™
BERTScope
LTS
Lightwave Test Set
Remote Control Guide
Document Part Number 0138-701-00.01
3475-D Edison Way
Menlo Park, California U.S.A. 94025
Voice (650) 364-1853 Fax (650) 364-5716
Email tech_support@bertscope.com
http://www.bertscope.com/
BERTScope™ technology is registered with the
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office,
U.S. Patent Nos. 5,414,713; 6,636,994; 6,728,311
This manual is copyrighted and all rights are reserved. No portion of this document may be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying and recording, for any purpose without the express written permission of SyntheSys
Research, Inc.
Products of SyntheSys Research, Inc. are covered by U.S. and foreign patents and/or pending
patents.
BERTScope™ is a trademark of SyntheSys Research, Inc.
© SYNTHESYS RESEARCH, INC.
This Remote Control Guide is applicable to the following SyntheSys Research, Inc., products:
BERTScope™ LTS Lightwave Test Set
BERTScope LTS Remote Control Guide
Document Part Number 0138-701-00.01
5 May 2008
i
Table of Contents
BERTScope™ LTS Remote Control Overview......................................................................................... 1
Setting Up Remote Control .................................................................................................................... 2
Command Syntax .................................................................................................................................... 3
FEATURES............................................................................................................................................ 3
OPERATIONS ....................................................................................................................................... 3
PARAMETERS ...................................................................................................................................... 4
Command Status ..................................................................................................................................... 4
Command Error Messages and Codes ................................................................................................. 5
Tips ........................................................................................................................................................... 5
LTS Remote Control Commands (Confidential) ...................................................................................... 6
Command Summary................................................................................................................................6
Command Reference .................................................................................................................................. 7
Index ........................................................................................................................................................... 13
BERTScope LTS Remote Control Guide ii
BERTScope™ LTS Remote Control Overview
The BERTScope LTS can be controlled remotely via either an IEEE-488 or a TCP/IP communications
connection. The BERTScope LTS remote control software runs on either a BERTScope, or a host PC
running Microsoft Windows 2000 or XP operating systems.
The remote control software accepts text-oriented commands from a remote computer via either an IEEE488 or TCP/IP connection. It then routes the commands to one or more BERTScope LTSs, connected to
the BERTScope or host PC via USB.
If the local host is a BERTScope, then the BERTScope software gets a chance to handle the command
first. BERTScope-specific commands are documented in a separate manual, the BERTScope Remote
Control Guide, part number 0150-703-06.28.
Any commands the BERTScope software doesn’t understand are sent to the LTS software, which then
controls the BERTScope LTS. The BERTScope LTS-specific commands are documented in this manual.
When a BERTScope LTS is connected to a BERTScope, you can inter-mix BERTScope and BERTScope
LTS commands in the same script, program, or interactive session. If the host is just an ordinary PC,
then the commands are routed to the Clock Recovery software directly. In this case, using the
BERTScope-specific commands will result in an error.
For most applications, a single BERTScope LTS is connected to a BERTScope or host PC. In this case,
the BERTScope LTS is automatically detected and connected when the remote control software is
started, and automatically disconnected when the remote control software is stopped. There is no need
in this case to use the
If more than one BERTScope LTS is connected to the BERTScope or host computer, the remote control
software will not connect automatically. In this case, the Remote computer must issue a
discover the IDs of the connected BERTScope LTSs, and
commands. If the Remote computer needs to control multiple BERTScope LTSs, it would
CLOSE one, then OPEN, control, and CLOSE another. The device that is OPEN is referred to as the
then
‘current’ device throughout this document.
Remote control is implemented using a text-oriented command protocol described in the following pages
of this document. These commands enable you to set and query the system parameters of the
BERTScope LTS, and to retrieve measurements made by the instrument.
OPEN or CLOSE commands described below.
NAMES? query to
OPEN the one desired before issuing control
OPEN, control,
BERTScope LTS Remote Control Guide 1
Setting Up Remote Control
Before beginning a remote control session, it is necessary to start the Remote Client application,
BitAlyzerRemoteClient.exe, on the host computer.
