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Summary of Contents for National Instruments MXI-2 Series
- Page 1 Getting Started with Your PCI-Based MXI-2 Interface for Windows PCI-Based MXI-2 Interface for Windows August 2002 Edition Part Number 321712C-01...
- Page 2 Switzerland 056 200 51 51, Taiwan 02 2528 7227, United Kingdom 01635 523545 For further support information, see the Technical Support and Professional Services appendix. To comment on the documentation, send email to techpubs@ni.com. © 1997–2002 National Instruments Corporation. All rights reserved.
- Page 3 The reader should consult National Instruments if errors are suspected. In no event shall National Instruments be liable for any damages arising out of or related to this document or the information contained in it.
- Page 4 Classification requirements are the same for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Canadian Department of Communications (DOC). Changes or modifications not expressly approved by National Instruments could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment under the FCC Rules.
- Page 5 Canadian Department of Communications This Class B digital apparatus meets all requirements of the Canadian Interference-Causing Equipment Regulations. Cet appareil numérique de la classe B respecte toutes les exigences du Règlement sur le matériel brouilleur du Canada. Compliance to EU Directives Readers in the European Union (EU) must refer to the Manufacturer’s Declaration of Conformity (DoC) for information* pertaining to the CE Mark compliance scheme.
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Page 6: Table Of Contents
What You Need to Get Started ..................1-2 PCI-Based MXI-2 Interface Kit Overview ..............1-2 Hardware Description ....................1-3 VME Users ......................1-4 Software Description .....................1-4 National Instruments Application Software ............1-5 Chapter 2 Setup Configuring the Hardware .....................2-1 Installing the Hardware....................2-1 Installing Your PCI-Based MXI-2 Interface ...........2-1 Installing Your Mainframe Extender...............2-2... - Page 7 Contents NI-VXI API Notes ..................3-8 Compiler Symbols ................3-8 Compatibility Layer Options ............3-9 Debugging ........................3-10 Appendix A Default Settings Appendix B Common Questions Appendix C Technical Support and Professional Services Glossary Index PCI-Based MXI-2 Interface for Windows viii ni.com...
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Page 8: About This Manual
PXI/CompactPCI computer to the MXIbus. Your software consists of the NI-VXI bus interface software, which is fully VXIplug&play compliant, and the NI-VISA API, which is the National Instruments implementation of the VISA I/O software standard on which all VXIplug&play software components are based. -
Page 9: How To Use This Documentation Set
About This Manual How to Use This Documentation Set Getting Started Installation and Manual Configuration MXI-2 Configuration Reference Manual Change Hardware Settings (Optional) NI-VXI Use Online NI-VISA Online Help Utilities: User Manual NI-VXI and NI-VISA Function Help, Measurement & NI-VXI Automation Explorer, NI-VISA Reference... -
Page 10: Conventions
This font is also used for the proper names of disk drives, paths, directories, programs, subprograms, subroutines, device names, functions, operations, variables, filenames and extensions, and code excerpts. © National Instruments Corporation PCI-Based MXI-2 Interface for Windows... -
Page 11: Related Documentation
Multisystem Extension Interface Bus Specification, Version 2.0, National Instruments Corporation • PCI Local Bus Specification, Revision 2.1, PCI Special Interest Group • PXI Specification, Revision 2.0, National Instruments Corporation • VME-MXI-2 User Manual, National Instruments Corporation • VXI-MXI-2 User Manual, National Instruments Corporation •... -
Page 12: Introduction
Notice that for hardware configuration you should refer to the MXI-2 Configuration Reference Manual for a full description of how to configure and install the MXI-2 boards and an overview of MXI-2 itself. Then return to this manual for more information. © National Instruments Corporation PCI-Based MXI-2 Interface for Windows... -
Page 13: What You Need To Get Started
VXI-MXI-2, VXI-MXI-2/B, or VME-MXI-2 interface module ❑ MXI-2 cable ❑ National Instruments software media PCI-Based MXI-2 Interface Kit Overview The interface kits described in this manual link a PCI-based computer or a PXI or CompactPCI chassis directly to the VXIbus or VMEbus using the high-speed Multisystem eXtension Interface bus (MXI-2). -
Page 14: Hardware Description
Universal, or PXI-8320 board, it links the PCI bus or the PXI/CompactPCI bus to the VMEbus. The VME-MXI-2 can automatically determine whether it is located in the first slot of a VMEbus chassis and if it is the MXIbus System Controller. © National Instruments Corporation PCI-Based MXI-2 Interface for Windows... -
