Can I mount a network drive on my standard (non-Windows) 5 or 6 Series MSO? How could I use this capability?

The oscilloscope also has several USB ports to support removable USB flash drives. These ports are labeled E: through K:. Yes, you can move the USB drive to your computer, but that can be time-consuming.

A better solution may be to mount a network drive. This drive, maybe a network file system locations or a directory on your computer, simply appears as another drive letter on the oscilloscope.

Make sure you have the latest firmware version installed on your oscilloscope. Then select File->File Utilities and tap the Mount button. Select an unused Drive Letter from the dropdown control. You can specify the server either by name or IP address. Then enter the Path, and the username and password that protect the path. For example, you might enter your computer’s PC Name from the PC Info screen, the path to your computer’s Downloads directory, and your username and password. This new mounted drive will appear in the list of available drives.

A mounted network drive is a very convenient alternative to “sneaker-net”, where you save files to a USB flash drive on the oscilloscope and then carry the USB drive over to your computer. You can simply mount a directory on your computer as a drive on the oscilloscope and then save files directly to that directory on your computer.

In an automated test environment, this mounted computer directory could hold a series of oscilloscope setup files or golden waveforms. You can then recall these files as easily from your computer as you could from the oscilloscope’s hard drive or an attached USB drive.

A mounted drive is especially convenient when you are remotely controlling your oscilloscope via e*Scope. The e*Scope interface allows you to remotely operate the oscilloscope from your computer, interacting with the display just like on the oscilloscope, using a touchscreen monitor or mouse. Once you have mounted a computer directory on the oscilloscope, you can save files right on your computer.

Note: If you have the Windows option installed on the oscilloscope, you can mount network drives using the standard Windows tools.