If the host is a BERTScope, select the Remote button from the System View’s Tools page. If the host
computer is a normal PC, then just execute the BitAlyzerRemoteClient.exe file.
The Remote Client application allows you to select either a TCP/IP or GPIB communication channel.
Internally, the program handles routing of commands between the remote computer and the BERTScope
LTS. Select the Trace Messages box to monitor the commands sent to the BERTScope LTS.
To test the Remote Client connection, use a TCP/IP terminal program like telnet.exe to interact with the
BERTScope LTS directly. An example session is shown in the figure above.
BERTScope LTS Remote Control Guide 2
Command Syntax
Remote Control Command Lines are defined as ASCII text strings ending with ‘\r’ or ‘\n’.
The commands follow a basic three-part structure, consisting of one word identifying the feature of the
BERTScope LTS being addressed, another word identifying a specific operation within that feature, and
optional parameters. The feature and operation are separated by a colon, and the operation and
parameter (if any), are separated by a space.
FEATURE:OPERATION PARAMETER
Commands and parameters are generally case-insensitive.
Most commands have a long form and a short form. For example,
LTS:CONNECTED?
can be typed out exactly as shown, or as
LTS:CONN? Or lts:conn?
The short form is convenient during interactive control (using a telnet session, for example). You might
want to use the long form in scripts or programs, to increase code clarity.
FEATURES
The BERTScope LTS commands are divided into feature groups:
In the first group are commands that handle device discovery and connection. You can use these
commands anytime, even if a ‘current’ device has not been selected yet (with the
NAMES, OPEN, and CLOSE commands are all part of this group.
A second group consists of commands for controlling and monitoring a particular BERTScope LTS. The
‘current’ device must have been specified (using the
in this group.
In addition to these feature groups, several miscellaneous features exist to manipulate the host computer
display (
configuration (
primarily implement the functionality provided by the GUI Console buttons.
VIEW, PTFILE, GUILOCKOUT), the run state (RSTATE, RDURATION), and the overall program
SCONFIGURATION, RCONFIGURATION, ISSTATUS, RSSTATUS). These commands
LTS:OPEN command) prior to using any commands
OPEN command). The
OPERATIONS
Operations fall into three sub-categories:
Read-Only properties
Query a read-able property by appending a question mark after it.
For example,
LTS:DN?
returns the device name of the currently selected BERTScope LTS.
Read-Write Properties
Query a read-write property by appending a question mark after it.
Set a read-write property by adding an appropriate parameter.
BERTScope LTS Remote Control Guide 3
For example,
LTS:OPEN “LTS_1234”
selects the BERTScope LTS with the device name LTS_1234 as the current device, while
LTS:OPEN?
returns name of the device previously OPENed.
Write-Only operation
Question marks are illegal for write-only operation, and parameters may or may not be required,
depending upon the particular operation.
For example,
LTS:CLOSE
requires no parameters, but
LTS:RCONFIGDISK “D:\BitAlyzer\Configurations\mycfg.lts”
requires the complete pathname of the BERTScope LTS configuration file.
PARAMETERS
A parameter can be Double or Integer numbers, Boolean (0 or 1), an Enumerated Data Type, or a String.
When a command uses a string as a parameter, the string is enclosed in double-quotes (“string”).
Filenames always require the absolute path, enclosed within double-quotes.
Parameters are generally case-insensitive.
Command Status
The BERTScope LTS receives and operates on each command immediately.
The input values of commands are checked. If an input is received that is outside of the legal range, the
input will be clipped and recorded in the status queue.
Command execution sets a status variable that may be queried by the user to determine if the previous
command was successful.
You request the status of a command by sending:
This command retrieves items listed in the error status queue in the format:
The status queue is first in, first out. It can contain up to 100 error messages. If the status queue
overflows, the last error/event in the queue is replaced with Error –350, “Queue overflow”. When all
errors/events have been read from the queue, further error/event queries will return 0, “NO error”.
