Modular switches lead the way
January 1st 2007

System 60 is a new range of modular switch products from Pickering Interfaces based on the latest industry-standard LXI (LAN eXtensions for Instrumentation) test architecture. LXI is widely viewed as the replacement for the 30-year old IEEE-488 General Purpose Interface Bus (GPIB), which has long been the standard communication interface for rack-mount and bench-top test & measurement instruments.

LXI's use of a Local Area Network (LAN) Ethernet connection between controller and instruments offers several advantages over GPIB, not least the ready availability, continuous enhancement and robustness of LAN hardware. In addition, the LXI standard encompasses web-based device configuration, common software drivers and synchronization and triggering for compact devices.