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Setup WiFi and Ethernet for T-Series Devices (App Note)

Summary

T-series devices can connect to a computer via USB or Ethernet, and the T7-Pro can be connected using USB, Ethernet, or WiFi.  Most of the time people will deploy T-series devices by using the 5V USB adapter to provide power.  In most cases it is necessary to first configure the device over a USB connection to the computer. For general questions about networking and troubleshooting, see the Basic Networking & Troubleshooting App Note.

The following instructions are for the typical scenario of connected to a network with a DHCP server (i.e. a router is present on the network). If you are trying to connect your LabJack directly to your computer, you most likely do not have access to a DHCP server. See our Direct Connection via Ethernet App Note.

Configuration

1. Connect the T-series device to the computer via the USB cable.

2. Open Kipling (Windows: Start → Programs → LabJack → Kipling), and connect to the device over USB.  

If the program isn't installed, you will need to download and install one of the installers on our software page.

Kipling Desktop Icon

Kipling Device Selector Tab

Kipling Device Selector Tab (T7-Pro Connected)

3. Go to the Network Settings tab.

Kipling Network Settings Tab

Ethernet Setup

Connect the Ethernet cable, and observe the Connection Status.

Look for Connection Status: Connected.  If the connection status is not connected, see the Ethernet troubleshooting tips at the end of the Basic Networking & Troubleshooting App Note.

Kipling Network Settings (Ethernet Connected via DHCP)

Ping the device to confirm it responds.

If Use DHCP is selected, the IP address and other settings will be automatically configured by your router (DHCP server).

This is convenient, but often it is better to manually assign a static IP so you always know the IP of the device and can do a specific open with that IP (rather than a search-based open).  In this example we will set the T7-Pro to use 192.168.1.226, so first we open a Command Prompt and do a Ping to make sure nothing responds at that IP address.

Windows CMD Ping

Change the Ethernet setup to Manual, enter the desired IP, and click Apply.

Subnet is typically set to 255.255.255.0, Gateway is typically set to the IP of your router, and DNS typically does not matter.  Note:  Make sure you are running firmware 1.0217+ as some earlier versions had an issue with Ethernet static IPs.If you are using a T4, set the DNS field to the same IP address as the Gateway field—at the time of this writing, there may be a firmware bug that incorrectly requires DNS to be set.

Kipling Network Settings (Ethernet Connected via Manual Setup)

Go back to the Device Selector tab, click Disconnect to disconnect from USB, and click Refresh Devices.

You should typically see that Kipling's device search now finds the Ethernet connection.

Kipling Device Selector Tab (With Valid Ethernet Connection Option)

If the Ethernet connection does not show up as shown above, it could be that the connection is fine but the search used to find the connection does not work on your network.  Continue with steps 8 & 9.

Ping the device to confirm it responds.

Windows CMD Ping

(Optional) If the device's Ethernet button is still grey and it can't be pinged, (steps 7 and 8), try configuring the computer being used with a static IP address.

Kipling Device Selector Tab (Greyed-out Ethernet Connection)

(Optional) Use the Windows utility TCPOpenTesting.exeto test 3 different types of opens.

Also, the TCP Open Testing in Python App Note describes how to do these tests on any supported operating system. Refer to the Opening & Closing documentation in the LJM User's Guide.

A. Native TCP Open

B. LJM Search Open

The above seems to show success, but note that ConnectionType Out is 1 which is USB, so we disconnect USB and just connect to a power supply and do another search open getting a ConnectionType Out of 3 which is Ethernet.  These constants can be found in the header file LabJackM.h and in the Constants section of the LJM User's Guide.

C. LJM Specific Open

This is the type of open recommended for most user applications.

If the LJM search open is not finding the Ethernet connection (steps 7 & 9B above), there is an optional step to configure LJM (on a particular computer) to include certain specific IP addresses during a search open.

In this case we would simply add 192.168.1.226 to ljm_specific_ips.config using any text editor.  See LJM Specific IPs in the LJM User's Guide.

LJLogM & LJStreamM:  By default these programs do a search open (any-any-any).  To do a specific open edit the _open.cfg file as described in the "DevType, ConnType ..." section of the LJLogM or LJStreamM page.

For further information see the Basic Networking & Troubleshooting App Note.

WiFi Setup

Start with steps 1-3 above. Steps 4-11 above (Ethernet setup) are not required for WiFi.

If the Connection Status is "Un-Powered", click the button "Turn WiFi On".  

Enter the Network Name (SSID) and Password, then click Apply.  The network name and password are case sensitive.  The Connection Status will cycle through different values but then should settle on Associated and stay there.  This is called joining.  If problems are encountered see the troubleshooting tips at the bottom of this page.

Kipling Network Settings (WiFi Associated)

Note the "Connection Status: Associated" above.  If your device is not associated (not joined to the WiFi network), see the WiFi Troubleshooting Tips section towards the bottom of this page.  If your device is associated, continue with the next step (or skip to step #14 if you do not want to use a static IP).

