VISA TCP/IP Resources Do Not Show Up in MAX after a Reboot

Updated Nov 22, 2022

Reported In

Software

  • Measurement and Automation Explorer (MAX)

Driver

  • NI-VISA

Issue Details

I recently upgraded or migrated from a version of NI-VISA prior to 4.4.1 and copied over my visaconf.ini file to restore my VISA settings. Or, I have assigned aliases to a TCP/IP resource in NI MAX. After rebooting my system, these aliases or resources no longer appear. 

Why do my VISA TCP/IP resources and aliases disappear or no longer persist after a reboot?

Solution

Starting from VISA 4.4.1,  the visaconf.ini has a Static flag for each VISA resource, differentiating between dynamic and static resources. There are two ways of solving this problem:
  1. Manually add the VISA resources in MAX by right-clicking on Network Devices and choosing Create New VISA TCP/IP Resource... and then following the wizard that opens. By doing this, NI MAX will add the new resources with a Static flag.
  1. Edit visaconf.ini and add Static<n> = 1 under each VISA resource where <n> represents the resource number. 

Additional Information

A comparison of the VISA TCP/IP Resource list in visaconf.ini created prior to and after VISA 4.4.1 can be seen below with the differences bolded. 

Prior to VISA 4.4.1
[TCPIP-RSRCS]
SynchronizeAllSocket = 0
SynchronizeAllVxi11 = 1
Name0 = "TCPIP0::132.168.1.2::INSTR"
Enabled0 = 1
Name1 = "TCPIP0::132.168.1.3::INSTR"
Enabled1 = 1
NumOfResources = 2
 
Starting from VISA 4.4.1
[TCPIP-RSRCS]
SynchronizeAllSocket = 0
SynchronizeAllVxi11 = 1
Name0 = "TCPIP0::132.168.1.2::INSTR"
Enabled0 = 1
Static0 = 1
Name1 = "TCPIP0::132.168.1.3::INSTR"
Enabled1 = 1
Static1 = 1
NumOfResources = 2
 
Note: For the location of the visaconf.ini in your version of NI MAX, please refer to the document Where Are NI-VISA Aliases Stored?

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