The PowerBridge configuration specifies the software bridge used to allow a PNA on one network subnet to utilize calibration devices with power meter capability on a different subnet. PowerBridge configurations are identified by the ConfigType equal to the value "PowerBridge"

A bridge is a software tool that can only be used on a "dual homed" PC that has a connection to both subnets. A bridge collects network messages from one subnet and distributes them to the other subnet allowing the two subnets to communicate. The PowerBridge is only utilized in the special case where the PNA cannot directly access the calibration devices and requires the dual homed PC to bridge the gap.

For example as shown below :

  • The PNA's IP address is 10.10.1.10 (which is therefore on the 10.10.1.x subnet)
  • The power meter (calibration) device's IP address is 192.168.1.10 (which is therefore on the 192.168.1.x subnet)
  • The PNA cannot directly communicate with the power meter to access power data.

Therefore, the PC running the calibration program had two network cards and will be used as a bridge to read the power data:

    • one network card is on the 10.10.1.x subnet and
    • the other network card was on the 192.168.1.x subnet .
    • The PC has two IP addresses: 10.10.1.3 and 192.168.1.3 (one for each subnet).
  • The PowerBridge configuration defines the IP Address of the PC on the same subnet as the PNA, in this example this would be the 10.10.1.3 address.
  • The PowerBridge configuration also defines the SCPI port the PC will be listening on (this is optional if using the default value of 5025).
  • The Calibration configuration must specify the power bridge to be used.
  • The power meter (an FCM in this example) to be used is specified in the PATH configuration as in a normal calibration setup
  • When configured properly, during calibration execution the PNA will be set to request power data from 10.10.1.3 on port 5025.
  • The PowerBridge component in the library will then redirect that communication to the power meter on 192.168.1.10.

PowerBridge Example:

;*******************************************************************************
; Fcm calibration device on subnet 192.168.1.x
;*******************************************************************************
[FCM_1]
ConfigType = Fcm
; The actual ip address of the calibration device
IpAddress = 192.168.1.10
IpScpiPort = 5025

;*******************************************************************************
; PNA on subnet 10.10.1.x
;*******************************************************************************
[PNA-X]
ConfigType = Pna
; The actual ip address of the PNA
IpAddress = 10.10.1.10
IpScpiPort = 5025

;*******************************************************************************
; PoweBridge configuration
;*******************************************************************************
[POWERBRIDGE_1]
ConfigType = PowerBridge
; The Ip Address of the PC on the PNA subnet
IpAddress = 10.10.1.3
IpScpiPort = 5025

;*******************************************************************************
; Path to the calibration device
;*******************************************************************************
[PATH_1]
ConfigType = Path
; The calibration device being used
Port1DevPair = FCM_1:1
SwitchPath = ICM_SW01:1,ICM_SW02:1,ICM_SW03:1,ICM_SW04:1,ICM_SW10:0

;*******************************************************************************
; Calibration using the Power Bridge
;*******************************************************************************
[CAL_1]
ConfigType = Calibration
CalAcquireTimeoutSec = 200
CalSetDescription = CalSet for CAL_1
CalSetName = CAL1
CalType = SParamWithPower
PathName = PATH_1
DirectoryToUse = C:\Temp
PowerLevel = 0.0
PowerSensorPort = 1
; The power bridge must be defined in the calibration to be utilized
PowerBridgeToUse = POWERBRIDGE_1