To clear the status queue all at once, send:
SYSTem:ERRor? or SYST:ERR?
< n, “event/string” >
*CLS
BERTScope LTS Remote Control Guide 4
Command Error Messages and Codes
ERROR MESSAGES
"TOO MANY PARAMETERS"
"UNRECOGNIZED COMMAND"
"WRONG PARAMETER TYPE"
"TOO LITTLE PARAMETERS"
"WRONG PARAMETER FORMAT"
"WRONG PARAMETER NUMBER"
"WRONG ACTION-ONLY"
"WRONG QUERY-ONLY"
"REQUESTED <QUERY PARAMETER> IS NOT SUPPORTED ON THE PLATFORM"
ERROR CODES
0 "NO ERROR"
-350 "Queue Overflow"
-10 File transfer error
-20 System error or event
-30 Command error, see list of error messages
-40 No software option
Tips
It is most useful to have an understanding of the basic principles of the BERTScope LTS before
undertaking remote control programming. There is a high degree of similarity between the BERTScope’s
graphical user interface and the remote control command protocol.
For more technical assistance in programming your remote control applications, please contact
SyntheSys Research, Inc. We are glad to help.
Technical Support
SyntheSys Research, Inc.
3475-D Edison Way
Menlo Park, CA 94025
Voice: (650) 364-1853
Fax: (650) 364-5716
tech_support@bertscope.com
BERTScope LTS Remote Control Guide 5
LTS Remote Control Commands (Confidential)
Command Summary
Lifecycle commands (usable before OPEN)
Dynamic Read-Only Properties
TOTALDEVCOUNT or TDCT
ATTACHDEVCOUNT or ADCT
ATTACHDEVNAMES or NAMES
Read-Write Settings
OPEN
Write-Only Operations
CLOSE
(require prior OPEN)
Static Read-Only Identification and Capabilities
MODEL
SERIALNUM or SN
DEVICENAME or DN
SWREV or SW
HWREV or HW
FPGAREV or FPGA
EXPREV or EXP
NUMTAPS
INVALIDVALUE or IVALUE
Dynamic Read-Only Properties
CONNECTED or CONN
BUSY
RXPOWER
RXCRLOCKED
Read-Write Settings
OPTICALPOWERUNITS or PWRUNITS
TXOPMODE or TXMODE
TXLASERON or TXON
TXNOMFREQ or TXFREQ
TXISI
TXFILTER
TXPOWER
TXEXTINCTIONRATIO or TXER
RXLASERON or RXON
RXNOMFREQ or RXFREQ
RXWAVELENGTH or RXWL
RXFILTER
Write-Only Operations
SCONFIGDISK or SDISK
RCONFIGDISK or RDISK
BERTScope LTS Remote Control Guide 6
Command Reference
LTS:AttachDevCounT?
LTS:ADCT?
Retrieves the number of unique BERTScope LTSs (unique serial numbers) that are currently
responding, whether or not the remote computer has OPENed a session to any of them.
Returns: < numeric >
LTS:attachdevNAMES?
LTS:NAMES?
Retrieves a comma-separated list of all BERTScope LTSs that are currently communicating with
the Clock Recovery Service, whether or not the remote computer has OPENed a session to any
of them.
Each BERTScope LTS is identified by its device name.
Returns: <string> Comma-separated list of BERTScopeLTSs found,
or “” if none found.
LTS:BUSY?
Retrieves the busy status of the currently selected BERTScope LTS.
Returns: < 0 > Device is for available for communication
< 1 > Device is temporarily unavailable for communication.
LTS:CLOSE
Close the communication connection to the current BERTScope LTS.
Note that closing the “current” BERTScope LTS requires that a new current BERTScope LTS be
selected (or opened) prior to issuing any more device-specific commands.
LTS:CONNected?
LTS:CONN?
Retrieves the connection status of the currently selected BERTScope LTS.
