other NI packages?

Cheers!

Syd  

[Syd007]

I moved from ubuntu to Fedora 10 and used the install script from the following link you provided:

http://joule.ni.com/nidu/cds/view/p/id/2636/lang/en

All packages installed just fine. However, I'm still back to square 1. i.e. "gpibtsw" results in a "GPIB Hardware Presence Verified" failure. I have ensured that the enumeration service is running. I also tried an IO trace but unable to capture any data. 😞

Syd

[Syd007]

When I vew the list of devices on the system (vi /proc/bus/usb/devices), the GPIB-USB controller exists as shown below. However, for the "Driver" option, it shows "none" . Does this imply that the NI-488 drivers are not getting installed or perhaps the device is not reconizing the driver (NB. the ./INSTALL script installs all packages without any errors)?

T:  Bus=01 Lev=01 Prnt=01 Port=02 Cnt=01 Dev#=  6 Spd=480 MxCh= 0
😧  Ver= 2.00 Cls=00(>ifc ) Sub=00 Prot=00 MxPS=64 #Cfgs=  1
P:  Vendor=3923 ProdID=709b Rev= 1.01
S:  Manufacturer=National Instruments
S:  Product=GPIB-USB-HS
S:  SerialNumber=01171DD2
C:* #Ifs= 1 Cfg#= 1 Atr=80 MxPwr=500mA
I:* If#= 0 Alt= 0 #EPs= 5 Cls=ff(vend.) Sub=00 Prot=00 Driver=(none)
E:  Ad=06(O) Atr=02(Bulk) MxPS= 512 Ivl=250us
E:  Ad=88(I) Atr=02(Bulk) MxPS= 512 Ivl=0ms
E:  Ad=02(O) Atr=02(Bulk) MxPS= 512 Ivl=250us
E:  Ad=84(I) Atr=02(Bulk) MxPS= 512 Ivl=0ms
E:  Ad=81(I) Atr=03(Int.) MxPS=  16 Ivl=1ms

PS. This is a bit confusing since gpibtsw shows a check for "NI-488.2 software presence verified"

Can you provide some feedback?

Thanks,

Syd

[JasonSmith]

I believe that the kernel on Fedora 10 is too new for NI USB devices to work. The GPIB-USB-HS will only work up to kernel 2.6.24, I believe Fedora 10 uses at least 2.6.27. If you want to use the GPIB-USB-HS with a distribution officially supported by our most recent NI-488.2 for Linux release, you would need to use either Redhat Enterprise Linux 5, or Scientific Linux 5.

-Jason Smith

[Syd007]

So once again I moved to CentOS 5.8, installed the kernel source, gcc, then run the ./INSTALL script and now everything works perfectly!

Cheers!

Syd