Installing the NI 9163 Configuration Help File

The Wireless & Ethernet DAQ Web Configuration Utility installs a web server on your NI WLS-9xxx or ENET-9xxx DAQ device from which you can manage your device and network settings. The following document provides details on each configuration setting.

Installing the Web Server

To install the NI Labs Wireless & Ethernet DAQ Web Configuration utility, please see the detailed installation instructions .

Accessing the Configuration Page

To access the web-based configuration page (after installing the web server), do the following:

• Open a web browser and type http://WLS-<serial>/index.html or http://ENET-<serial>/index.html into the address bar, where <serial> corresponds to the six-digit alphanumeric serial number printed on the bottom of your device.

• If your network’s DHCP server is not set up to automatically register hostnames, you may have to enter the IP address instead of the WLS-<serial> or ENET-<serial> hostname, for example "http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/index.html". For WLS-9xxx devices you may use either the wired Ethernet IP address or the wireless IEEE 802.11 IP address. Check with your network administrator if you are unsure of the IP address for your device.

• If your web browser does not have the Microsoft Silverlight plugin installed, you will be prompted to do so.

Configuring Ethernet Settings

To configure the wired Ethernet settings for an NI ENET-9xxx or NI WLS-9xxx device, click the Ethernet Settings tab and complete the following steps:
 

IP Address Settings

• Select “Obtain an IP Address Automatically” if your network has a DHCP server. The “IP Address,” “Subnet Mask,” “Gateway,” and “DNS Server” will all be populated automatically after you click the “Save Settings” button.

• Select “Use the following IP Address” if you wish to specify a static IP address. If you are unsure of which settings to use, check with your network administrator.

When you are finished configuring the device, click Save Settings.

Configuring Wireless Settings

To configure the wireless settings for an NI WLS-9xxx device, click the Wireless Settings tab, and complete the following steps:
 

General Wireless Settings

• Select the Country in which the device will be used.

• Click the "Enable Radio" checkbox to turn on the IEEE 802.11 radio. Clicking the checkbox also enables the remaining fields on the Wireless Settings tab.

• Click the "Select…" button next to the "Network Name (SSID)" (Service Set Identifier) field to search for wireless networks.

• On the resulting popup, select the SSID you want from the list. If the SSID you want is not listed, try clicking the "Refresh" button.

• The lock icon indicates that the wireless network is secured.

• The unlocked icon indicates that the wireless network is not secured.

• The bars icon displays the relative strength of the wireless signal originating from an access point.

• Click on an SSID and click on the "Select Network" button. The “Network Name (SSID)” field will be populated with the SSID you selected.

• Some networks do not broadcast an SSID. In this case, type the case-sensitive SSID you need directly into the "Network Name (SSID)" field.

• If the wireless network is an ad hoc (peer-to-peer) network, select the “This is an ad hoc network” radio button. You must also select the IEEE 802.11 channel on which the ad hoc network operates. This field is populated automatically for non-ad hoc (infrastructure mode) networks.
   

Security Settings

Select the Authentication Type used on the wireless network . If your local area network does not require authentication, you can select “Open.” Many networks use the wired equivalent privacy (WEP), Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), or WPA2 security standards. If you are unsure if your network uses one of these encryption standards or if you need passwords for the authentication type, contact your network administrator for assistance.

The following fields are associated with the type of authentication you select:

• WEP - When you select WEP, you must set the Key and select the WEP Index.

  • Enter the Key using hexadecimal characters (A-F or 0-9). To set the WEP encryption to 40-bit, enter 10 characters. To set the WEP encryption to 104-bit, enter 26 characters.

  • Select one of the values (1-4) in the drop-down box to set the key slot to use for the WEP Index.

• WPA Pre-Shared Key or WPA2 Pre-Shared Key - When you select WPA Pre-Shared Key, you must set the Password. You can use 64 hexadecimal characters or 8-63 printable ASCII characters. If you use 64 hexadecimal characters, the password is a binary key. If you use 8-63 ASCII characters, the password is a passphrase. If you use any other number of characters or any illegal characters, you receive an error when you click Save Settings.

