What hardware do I need else for the purpose of switch on/off, adjust voltage/current output using labview program

[greenwire]

It is my first time to use labview, I want to use program to control DC power supply, to switch on/off it or adjust the output by program automatically. 

Now I got the instrument(power supply), got a computer with labview. I know that I need to buy a GPIB wire that make a connection between computer and instrument. But I don't know which to buy? GPIB cable or GPIB controller. Confused.

Thanks

[Dennis_Knutson · Accepted solution]

A GPIB cable, all by itself, will not do anything. You need a GPIB controller connected to the pc. With the NI USB-GPIB-HS controller, you could connect it directly to a single instrument and not need a separate cable. If you go with a controller that is internal to a pc (i.e. PCIe), then you would need a cable to connect from the controller to the instrument.

You might also want to check to see if the power supply has other remote control options such as Ethernet or USB.

[greenwire]

Thank you for your answer! If the power supply has remote control options, then I do not need to buy anything?

Thanks

[Dennis_Knutson]

Depends on the remote control options and what you have on the pc. For GPIB, you need a GPIB controller. For RS-232, you need a serial port and cable. For USB, you need a cable. For Ethernet, you need a cable and I would recomend a dedicated Ethernet port.