Page 15: Vme Users
Chapter 1 Introduction Also, the VXI/VME-MXI-2 automatically terminates the MXIbus if installed as the first or last device in the MXIbus. If installed in the middle of the MXIbus, the VXI/VME-MXI-2 automatically disables MXIbus termination. In addition, you can have up to 64 MB of onboard DRAM on the VXI/VME-MXI-2 module that either can be shared with the VXI/VMEbus and MXIbus or used as a dedicated data buffer. -
Page 16: National Instruments Application Software
This utility not only takes the place of the NI-VXI T&M Explorer utility, but it also adopts the functionality of the NI-DAQ Configuration utility so you can configure National Instruments VXI-DAQ cards. You can also add VME devices to your system easily with MAX and view them on a screen display along with the rest of your system. - Page 17 Chapter 1 Introduction LabVIEW is an easy-to-use, graphical programming environment you can use to acquire data from thousands of different instruments, including IEEE 488.2 devices, VXI devices, serial devices, PLCs, and plug-in data acquisition boards. After you have acquired raw data, you can convert it into meaningful results using the powerful data analysis routines in LabVIEW.
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Page 18: Setup
Help menu and select Help Topics. Installing the Hardware This section describes how to install the MXI-2 hardware. Installing Your PCI-Based MXI-2 Interface You received either a PCI-MXI-2, PCI-MXI-2 Universal, or PXI-8320 in your kit. © National Instruments Corporation PCI-Based MXI-2 Interface for Windows... -
Page 19: Installing Your Mainframe Extender
Chapter 2 Setup Caution To guard against electrostatic discharge, touch the antistatic plastic package to a metal part of your computer or chassis before removing the board from the package. Your computer or chassis should be plugged in but powered off. Install the PCI-MXI-2, PCI-MXI-2 Universal, or PXI-8320 in an available peripheral slot in your PCI-based computer or PXI/CompactPCI chassis. -
Page 20: Connecting The Mxi-2 Cable Properly
WINNT/GWINNT frameworks. With NI-VISA installed on your computer, you can run any VXIplug&play software compatible with these frameworks. This includes instrument drivers and executable soft front panel software included with VXIplug&play-compatible instruments from a variety of vendors. © National Instruments Corporation PCI-Based MXI-2 Interface for Windows... -
Page 21: Installing The Software
Chapter 2 Setup Installing the Software This section describes how to install the 32-bit NI-VXI/NI-VISA software. Please carefully read these directions along with any messages on the screen before making your selections. You can quit the Setup program at any time by clicking the Cancel button. Setup is an interactive, self-guiding program that installs the NI-VXI/NI-VISA software and configures your system to use the software with the PCI-MXI-2, PCI-MXI-2 Universal, or PXI-8320. -
Page 22: Completing The Software Installation
VXI/VME chassis. You also can configure MAX to run Resman automatically at every computer startup. After you run Resman, you are ready to use MAX to interactively configure the National Instruments hardware in your system. Use the right-click help for information about the various configuration options. -
Page 23: Developing Your Application
Before you develop an application, it is important to understand the difference between NI-VXI, NI-VISA, and similar terms: • NI-VXI is the software package that ships with National Instruments VXI and VME controllers. NI-VXI includes Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX), NI-VISA, NI Spy, Resource Manager (Resman), VXI device drivers, and other utilities for configuring and controlling the VXI or VME system. -
Page 24: Configuration
Each component assists you with one of four development steps: configuration, device interaction, programming, and debugging. You can access the utilities, help files, and release notes through the Windows Start menu by opening the National Instruments»VXI or National Instruments»VISA program groups. Configuration The configuration utilities in the software kit are Resman and MAX. -
Page 25: Device Interaction
Control (VISAIC) utility. VISAIC allows you to control the VXI/VME devices without using a conventional programming language: LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, or Measurement Studio. You also can control the devices in MAX by right-clicking a device name and selecting Open VISA Session. © National Instruments Corporation PCI-Based MXI-2 Interface for Windows... - Page 26 You can launch VISAIC (or VIC) from the Tools menu in MAX or from the VISA or VXI subgroups in Start»Programs»National Instruments. Try the following in VISAIC: In the tree view, navigate using your mouse to the VISA resource for your controller—probably VXI0::0::INSTR,...
