A remote laboratory with real instruments (e.g. oscilloscope, function generator) relies on the use of the GPIB (General Purpose Interface Bus) to connect different devices. The GPIB was developed to connect and control programmable instruments and provide a standard interface for communication between different sources. Usually laboratories based on real equipment have the following configuration (Figure6).

The instruments connected via GPIB interface can vary according to the laboratory’s focus and field. Standard electronics laboratory includes power supplies, function generators, multimeters and oscilloscopes.

The description of the Remote Electronic Lab (REL) developed at the Carinthia University of Applied Sciences (CUAS) can be taken as an example here. CUAS uses an ordinary desktop PC as a server. The instruments, such as a dual power supply, a digital multimeter, a function generator and a digital oscilloscope from HP controls via GPIB bus.

In order to work with the REL users must log on with a valid account and password. This control is necessary when only one user can access the system at a time.