Ping the device to confirm it responds.

If Use DHCP is selected, the IP address and other settings will be automatically configured by your router (DHCP server).

This is convenient, but often it is better to manually assign a static IP so you always know the IP of the device and can do a specific open with that IP (rather than a search-based open).  In this example we will set the T7-Pro to use 192.168.1.227, so first we open a Command Prompt and do a Ping to make sure nothing responds at that IP address.

Windows CMD Ping

Change to Manual setup, enter the desired IP, and click Apply.

Subnet is typically set to 255.255.255.0 and Gateway is typically set the IP of your router.

Kipling Network Settings (WiFi Connected via Manual Setup)

Note that all settings, including Password, are always written.  If the Password box looks as follows and you click Apply you will write a blank password (0 characters) to the device.

Kipling Network Settings (WiFi Password Entry)

Note the "Connection Status: Associated" above.  If your device is not associated (not joined to the WiFi network), see the WiFi Troubleshooting Tips section towards the bottom of this page.  If your device is associated, continue with the next step.

Go back to the Device Selector tab, click Disconnect to disconnect from USB, and click Refresh Devices (make sure the WiFi box is checked to include WiFi in the search)

You should typically see that Kipling's search now finds the WiFi connection.

If the WiFi connection does not show up as shown above, it could be that the connection is fine but the search used to find the connection does not work on your network.  Continue with steps 16 & 17.

Do a Ping to confirm the device responds.

Use the Windows utility TCPOpenTesting to test 3 different types of opens.  

Also, the TCP Open Testing in Python App Note describes how to do these tests on any supported operating system. Refer to the Opening & Closing documentation in the LJM User's Guide.

A. Native TCP Open

B. LJM Search Open

The above seems to show success, but note that ConnectionType Out is 1 which is USB, so we disconnect USB and just connect to a power supply and do another search open getting a ConnectionType Out of 4 which is WiFi.  These constants can be found in the header file LabJackM.h and in the Constants section of the LJM User's Guide.

C. LJM Specific Open

This is the type of open recommended for most user applications.

If the LJM search open is not finding the WiFi connection (step 15 above) there is an optional step to configure LJM on a particular computer to include certain specific IP addresses during a search open.

In this case we would simply add 192.168.1.227 to ljm_specific_ips.config using any text editor.  See LJM Specific IPs in the LJM User's Guide.

LJLogM & LJStreamM:  By default these programs do a search open (any-any-any).  To do a specific open edit the _open.cfg file as described in the "DevType, ConnType ..." section of the LJLogM or LJStreamM page.

WiFi Troubleshooting Tips

Trouble with setup step #12 or #14 above where your device is not associating with the network?  First look at the items below that start with "Not associated?", then go on to other items.

  1. See general TCP troubleshooting tips in our Ethernet Troubleshooting App Note.  If your device is associated, but you are having problems after that, the most common reason is TCP configuration.

  2. Check for updates to the LJM library and firmware (Device Updater tab in Kipling).

  3. Close all software and use Ping to see if the device responds.

  4. Realize that Kipling not showing a green button for the WiFi connection does not necessarily mean the WiFi connection is not working.  It might just mean that the search used by Kipling can't find the connection, but a specific open does work fine.  Try testing with Ping and TCPOpenTesting as shown in the setup steps above.

  5. Update your access point with the latest firmware available from the manufacturer.  It is very common for this to cause substantial improvement in the quality of a WiFi network.

  6. Not associated?

    1. Keep seeing  'Association Failed'?  SSID and password are both case-sensitive.  Re-enter both and click 'Apply'.  Use a smart phone or Laptop to confirm the exact SSID name including capitalization.

    2. The SSID and password must be alphanumeric. Change your access point's network name and password to be only letters and numbers. It can also help to make it simple and all lowercase.

    3. Try disabling WiFi security on your access point.  Note that with firmware 1.0225 and earlier a blank password will not work.  Put in some characters even though security is off and no password is required.

    4. What type of encryption is the network set to?  WPA2-PSK (WPA2-Personal) is the most common, newest, and seems to work the best.  WEP encryption is problematic for T7-Pros.

    5. The T7-Pro WiFi module does not support ad-hoc.  If you want to correct directly to a laptop, for example, the laptop must be configured as an access point.  See "T7-Pro Direct to Computer via WiFi" in our Basic Networking & Troubleshooting App Note.

    6. The T7-Pro WiFi module is a 2.4 GHz b/g transceiver.  The access point must support that.  On Wireless-N routers (most common), it might help to disable the 5.8GHz operation of the router.

    7. Try connecting to different networks, to confirm that the T7-Pro is fine and the problem is with certain access points. See the AP troubleshooting section in our Basic Networking & Troubleshooting App Note.

