ENGINEERS can now use National Instruments’ MXI-Express kits for PCI Express control of PXI and CompactPCI systems. PCI Express, an evolution of the PCI bus, is the next-generation PC I/O bus offered as a standard option on most new PCs. With 250 MB/s of dedicated bandwidth available in each direction per lane, PCI Express delivers throughput for both high-speed and high-channel-count applications.
Based on PCI Express, MXI-Express delivers real-world sustained bandwidth of up to 110 MB/s to PXI systems, a more than 40% increase compared to PCI remote control of PXI with MXI-4.
The increased throughput of MXI-Express makes it suitable for applications such as signal intelligence and mixed-signal test in industries including communications, consumer electronics and military/aerospace.
MXI-Express is available in two configurations designed to reduce cost between 33% and 40% compared to prior-generation solutions. The NI PXI-PCIe8361 kit includes a PCI Express board with one x1 (‘by one’) cabled PCI Express link. This kit, which includes the PCI Express host board, PXI system controller module and cable, represents a 33% reduction in the price of PXI remote control compared to prior generation MXI-3 and MXI-4 solutions.
The NI PXI-PCIe8362 kit provides two x1 PCI Express links from the host PC, each of which can cable to individual PXI chassis. This gives engineers control of two PXI systems from a single PCI Express slot in the PC, saving both a slot and reducing cost by 40% for a two-chassis system.
The MXI-Express link is transparent to software applications and drivers, so industry-standard desktop computers, servers and workstations can control PXI systems with no additional programming.
MXI-Express works seamlessly with a variety of NI software including the LabVIEW graphical development environment, NI TestStand test management software, LabWindows/CVI ANSI C development environment and SignalExpress interactive measurement environment. It also works with all PXI modular instruments and data acquisition modules.