Systems, devices, and methods for asset usage and utilization measurement and monitoring
Systems, devices, and methods for detecting and monitoring a device's usage metrics and providing a utilization management of the monitored device based on transmitting Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments (SCPI) commands using a Virtual Instrument Software Architecture (VISA) protocol. Additionally, determining whether the discovered connected device is sending and receiving data on a VISA data channel indicating that the discovered connected device is being used for performing high speed data tests and executing a set of commands for real-time utilization monitoring.
1. A method comprising:
discovering, using a first set of command signals transmitted from a first computing device, a set of connected devices based on connection information related to a set of monitored devices that are listed as being connected to a local network, wherein the first set of command signals are Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments (SCPI) commands transmitted using a Virtual Instrument Software Architecture (VISA) protocol to retrieve connection information comprising VISA address of the discovered connected devices;
transmitting, from the first computing device, a second set of command signals to each discovered connected device, wherein the second set of command signals are transmitted to obtain detailed information about the discovered connected device, wherein the second set of command signals are transmitted to each VISA address of the discovered connected devices via SCPI commands to obtain the detailed information;
determining, based on the obtained detailed information, whether the discovered connected device is sending and receiving data on a VISA data channel indicating that the discovered connected device is being used for performing high speed data tests;
transmitting, via a control channel from the first computing device, a third set of command signals to elicit a response from each discovered connected device having been determined to be sending and receiving data on a VISA data channel, the response providing device status information, wherein the third set of command signals are commands for polling Status Byte (STB) on the control channel and wherein the STB polling does not block high speed data tests;
determining, by the first computing device, a set of device usage status and utilization measurement metrics comprising usage and utilization measurements associated with the discovered connected device based on the received signals, wherein the received signal comprise status information for each of the discovered connected devices; and
determining a real-time utilization monitoring of the discovered connected devices based on the determined set of device usage status and utilization measurement metrics.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the connection information of the discovered connected device further comprises at least one of: a model number, a serial number, an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) name, and OEM identification.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
transmitting, by the first computing device, a request to the network to receive a list of connected devices.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the detailed information further comprises measurement type information, including at least one of: temperature, current, voltage, bandwidth, and frequency.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein STB polling only collects utilization status information based on whether the discovered connected device is receiving SCPI commands from a customer test script.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein STB polling returns values to indicate at least one of: device is in ready mode, device does not support STB, device is a low-level device with no Event Register mechanism, data is ready in the output queue of the device, and an error.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the real-time utilization monitoring of the discovered connected devices allow for at least one of: tracking, managing, repairing, and calibrating the discovered connected device.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first set of command signals and the second set of command signals are sent during system boot-up, prior to the initiation of equipment testing.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first set of command signals are dispatched from a first computing system that is connected to a set of equipment to be monitored.
10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
polling, at predetermined intervals, at least one of folders and files that are altered by execution of a third-party test software, wherein the third party test software is capable of interfacing with the discovered connected device directly.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein polling at predetermined intervals is performed periodically every ten minutes.
12. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
inferring, from the date and time stamp of the at least one of folders and files, the utilization of the set of monitored devices.
13. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
transmitting the inferred utilization data to a web service for processing and storage.
14. The method of claim 2 , wherein the second set of command signals are transmitted to each VISA address of the discovered connected devices via SCPI commands to obtain the detailed information based on a model number prefix of the discovered connected device.
15. A system comprising:
a server computing device in communication with a set of test equipment connected to a local network, wherein the server computing device is configured to:
execute a Status Byte script during system boot-up and before initiating equipment tests;
transmit a query to identify a list of connected test equipment using standard commands for programmable instruments (SCPI) commands;
receive a list of identified connected test equipment;
store the received list of identified connected test equipment;
determine detailed information about the returned list of identified connected test equipment;
transmit a query using status byte polling over a control channel to retrieve a status of each identified connected test equipment, wherein a returned value of the status byte is read to determine whether a third party is sending SCPI commands on the identified connected test equipment and thereby the identified connected test equipment is in use;
determine a usage status of the identified connected test equipment based on the received status byte polling information thereby prevent interference with computing power and communication channels of a test equipment; and
if usage status of the identified connected test equipment is not determined, the server computing device is configured to:
poll, at predetermined intervals, at least one of folders and files that are altered by execution of a third-party test software;
infer, from the date and time stamp of the at least one of folders and files, the utilization of the identified connected test equipment, wherein returned data is used to infer usage status of the identified connected test equipment; and
transmit the inferred utilization data to a web service for processing, storage, and display in standard utilization dashboards.