Returns: < 0 >
< 1 > Device is opened and available for communication.
LTS:DeviceName?
LTS:DN?
Retrieves the device name of the currently selected BERTScope LTS.
A device name can be from 1 to 11 characters in length.
Returns: < string > Device Name of current device.
LTS:EXPrev?
LTS:EXP?
Retrieves the expansion board revision string of the currently selected BERTScope LTS.
Note that If no expansion board is installed in the BERTScope LTS, then “XXXX” is returned.
Returns: < string > Expansion board revision string.
BERTScope LTS Remote Control Guide 7
Device is opened, but not found by the host
computer.
LTS:FPGArev?
LTS:FPGA?
Retrieves the FPGA revision string of the currently selected BERTScope LTS.
Returns: < string > FPGA revision string.
LTS:HWrev?
LTS:HW?
Retrieves the hardware revision string of the currently selected BERTScope LTS.
Returns: < string > Hardware revision string.
LTS:invalidVALUE?
LTS:IVALUE?
Retrieves the "magic number" returned if a BERTScope LTS measurement cannot be made.
Returns: < numeric > Invalid value.
LTS:MODEL?
Retrieves the model type of the currently selected BERTScope LTS.
Returns: < 8500A_TXRX >
LTS contains both transmitter and
receiver
< 8500A_TX > LTS contains only transmitter
< 8500A_RX> LTS contains only receiver
LTS:OPEN <string>
LTS:OPEN?
Selects or Returns the device name of the “current” BERTScope LTS.
The user-assigned device name or serial number string may be passed to select a particular
BERTScope LTS. An empty string may be passed to select the first (usually only) BERTScope
LTS found. A BERTScope LTS can be opened by multiple clients. .
Params: < string > Serial Number, Device Name, or “”.
Returns: < string > Current Device Name, or “NONE”.
LTS:opticalPoWeRUNITS <enum>
LTS:opticalPoWeRUNITS?
LTS:PWRUNITS <enum>
LTS:PWRUNITS?
Sets and Retrieves the units to use for the optical power settings and measurements
Params: < dBm> dB per milliWatt
< mW> milliWatt
< uW> microWatt
Returns: < dBm | mW | uW >
LTS:RconfigDISK <string>
LTS:RDISK <string>
BERTScope LTS Remote Control Guide 8
Restores the BERTScope LTS settings from a file. The complete path must be specified in the
parameter string. The path must be accessible to the host computer or BERTScope running the
remote control software. The file extension should be ‘.LTS’. Action only.
Example:
LTS:RCONFIGDISK “D:\BitAlyzer\Configurations\mycfg.LTS”
Params: < string > Pathname of the configuration file
LTS:RXCRLOCKED?
Retrieves the receiver's clock recovery hardware state in the currently selected BERTScope LTS.
Query only.
Returns: < 0 > Device is NOT locked to the receiver's input signal.
< 1 > Device is locked to the receiver's input signal.
LTS:RXFILTER <enum>
LTS:RXFILTER?
Sets or Retreives the receiver's Low Pass Filter setting.
Params: < Bypass> Bypasses this control
< 10GbE> Use internal filter, suitable for 10 Gbit Ethernet
< 8XFC > Use internal filter, suitable for 8x Fiber Channel
< 4XFC> Use internal filter, suitable for 4x Fiber Channel
< 2XFC> Use internal filter, suitable for 2x Fiber Channel
Returns: < Bypass | 10GbE | 8XFC | 4XFC | 2XFC >
LTS:RXlaserON <boolean>
LTS:RXlaserON?
LTS:RXON <boolean>
LTS:RXON?
Enables or Disables the receiver's optical to electrical transducer.
Params: < 0 > Laser transducer Disabled
< 1 > Laser transducer Enabled
Returns: <0 | 1 >
LTS:RXNOMFREQ?
LTS:RXNOMFREQ
Sets or retrieves the receiver input data rate, in Hz.
The LTS needs to know the receiver input data rate to select the proper calibration values.