- Page 27 VXI memory. For more information about VISAIC operations and commands, refer to the help in the Help menu and the context-sensitive help (such as What’s This?), accessible by right-clicking in any panel. © National Instruments Corporation PCI-Based MXI-2 Interface for Windows...
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Page 28: Programming For Vxi
NI-VXI API Notes section later in this chapter. NI-VISA is the National Instruments implementation of the VISA API as the VXIplug&play standard defines. It provides a common interface to many types of instruments (such as VXI, GPIB, PXI, Serial, TCP/IP, etc.) and therefore is especially useful in situations in which you are using multiple types of instruments. -
Page 29: Optimizing Large Vxibus Transfers
• To optimize move performance on paged memory systems, use a contiguous buffer so the move operation does not need to build a scatter-gather list for the user buffer. © National Instruments Corporation PCI-Based MXI-2 Interface for Windows... -
Page 30: Shared Memory
Chapter 3 Developing Your Application returns 32-bit aligned, page-locked, Note viMemAlloc() VXImemAlloc() continuous buffers which work efficiently with the move operations. Shared Memory In the Hardware Configuration settings of the PCI-MXI-2 and PCI-MXI-2 Universal in MAX, you can share memory on your computer or from DRAM added to the PCI-MXI-2 and PCI-MXI-2 Universal. -
Page 31: Compatibility Layer Options
Select Tools»NI-VXI»VXI Options. Set Prioritized Signal LA to the logical address of the device that generates the events. This prevents possible loss of events from that device. © National Instruments Corporation PCI-Based MXI-2 Interface for Windows... -
Page 32: Debugging
NI Spy and VISAIC are useful utilities for identifying the causes of problems in an application. NI Spy tracks the calls an application makes to National Instruments programming interfaces, including NI-VISA, NI-VXI, and NI-488. NI Spy highlights functions that return errors, so during development you can quickly spot which functions failed during a program’s execution. - Page 33 Chapter 3 Developing Your Application VISAIC, discussed in the Device Interaction section, is an excellent platform for quickly testing instruments and learning how to communicate with them. Figure 3-5. VISAIC © National Instruments Corporation 3-11 PCI-Based MXI-2 Interface for Windows...
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Page 34: Default Settings
OFF: Factory configuration of the EEPROM is protected U17 Switch 3 (POS) OFF: Do not alter this setting U17 Switch 4 (CT) ON: Do not alter this setting DRAM SIMM installed Per customer order © National Instruments Corporation PCI-Based MXI-2 Interface for Windows... - Page 35 Chapter A Default Settings — PCI-MXI-2/PCI-MXI-2 Universal/PXI-8320 Table A-2. PCI-MXI-2 Universal Hardware Default Settings Hardware Component Default Setting SW1 Switch 1 (FOV) OFF: PCI-MXI-2 Universal boots off the user-configured half of the EEPROM SW1 Switch 2 (TST) OFF: Factory configuration of the EEPROM is protected SW1 Switch 3 (POS) OFF: Do not alter this setting...
- Page 36 Map upper and lower halves Disabled at same PCI address Table A-6. MXI-2 Bus Tab Default Settings Editor Field Default Setting Bus timeout 1 ms System controller Auto-detect MXI-2 auto retry Enabled © National Instruments Corporation PCI-Based MXI-2 Interface for Windows...
- Page 37 Chapter A Default Settings — VXI/VME-MXI-2 Table A-6. MXI-2 Bus Tab Default Settings (Continued) Editor Field Default Setting A24/A32 write posting Disabled VXImove uses Synchronous Enabled MXI transfer limit Unlimited MXI CLK10 signal Receive Table A-7. PCI Tab Default Settings Editor Field Default Setting Low-level register access API...
- Page 38 Automatic detection VXIbus local bus (W2) Single VXI-MXI-2/B in frame VXIbus CLK10 routing (W1) From onboard oscillator External trigger termination (S5) OFF: unterminated SMB CLK10 direction (S7) OUT: drive CLK10 signal © National Instruments Corporation PCI-Based MXI-2 Interface for Windows...
