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Agilent HomeAgilent Home > Products & Services > Test & Measurement > RF & Microwave Instruments & Systems > Network Analyzers >



Agilent PNA Series
Frequently Asked Questions

How To Temporarily Connect the PNA to a PC via LAN for the Purposes of Data Transfer

(e.g. for Firmware or other large files)

This document describes how to temporarily connect a PC to a PNA using a LAN cable if your PNA is not already connected to your company's network. This is typically needed for conveniently transferring large files that may have already been downloaded and stored on the PC (such as firmware.) This document assumes the use of a LAN crossover cable between the PC and PNA, although a hub could be used if it has a crossover switch. The PC can have any version of Windows (Windows 95 or newer.)

You will need the following parts and information:

  • RJ-45 LAN crossover cable (or two normal cables with a suitable hub)
  • The PC's current IP address (instructions below)
  • The PNA's administrator login name and password

Note: If your PC is on a domain, do not attempt to leave that domain by changing to a workgroup. This may prevent you from later rejoining your domain unless you involve your IT systems administrator. The following procedure will work regardless of whether or not you are on a domain and will not change any domain settings on the PC.

Step-by-step Procedure for All Operating Systems

  1. Disconnect the PC from any existing LAN and connect it to the PNA using a crossover cable or hub. There is no need to turn it off to do this.
  2. Find the current IP address of your PC. Open a DOS prompt (command window) and type in ipconfig. This should then show your current IP address. Note this number. For this example, we will assume a PC IP address of 10.0.0.100. If it currently shows 0.0.0.0, you will have to assign an IP address; see below.
  3. On the PNA, minimize or close the PNA application. (File, Exit)
  4. Right-click on My Network Places and select Properties.
  5. Right-click on Local Area Connection and select Properties.
  6. Select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) then click on Properties.
  7. Click on "Use the following IP address" then enter an IP address that is ONE more or ONE less than that noted for the PC. Do not use a number that ends in 000. For this example, one could use either 10.0.0.101 or 10.0.0.99; we'll assume the use of 101.
  8. For the subnet mask, enter 255.255.255.0. Leave other entries as-is or leave them blank. Click on OK, then OK again
  9. For Windows 95/98 systems, go to step 9 for Win98 below! For all others, continue here. On the PC, open Windows Explorer. Click on Tools, Map Network Drive. Note the drive letter shown (for this example we'll assume it is "X".)
  10. Under the Folder or Path entry, input the IP address that was just entered for the PNA followed by C$ in the following format:\\10.0.0.101\C$
  11. In the Connect As entry area enter the administrator login name for the PNA; typically this is just Administrator, but it may have been changed by the end user. Do not select "Reconnect at Logon". Click on OK.
  12. Most likely the PC will prompt you for a password. Enter the password for the administrator login account on the PNA, if any.
  13. In Windows Explorer on the PC, you should now see a new drive letter entry (X) with the description of C$ on ‘10.0.0.101'. The entire contents of the PNA's C drive will now be available for reading or writing. Files can now be transferred by simply dragging them from one location to the other.
  14. When you are done transferring files, disconnect the LAN cable connection between the two and reconnect your PC to the network if needed. If the PNA will never be connected to any network, its current network settings could remain, however it is probably safer to reset the TCP/IP settings (changed in step 7) back to "Obtain an IP address automatically".

If your PC currently has no IP address assigned, it will have to be added. Follow steps 4 through 8 for the PC. The actual steps may vary slightly depending upon your operating system (NT4 uses Network Neighborhood and you must click on Protocols.) Assign the PC an IP address of 10.0.0.100. The last digits can be anything between 1 and 255, but do not alter the first 3 numbers (10.0.0.) When complete, reset the PC's network configuration back to its previous settings.

Win95/98 Procedure for Accessing/Transferring Files

Because Windows 95/98 does not have the security features of NT-based operating systems (NT, Win2k, XP), the PC cannot access the drive on the PNA. To get around this limitation, any files that need to be transferred to/from the PC must be placed in a shared folder. The PNA can then read or write within this folder. This procedure will actually work for all versions of Windows but is a bit more limited in that the entire drive contents is not visible. Steps 1 through 8 are identical to the above and must be performed first.

  1. On the PC, open Windows Explorer. Create a directory named "Shared" under the C drive. Right click on this folder name and select Sharing. Share the directory with full read/write permissions.

    Note: If Sharing does not appear as a choice when right clicking on the directory name, then file sharing is not enabled. To enable file sharing, right click on Network Neighborhood, then click on Properties. Click on File and Print Sharing and enable "…give others access to my files." Click OK, then OK again. Repeat the beginning of this step again.
  2. Copy any files that may need to be transferred to the PNA to this shared folder.
  3. On the PNA, open Windows Explorer. Click on Tools, Map Network Drive. Note the drive letter shown (for this example we'll assume it is "X".) Uncheck "Reconnect at Logon" if it is currently checked.
  4. Under the Folder entry, enter the IP address of the PC and the shared folder name in the following format: \\10.0.0.100\Shared
  5. The PNA should immediately connect to this folder and display its contents as drive "X". Files can now be read from, or written to, this shared directory (shown as Drive X.) Files can be transferred by simply dragging them from one location to the other.
  6. When you are done transferring files, disconnect the LAN cable connection between the two and reconnect your PC to the network if needed. If the PNA will never be connected to any network, its current network settings could remain, however it is probably safer to reset the TCP/IP settings (changed in step 7) back to "Obtain an IP address automatically".

Last Complete Review: 12 Dec 2001