NOTE: See LTS:RXNOMFREQ
Params: < numeric > Set the current data rate, in Hertz
150 MHz to 12.5 GHz
Returns: < numeric >
Measured, or previously entered data rate, in
Hertz
LTS:RXPOWER?
Retrieves the measured average power of the receiver's optical data input.
NOTE: See LTS:opticalPoWeRUNITS
BERTScope LTS Remote Control Guide 9
Returns: < numeric >
In dBm, mW, ot uW, depending upon the
current optical power units setting.
LTS:RXWaveLength < numeric >
LTS:RXWaveLength?
LTS:RXWL < numeric >
LTS:RXWL?
Sets or Retrieves the wavelength of the receiver's optical input, in nm.
Params: < numeric > 850, 1310, or 1550 nm. Only
Returns: < numeric > Current setting, in nm.
LTS:SconfigDISK <string>
LTS:SDISK <string>
Saves the current BERTScope LTS settings to a file. The complete path must be specified in the
parameter string. The path must be accessible to the host computer or BERTScope running the
remote control software. The file extension should be ‘.LTS’.
Example:
LTS:SCONFIGDISK “D:\BitAlyzer\Configurations\mycfg.LTS”
Params: < string > Pathname of the configuration file
LTS:SerialNum?
LTS:SNSN?
Retrieves the serial number string of the currently selected BERTScope LTS.
Returns: < string > Serial Number string of current device.
LTS:SWrev?
LTS:SW?
Retrieves the firmware revision string of the currently selected BERTScope LTS.
Returns: < string > Firmware revision string.
LTS:TotalDevCounT?
LTS:TDCT?
Retrieves the total number of unique BERTScope LTSs (unique serial numbers) found.
Note that this number may include devices that are no longer connected to the host computer, or
are powered off.
Returns: < numeric >
LTS:TXExtinctionRatio < numeric >
LTS:TXExtinctionRatio?
LTS:TXER < numeric >
LTS:TXER?
Sets or Retrieves the extinction ratio of the transmitter's optical output, in dB.
Params: < numeric > 2.0 dB to 6.0 dB.
Returns: < numeric > Current ER setting.
LTS:TXFILTER <enum>
BERTScope LTS Remote Control Guide 10
LTS:TXFILTER?
Sets or Retreives the transmitter's Low Pass Filter setting.
Params: < Bypass> Bypasses this control
< 10GbE> Use internal filter, suitable for 10 Gbit Ethernet
< External >
Use external filter connected to the front of
the LTS unit.
Returns: < Bypass | 10GbE | External >
LTS:TXISI <enum>
LTS:TXISI?
Sets or Retreives the transmitter's ISI setting.
Params: < Bypass > Bypasses this control
< 8XFC > Set suitable for 8x Fiber Channel
Returns: < Bypass | 8XFC >
LTS:TXlaserON <boolean>
LTS:TXlaserON?
LTS:TXON <boolean>
LTS:TXON?
Enables or Disables the transmitter's output laser.
Params: < 0 > Laser Disabled
< 1 > Laser Enabled
Returns: < 0 | 1 >
LTS:TXNOMFREQ?
LTS:TXNOMFREQ
Sets or retrieves the transmitter input data rate, in Hz.
The LTS needs to know the transmitter input data rate to select the proper calibration values.
NOTE: See LTS:RXNOMFREQ
Params: < numeric > Set the current data rate, in Hertz
150 MHz to 12.5 GHz
Returns: < numeric >
Measured, or previously entered data rate, in
Hertz
LTS:TXopMODE <enum>
LTS:TXopMODE?
LTS:TXMODE <enum>
LTS:TXMODE?
Sets or Retrieves the operational mode of the currently selected BERTScope LTS.
When an operational mode is set, the transmitter's ISI, Filter, average Power, and Extinction
Ratio are forced to settings appropriate for the mode.
If one of these settings is subsequently changed manually, then the operation mode will return to
"Manual".
