Making a Network Connection to Your Instrument

[John Donovan]

Test the microprobe network interface by using the "ping" command from a command prompt (see below for detailed instructions).

Please check that you are using the correct IP address for the instrument itself, NOT the OEM computer that is connected to the instrument.

The microprobe instrument is almost always on a private network with an IP address something like this:

192.168.76.1    JEOL 8200/8500
192.6.1.1           JEOL 8900

Make firewall exceptions for all Probe Software applications that will access the instrument communication.
The easiest way to do this is to simply allow a firewall exception for each Probe Software application in the Windows firewall dialog that needs to communicate with the instrument. This is done from the Windows Firewall control by clicking the “Exceptions” tab and then the “Add Program” button.

Note that if you run an app that tries to connect to the instrument without a firewall exception already created, and it asks "Do you want to make an exception for program…?" and you click "No", it is quite complicated to undo that single click. So either create the firewall program exception before running the app in “non-demo” mode or be sure to click Yes" when it asks for a firewall exception!

JEOL 8900/8200/8500: To see the Ethernet address for JEOL instruments obtain a command prompt on the UNIX system by right clicking on the UNIX desktop, then select the “Terminal” menu and at the …%> prompt type:

more /etc/hosts

The hosts file will be listed showing the IP addresses for the computer and instrument connections which is usually labeled “jxa1”. Note also the “jxaeos1” address for future reference as this is the actual instrument System Controller (SC) board address for the Probewin.ini file (usually 192.168.76.2).

You will need to configure the network cards for both the Internet (WWW) to allow you to obtain updates for Probe for EPMA and to access the instrument private network. See the Help menu for downloading updates for Probe for EPMA.

Generally the network card used for the Internet is simply set to “Obtain an IP Address Automatically”. This allows the computer to query your DHCP server to obtain an unused unique IP number. For the microprobe instrument private network there is no DHCP sever so you will need to manually configure the IP address for the other network card on the Probe computer.

Simply go to the Network Connections menu under Start | Settings and right click the network card to be used for the instrument connection and select Properties. Scroll down the list of communication protocols and select “Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)”. Click the Properties button and select the option “Use the Following IP Address”.

Now enter an address for the Probe computer that is the same as the microprobe instrument except for the last digit. Typically the OEM computer address is xxx.xxx.xxx.1 or xxx.xxx.xxx.2 and the instrument is xxx.xxx.xxx.2. or xxx.xxx.xxx.1 respectively. In these cases enter an address such as xxx.xxx.xxx.3 for the Probe for EPMA computer. The subnet mask should be 255.255.255.0 and the default gateway should be left blank.

For example on a JEOL 8200 installation the following IP numbers are assigned:

192.168.76.1   JEOL OEM computer
192.168.76.2   JEOL instrument (SC, or System Controller board)
192.168.76.3   JEOL instrument (EOS or Electron Optics board)

Therefore the Probe for EPMA computer was assigned an address of 192.168.76.4 so that it would have its own unique (private) address that does not conflict with the exiting OEM computer and instrument.

Type "ping <xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx>" where "<xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx>" is the network address of your microprobe instrument to ensure that the instrument private network connection is properly configured. These steps may require the assistance of your network services or IT personnel if you have domain password verification or firewall systems on your private instrument router (unlikely except for military or nuclear contractor sites).

See also:

http://probesoftware.com/smf/index.php?topic=38.0