- Page 39 Chapter A Default Settings — VXI/VME-MXI-2 Table A-9. VXI-MXI-2/B Hardware Default Settings (Continued) Hardware Component Default Setting SMB CLK10 termination (S6) Ignored; effective only when S7 is set to IN Polarity of external SMB CLK10 Inverted (S3) MXIbus CLK10 signal (S1) Receive CLK10 from MXIbus MXIbus termination Automatic MXIbus termination:...
- Page 40 Table A-12. VXI/VME Bus Tab Default Settings Editor Field Default Setting 125 µs Bus timeout value Slot 0 configuration Auto-detect Auto retry Disabled Transfer limit Arbiter type Priority Fair requester Enabled Arbiter timeout Enabled Request level © National Instruments Corporation PCI-Based MXI-2 Interface for Windows...
- Page 41 Chapter A Default Settings — VXI/VME-MXI-2 Table A-13. MXI-2 Bus Tab Default Settings Editor Field Default Setting System controller Auto-detect Bus timeout value 1 ms MXI-2 auto retry Disabled MXI transfer limit Unlimited MXI fair requester Disabled Perform parity checking Enabled MXI-2 CLK10 signal direction Switch determines signal...
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Page 42: Appendix B Common Questions
VXI system integration with the old utilities typically proceeded as follows: Install components and boot the system. Configure the hardware with VXIedit. Reboot and run VXIinit to initialize the National Instruments hardware. Run Resman to initialize the VXIbus. Optionally run VXIedit to configure any extender devices on the VXIbus. - Page 43 (GPIB, VXI, and Serial) that it finds in your system. Right-click an individual device in the configuration tree to see its properties. You can further configure National Instruments devices by selecting the Hardware Configuration option. This includes National Instruments VXI-DAQ cards, which means you can configure these devices from MAX without running the DAQ Configuration Utility.
- Page 44 Resman is the name of the utility that performs the duties of a VXI Resource Manager as discussed in the VXIbus specification. When you set a National Instruments controller to Logical Address 0, at some point you will need to run Resman to configure the VXI instruments. If...
- Page 45 Appendix B Common Questions How do I handle VME devices? Although there is no way to automatically detect VME devices in a system, you can add them easily through the Create New wizard in MAX. Through this procedure, you can reserve resources for each of your VME devices and configure MAX to show VME devices on the screen with all your other devices.
- Page 46 Finally, if you are using LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, or Measurement Studio and you have instrument drivers for the devices in your chassis, you can use the interactive features of these programs to quickly test the functionality of the devices. © National Instruments Corporation PCI-Based MXI-2 Interface for Windows...
- Page 47 (VXI Slot 0) and no other instruments installed. If this works, try adding instruments until the problem occurs again. Contact National Instruments for further assistance. Where can I find hardware specifications? Refer to Appendix A, Specifications, of the MXI-2 Configuration Reference Manual.
- Page 48 I have a system that requires rugged chassis and bulkhead cables. Can I still use MXIbus? Yes, National Instruments sells MXIbus bulkhead cables. Contact National Instruments for further information. What kind of signal is CLK10 and what kind of signal do I need for an external CLK10? CLK10 is a differential ECL signal on the VXIbus backplane.
- Page 49 Appendix B Common Questions What is the accuracy of the CLK10 signal? The CLK10 generated by the VXI-MXI-2 is 100 ppm (0.01%) as per the VXIbus specification. If you need a more accurate CLK10 signal, you can use the EXTCLK input at the front of the VXI-MXI-2. CLK10 is not applicable to VME.
- Page 50 Technical Support and Professional Services Visit the following sections of the National Instruments Web site at for technical support and professional services: ni.com • Support—Online technical support resources include the following: – Self-Help Resources—For immediate answers and solutions, visit our extensive library of technical support resources available in English, Japanese, and Spanish at .
- Page 51 In VISA, it identifies a resource. address modifier One of six signals in the VMEbus specification used by VMEbus masters to indicate the address space in which a data transfer is to take place © National Instruments Corporation PCI-Based MXI-2 Interface for Windows...