  7. Weak wireless signal strength?

    1. Typical values for WIFI_RSSI are -40 for very good, and -75 for very weak.  We have found that an RSSI of -40 to -70 provides a good connection.

    2. Note that when you read WIFI_RSSI from the T7-Pro you are reading the value stored on the main processor.  The main processor gets an RSSI value from the WiFi module when it first joins a network, and then gets an updated value each time WiFi communication occurs. That means that if you are talking to the device over USB and no WiFi communication is happening, you will just keep reading the same initial RSSI value from joining.

  8. Too strong wireless signal strength?  When signal strength gets stronger than -35, you actually start to get more retries due to signal saturation and the average time per iteration increases.  This is generally a very minor effect unless the T7-Pro antenna is a few inches or less from the access point antenna.  With the antennas touching each other you might see an RSSI of -10 and notice very poor communication.

  9. Use LJLogM to monitor WIFI_STATUS, WIFI_RSSI and VS (e.g. jumper VS to AIN0). 

    1. Scale STATUS by /1000 and RSSI by /-10 so you can look at all 3 signals on the chart.

    2. Log a file to send to support@labjack.com.

    3. Any different than if you connect LJLogM by USB or WiFi?  You can edit ljlogm_open.cfg to force LJLogM to use a particular connection type.

    4. To get a meaningful WIFI_STATUS you need to connect over USB, and set Interval to perhaps 100 ms or less so you don't miss steps. 

    5. Note that WIFI_RSSI is only updated when WiFi communication occurs.  If you are having trouble joining, do this test using USB and we are wanting to see what WIFI_STATUS is doing.

    6. If you are able to join, do this test using both USB and WiFi and we are wanting to see what all 3 registers are doing.

  10. Check status codes (WIFI_STATUS).

    1. The status code sequence noted on a typical network is 2904 for 3.8 seconds, 2909 for 1.3 seconds, 2906 for 0.9 seconds, 2907 for 3.6 seconds, and then 2900. This network has a Linksys WRT54G (WiFi access point, WPA2-Personal) and an Actiontec Q1000 router (DHCP server).

    2. On that same network with the wrong password, the sequence is 2904 for 3.8 seconds, 2909 for 1.3 seconds, 2906 for 10.0 seconds, then starts over with 2904 again.

    3. On that same network, but with WiFi security disabled on the access point, the sequence is 2904 for 3.8 seconds, 2909 for 1.3 seconds, 2906 for 0.2 seconds, 2907 for 3.6 seconds, and then 2900.

    4. If by watching WIFI_STATUS over USB you see that you get to 2900, but then can't talk to the device over WiFi, it suggests a standard networking or TCP configuration issue that would affect Ethernet or WiFi.  See the end of the Basic Networking & Troubleshooting App Note.

  11. Use another device with WiFi to do a site survey of all WiFi networks your area.  This will show you what channels the different networks are using so you can make sure your network is using the best (clearest) channel.  There are free apps for Android phones to do this, and also options for Linux/Mac/Windows.

  12. Do you only have problems when there are multiple T7 related applications running at the same time (e.g. Kipling and LJLogM), perhaps on different computers on your network? This could indicate that you are trying to use more socket connections than is supported.

  13. Capture network traffic. Use Wireshark to get a capture of your network traffic while the problem is occurring, and send that capture to support@labjack.com.

  14. Try using a different WiFi channel.  This is done in the settings on your access point as the access point determines what channel is being used.

Common Status Codes

The complete list of low-level WiFi status codes can be located in the T-Series datasheet, but the common ones are listed below:

2900 → Associated
2902 → Association failed
2903 → Unpowered
2904 → Booting Up
2906 → Applying Settings
2907 → DHCP Started
2909 → Other

Connections

Usually power can be supplied more easily with a wall adapter than with a USB hub.  The images below demonstrate how to supply power without a computer.

Connect the T-series device's USB plug to a powered USB port capable of ~500mA or more.  The image above demonstrates a standard 5V USB adapter commonly used for charging cell phones and other battery powered peripherals.  Also connect the Ethernet jack to a compatible Cat5 (or better) Ethernet cable, and ensure proper connection to either a hub or router on your network.

Connect the T7-Pro's USB plug to a powered USB port capable of ~500mA or more.  The image above demonstrates the 5V adapter.  Once powered, make sure that it is in range of your wireless router/hub.

Configuring Static IP

To make connecting to networks easy, computers typically obtain an IP address automatically using the DHCP protocol. To connect a LabJack directly to a computer via an ethernet connection, additional steps are required. Here are a few good step-by-step guides for each platform:

Windows

Static IP Configuration: Windows

Mac OS

Static IP Configuration: Macintosh

Linux

On Linux, there are several options, the article How to configure a Static IP in Linux and Unix" is a good start. On select platforms, the ifconfig or ip commands will be useful.

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