National Instruments VXIpc 600 Series User Manual

Also see for VMEpc 600 series: Getting started guide Installation guide

Contents

National Instruments VXIpc 600 Series User Manual Manual pdf 15 page image

Chapter 1 IntroductionVXI/VMEpc 600 Series User Manual1-4 ©National Instruments CorporationLabWindows/CVI is an interactive C development environment forbuilding test and measurement and instrument control systems. It includesinteractive code-generation tools and a graphical editor for building customuser interfaces.Hardware DescriptionVXI Slot 0 FunctionalityYou can use the VXIpc 600 Series computers to achieve full VXI Slot 0control of your VXI system. You can also install the module in another slotand use it in Non-Slot 0 mode. You do not have to change any jumperswhen moving between these two modes, as the VXIpc 600 Seriesautomatically detects whether it is installed in Slot 0 and automaticallyenables or disables the onboard Slot 0 circuitry.VME Slot 1 FunctionalityIn the same way, you can install the VMEpc-650 in Slot 1 for full SystemController functionality, or you can use it in Non-Slot 1 mode. TheVMEpc-650 automatically detects whether it is in the System Controllerslot and it automatically enables or disables the onboard Slot 1 circuitry.Custom Application-Specific Interface ChipsThe VXI/VMEpc 600 Series uses the MITE and MANTIS custom ASICsto deliver high VXI/VME performance DMA block-mode data transferrates across the VXI/VME backplane.The VXI/VMEpc 600 Series has the TNT4882C custom ASIC to give fullGPIB control of external instruments via a front-panel connector. GPIBcapability is fully compatible with IEEE 488.2 and the industry-standardNI-488.2 driver for a variety of operating systems.The MITE custom ASIC is a sophisticated dual-channel DMA controllerwith standard interfaces for VXI and PCI. By using MITE DMA to transferdata and commands to and from devices, the MITE frees the computer’smicroprocessor to perform other tasks such as data analysis andpresentation. In addition to DMA, the MITE incorporates the new VME64MBLT—8-byte block transfers in which both the address bus and data busare used to transfer data—directly into the ASIC to perform the fastesttransfer operation to instruments. With the multiple windowing scheme ofthe MITE, you can easily access all of VXI/VME address space.