- Page 52 Glossary address space A set of 2 memory locations differentiated from other such sets in VXI/VMEbus systems by six addressing lines known as address modifiers. n is the number of address lines required to uniquely specify a byte location in a given space. Valid numbers for n are 16, 24, and 32. In VME/VXI, because there are six address modifiers, there are 64 possible address spaces.
- Page 53 Data Transfer Bus DTB; one of four buses on the VMEbus backplane. The DTB is used by a bus master to transfer binary data between itself and a slave device. © National Instruments Corporation PCI-Based MXI-2 Interface for Windows...
- Page 54 Glossary Direct Memory Access; a method by which data is transferred between devices and internal memory without intervention of the central processing unit DRAM Dynamic RAM (Random Access Memory); storage that the computer must refresh at frequent intervals driver window A region of PCI address space that is decoded by the PCI-MXI-2, PCI-MXI-2 Universal, or PXI-8320 for use by the NI-VXI software Data Transfer...
- Page 55 Kilobytes of memory logical address An 8-bit number that uniquely identifies each VXIbus device in a system. It defines the A16 register address of a device, and indicates Commander and Servant relationships. © National Instruments Corporation PCI-Based MXI-2 Interface for Windows...
- Page 56 Synchronous MXI and VME64 protocols to achieve high-performance block transfer rates MXI-2 The second generation of the National Instruments MXIbus product line. MXI-2 expands the number of signals on a standard MXIbus cable by including VXI triggers, all VXI interrupts, CLK10, SYSFAIL*, SYSRESET*, and ACFAIL*.
- Page 57 A Servant-only device that supports VXIbus configuration registers. Register-based devices are typically controlled by message-based devices via device-dependent register reads and writes. Resman The name of the National Instruments Resource Manager in NI-VXI bus interface software. See Resource Manager. © National Instruments Corporation...
- Page 58 Glossary Resource Manager A message-based Commander located at Logical Address 0, which provides configuration management services such as address map configuration, Commander and Servant mappings, and self-test and diagnostic management retry An acknowledge by a destination that signifies that the cycle did not complete and should be repeated seconds Servant...
- Page 59 VISA components: the VISA Resource Manager and the VISA Instrument Control Resources. VISAIC VISA Interactive Control Program, a part of the NI-VISA software. Used to program devices, and develop and debug application programs. Versa Module Eurocard or IEEE 1014 © National Instruments Corporation PCI-Based MXI-2 Interface for Windows...
- Page 60 Glossary VMEbus System A device configured for installation in Slot 0 of a VXIbus mainframe or Controller Slot 1 of a VMEbus chassis. This device is unique in the VMEbus system in that it performs the VMEbus System Controller functions, including clock sourcing and arbitration for data transfers across the backplane.
- Page 61 MXI-2, 2-3 CLK10 signal, B-7 example code, C-1 common questions, B-1 configuration EEPROM is invalid message, B-6 contacting National Instruments, C-1 conventions used in the manual, xi frequently asked questions, C-1 Create New wizard, 1-4 customer education, C-1...
- Page 62 C-1 verifying system configuration, 2-5 system integration services, C-1 instrument drivers, C-1 technical support, C-1 worldwide offices, C-1 National Instruments application software, 1-5 NI Spy utility, 1-5 KnowledgeBase, C-1 NI-VISA/NI-VXI software example programs (table), 3-7 NI-VXI/NI-VISA software LabWindows/CVI, 1-6...
- Page 63 B-3 customer, C-1 testing your system, B-5 troubleshooting resources, C-1 troubleshooting hangups, B-6 when to use, B-3 Resource Manager. See Resman rugged chassis, B-7 user window, B-8 utilities questions about, B-1 © National Instruments Corporation PCI-Based MXI-2 Interface for Windows...
- Page 64 Index VXIedit utility, B-1 VXIinit, B-1, B-2 VIC utility, B-1 VXIplug&play specifications, 2-3 VICtext, B-1 VXItedit, B-1 VISAconf utility, B-1 VISAIC utility, B-1 VME devices adding with Add Device Wizard, B-4 configuration considerations, 2-2 professional services, C-1 using with PCI-based MXI-2 technical support, C-1 interface, 1-4 WIN95/GWIN95 framework, 2-3...
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