• WPA Enterprise or WPA2 Enterprise - When you select WPA Enterprise, you must also select an EAP Type. In the EAP Type drop-down box, select LEAP, PEAP, TTLS, or TLS.

  • If you select LEAP, you must enter a username and password.

  • If you select PEAP, you must enter a username and password. In some situations, you also may need to enter a root certificate.

  • If you select TTLS, you must enter a username, password, and root certificate.

  • If you select TLS, you must enter a root certificate, client certificate, and private key. In some situations, you also may need to enter a username, password, and private key password.

• In some situations when you select WPA Enterprise, you also may need to enter a value for Username, Password, Root Certificate, Client Certificate, Private Key, and Private Key Password.

  • Enter text in the Username field.

  • Enter text in the Password field. The characters display as asterisks.

  • Enter the filename of the Root Certificate in the root certificate field. You can use the Select Root Certificate Dialog to populate this field.

  • Enter the filename of the Client Certificate in the client certificate field. You can use the Select Client Certificate Dialog to populate this field.

  • Enter the filename of the Private Key in the private key field. You can use the Select Private Key Dialog to populate this field.

  • Enter text in the Private Key Password field. The characters display as asterisks.
     

IP Address Settings

• Select “Obtain an IP Address Automatically” if your network has a DHCP server. The “IP Address,” “Subnet Mask,” “Gateway,” and “DNS Server” will all be populated automatically after you click the “Save Settings” button.

• Select “Use the following IP Address” if you wish to specify a static IP address. If you are unsure of which settings to use, check with your network administrator.

When you are finished configuring the device, click Save Settings.

Device Information

The Device Information tab contains detailed information on the WLS/ENET-9163 carrier and the C Series module associated with it.

• Firmware – Displays the current firmware version. Refer to the “Upgrading Device Firmware” section for more information.

• General – Information about the carrier, C Series module, and hardware addresses

  • Model – the model number of the device. Wireless and Ethernet data acquisition devices are a combination of an ENET-9163 or WLS-9163 carrier and a C Series measurement I/O module. For example a WLS-9163 carrier with an NI 9205 module in it becomes the WLS-9205.

  • Module serial number – the serial number of the C Series module

  • Carrier serial number – the serial number of the ENET-9163 or WLS-9163 carrier

  • MAC address (Ethernet) – the hardware (physical) address of the Ethernet network interface

  • MAC address (Wireless) – the hardware (physical) address of the IEEE 802.11 network interface

• Comments – Enter any text, such as the device location or current user, in this field

• Host Name – The host name may be used instead of an IP address for networks using DNS. Be default the host name of a device is ENET-<serial> or WLS-<serial> for ENET-9xxx and WLS-9xxx devices, respectively, where ‘<serial>’ is the six-digit alphanumeric serial number of the carrier.

Updating Device Firmware

The Device Information tab displays the current version of the firmware running on the WLS/ENET-9163 carrier. New versions of NI-DAQmx or updates of the NI Labs web configuration utility may contain newer versions of the firmware. To update the firmware on the device, following these steps:

• Click the “Update Firmware…” button on the Device Information tab

• On the Update Firmware dialog box click the “…” button to open a file dialog

• Browse to the location of the ni9163fwROM.cfg file that contains the firmware image you want to upload to the device. The default location for 9163 firmware is <National Instruments>\NI-DAQ\fpgafiles\mionetwork\ni9163\Web Config

• Click the “Upload” button. The update process will now begin and may take several minutes to complete.
   

Uninstalling the Web Server

If you want to revert to official, released NI-DAQmx firmware for the WLS/ENET-9163 carrier, complete the following steps:

• On the Device Information tab, click the “Update Firmware…” button

• Browse to C:\Program Files\National Instruments\NI-DAQ\fpgafiles\mionetwork\ni9163 and select the ni9163fwROM.cfg file

• Click “ok” to close the file dialog and click “Upload” to begin the uninstall process. This may take several minutes to complete

• When the uninstall is complete, you will no longer be able to access the Web Configuration Utility. You must use Measurement and Automation Explorer to configure your device.