Building a diagnostic tool to monitor serial port events

[haibach]

Hi,

I'm writing a diagnostic tool. I have two Windows machines communicating via serial ports. I need to treat the software on both machines as "black boxes." I would like to peek at both the sent and received data at one machine and save to a file without emptying the buffers.

Does have LabVIEW have access to these data? Can we look at it without emptying buffers?

Thanks,
FgH...

[abrause]

One way to do this would be to install a tap on the serial line and read
the data as it goes by, with your LabVIEW app monitoring the tap from
another serial port.

Try http://www.bb-elec.com for the hardware.


"haibach" wrote in message
news:506500000008000000D6320000-1005954886000@exchange.ni.com...
> Hi,
>
> I'm writing a diagnostic tool. I have two Windows machines
> communicating via serial ports. I need to treat the software on both
> machines as "black boxes." I would like to peek at both the sent and
> received data at one machine and save to a file without emptying the
> buffers.
>
> Does have LabVIEW have access to these data? Can we look at it
> without emptying buffers?
>
> Thanks,
> FgH...

[Anonymous]

You can access to the data you like by wiring from the sent or
received data
bufferd line. But, cabablity of this way quite depends on the data
sampling rate
because the monitor is the most time consuming process on LV.

As I've experienced, you can do it in less than 100Hz rate per one data.
And saving to a file may be done after some interval repeatedly. The
files are
better smaller sized ones, so the data is to be storaged in a couple
of data files.
As for more practical method, i have to know your diagnostic tool in
detail
as far as possible. Tom

haibach wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I'm writing a diagnostic tool. I have two Windows machines
> communicating via serial ports. I need to treat the software on both
> machines as "bla
ck boxes." I would like to peek at both the sent and
> received data at one machine and save to a file without emptying the
> buffers.
>
> Does have LabVIEW have access to these data? Can we look at it
> without emptying buffers?
>
> Thanks,
> FgH...

[haibach]

After re-reading my original post, some clarification is required.

I can't just wire in the diagnostic tool. The applications are compiled and I don't have access to the source code.

Thanks,
FgH...

[JeanPierre]

If applications use VISA for serial I/O, you can use "NI Spy", an application distributed with LabVIEW that logs VISA activities. If they don't there is a utility called PortMon at www.sysinternals.com that monitors system calls to serial drivers and display transmitted data. Getting into Windows to achieve the same with LabVIEW is not for the faint of heart.
Maybe the hardware solution proposed in a preceding post is the simplest in LabVIEW. Tap the serial wires RX and TX and redirect data to two other serial ports monitored by a LabVIEW VI.

[GM1981]

Hi Jean Pierre!

I'm just try to found information about the hardware tool mentioned in your answer:


"..Maybe the hardware solution proposed in a preceding post is the simplest in LabVIEW.
Tap the serial wires RX and TX and redirect data to two other serial ports monitored by a LabVIEW VI.."

I hope this can help me to make the diagnostic of my RS485 port...

Thanks!

GM

[GM1981]

Sorry Jean Pierre...

I forgot to underline that I need to have more information about this external hardware tool.

Can you give me more information?

Thanks in advance,

GM