NOTE: See LTS:TXISI, LTS:TXFILTER, LTS:TXPOWER, and LTS:TXEXTINCTIONRATIO
Params: < Manual > Any settings allowed
BERTScope LTS Remote Control Guide 11
< Reference > ISI = Bypass
Filter = Bypass
Avg. Power = 1.0 mW
Extinction Ratio = 5.0 dB
< OMA_Cal > ISI = Bypass
Filter = Bypass
Avg. Power = 1.0 mW
Extinction Ratio = 3.0 dB
< Filter > ISI = Bypass
Filter = 10 Gbit Ethernet
Avg. Power = 1.0 mW
Extinction Ratio = 3.0 dB
Returns: < Manual | Reference | OMA_Cal | Filter >
LTS:TXPOWER < numeric >
LTS:TXPOWER?
Sets or Retrieves the average power of the transmitter's optical output, (in dBm, mW, or uW,
depending upon the current optical power units setting).
NOTE: See LTS:opticalPoWeRUNITS
Params: < numeric > 0.1 mW to 1.2 mW, or equiv. in other units.
Returns: < numeric >
In dBm, mW, ot uW, depending upon the
current optical power units setting.
BERTScope LTS Remote Control Guide 12
Index
A
ADCT ...................................................... See
AttachDevCounT .........................................7
attachdevNAMES ........................................7
B
BUSY ...........................................................7
C
CLOSE.........................................................7
Command Feature Groups..........................3
Command Status.........................................4
Clearing Queue........................................4
Error Codes..............................................5
Error Messages........................................5
Format......................................................4
Requesting ...............................................4
CONN ..........................................................7
CONNected .................................................7
Connection
BERTScope Analyzer ..............................1
Establishing..............................................3
IEEE-488..................................................1
Local Host ................................................1
More than one DPP .................................1
PC Only....................................................1
TCP/IP......................................................1
USB..........................................................1
D
Device
Current .....................................................1
Discovering ..............................................3
DeviceName ................................................7
DN................................................................7
M
MODEL ....................................................... 8
N
NAMES ....................................................... 7
O
OPEN.......................................................... 8
Operations
Read Only ............................................... 3
Read-Write .............................................. 3
Write Only................................................ 4
opticalPoWeRUNITS .................................. 8
P
Parameters ................................................. 4
Pathname.................................................... 4
PWRUNITS................................................. 8
Q
Query .......................................................... 3
Question Mark ?.......................................... 3
R
RconfigDISK ............................................... 8
RDISK ......................................................... 8
Read Only ................................................... 3
Read-Write.................................................. 3
RXCRLOCKED ........................................... 9
RXFILTER................................................... 9
RXlaserON.................................................. 9
RXNOMFREQ............................................. 9
RXON.......................................................... 9
RXPOWER ................................................. 9
RXWaveLength......................................... 10
E
EXP..............................................................7
EXPrev.........................................................7
F
FPGA ...........................................................8
FPGArev ......................................................8
H
HW...............................................................8
HWrev..........................................................8
I
invalidVALUE...............................................8
IVALUE ........................................................8
BERTScope LTS Remote Control Guide 13
S
SconfigDISK.............................................. 10
SerialNum ................................................. 10
SN ............................................................. 10
Support ....................................................... 5
SW ............................................................ 10
SWrev ....................................................... 10
Syntax ......................................................... 3
Command Structure ................................ 3
Long Form............................................... 3
Pathname ................................................ 4
Query....................................................... 3
Quotes..................................................... 4
Short Form .............................................. 3
T
TDCT .........................................................10
Technical Support........................................5
TotalDevCounT..........................................10
TXER .........................................................10
TXExtinctionRatio ......................................10
TXFILTER..................................................10
TXISI..........................................................11
TXlaserON ................................................ 11
TXMODE................................................... 11
TXNOMFREQ ........................................... 11
TXON ........................................................ 11
TXopMODE............................................... 11
TXPOWER................................................ 12
W
Write-Only ................................................... 4
BERTScope LTS Remote Control Guide 14
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