National Instruments VXIpc, 850 User Manual

Getting Started with

™

Your VXIpc





April 1996 Edition

Part Number 321123B-01

-850

© Copyright 1996 National Instruments Corporation.

All Rights Reserved.

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National Instruments Corporate Headquarters

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Important Information

Warranty

The National Instruments VXIpc-850 Series embedded computers and accessories are warranted against defects in
materials and workmanship for a period of one year from the date of shipment, as evidenced by receipts or other
documentation. National Instruments will, at its option, repair or replace equipment that proves to be defective during
the warranty period. This warranty includes parts and labor.

The media on which you receive National Instruments software are warranted not to fail to execute programming
instructions, due to defects in materials and workmanship, for a period of 90 days from date of shipment, as evidenced
by receipts or other documentation. National Instruments will, at its option, repair or replace software media that do not
execute programming instructions if National Instruments receives notice of such defects during the warranty period.
National Instruments does not warrant that the operation of the software shall be uninterrupted or error free.

A Return Material Authorization (RMA) number must be obtained from the factory and clearly marked on the outside
of the package before any equipment will be accepted for warranty work. National Instruments will pay the shipping
costs of returning to the owner parts which are covered by warranty.

National Instruments believes that the information in this manual is accurate. The document has been carefully
reviewed for technical accuracy. In the event that technical or typographical errors exist, National Instruments reserves
the right to make changes to subsequent editions of this document without prior notice to holders of this edition. 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.

EXCEPT AS SPECIFIED HEREIN, NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR
A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. CUSTOMER’S RIGHT TO RECOVER DAMAGES CAUSED BY FAULT OR
NEGLIGENCE ON THE PART OF NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT
THERETOFORE PAID BY THE CUSTOMER. NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR
DAMAGES RESULTING FROM LOSS OF DATA, PROFITS, USE OF PRODUCTS, OR INCIDENTAL OR
CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY THEREOF. This limitation of the
liability of National Instruments will apply regardless of the form of action, whether in contract or tort, including
negligence. Any action against National Instruments must be brought within one year after the cause of action accrues.
National Instruments shall not be liable for any delay in performance due to causes beyond its reasonable control. The
warranty provided herein does not cover damages, defects, malfunctions, or service failures caused by owner’s failure to
follow the National Instruments installation, operation, or maintenance instructions; owner’s modification of the
product; owner’s abuse, misuse, or negligent acts; and power failure or surges, fire, flood, accident, actions of third
parties, or other events outside reasonable control.

Copyright

Under the copyright laws, this publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, storing in an information retrieval system, or translating, in whole or in part, without
the prior written consent of National Instruments Corporation.

Trademarks

LabVIEW®, NI-488.2™, NI-VISA™, NI-VXI™, TNT™, and VXIpc™ are trademarks of National Instruments
Corporation.

Product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.

WARNING REGARDING MEDICAL AND CLINICAL USE OF NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS PRODUCTS

National Instruments products are not designed with components and testing intended to ensure a level of reliability
suitable for use in treatment and diagnosis of humans. Applications of National Instruments products involving medical
or clinical treatment can create a potential for accidental injury caused by product failure, or by errors on the part of the
user or application designer. Any use or application of National Instruments products for or involving medical or
clinical treatment must be performed by properly trained and qualified medical personnel, and all traditional medical
safeguards, equipment, and procedures that are appropriate in the particular situation to prevent serious injury or death
should always continue to be used when National Instruments products are being used. National Instruments products
are NOT intended to be a substitute for any form of established process, procedure, or equipment used to monitor or
safeguard human health and safety in medical or clinical treatment.

FCC/DOC Radio Frequency Interference Class A Compliance

This equipment generates and uses radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in strict
accordance with the instructions in this manual, may cause interference to radio and television reception.
Classification requirements are the same for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the
Canadian Department of Communications (DOC). This equipment has been tested and found to comply
with the following two regulatory agencies:

Federal Communications Commission

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device,
pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against
harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This equipment
generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with
the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. Operation of this
equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference in which case the user will be
required to correct the interference at his own expense.

Notices to User: Changes or modifications not expressly approved by National Instruments could

If necessary, consult National Instruments or an experienced radio/television technician for additional
suggestions. The following booklet prepared by the FCC may also be helpful: Interference to Home
Electronic Entertainment Equipment Handbook. This booklet is available from the U.S. Government
Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402.

void the user’s authority to operate the equipment under the FCC Rules.
This device complies with the FCC rules only if used with shielded interface cables

of suitable quality and construction. National Instruments used such cables to test
this device and provides them for sale to the user. The use of inferior or nonshielded
interface cables could void the user's authority to operate the equipment under the
FCC rules.

Canadian Department of Communications

This Class A digital apparatus meets all requirements of the Canadian Interference-Causing Equipment
Regulations.

Cet appareil numérique de la classe A respecte toutes les exigences du Règlement sur le matériel
brouilleur du Canada.

About This Manual

Organization of This Manual........................................................................................vii

Conventions Used in This Manual................................................................................viii

How to Use This Documentation Set............................................................................viii

Related Documentation ................................................................................................ix

Customer Communication ............................................................................................ix

Chapter 1
Introduction

What You Need to Get Started .....................................................................................1-1

Hardware Description ...................................................................................................1-1

Software Description ....................................................................................................1-2

Software Configurations ................................................................................1-2

Optional Software .........................................................................................................1-3

Table
of
Contents

Chapter 2
Setup

Hardware Installation....................................................................................................2- 1

Setting up the VXIpc-850 .............................................................................................2-2

Windows Users ..............................................................................................2-2

DOS Users......................................................................................................2-3

VME Users .....................................................................................................2-4

Device Interaction.........................................................................................................2-4

Chapter 3
Default Settings

Appendix A
Specifications

© National Instruments Corporation v Getting Started with Your VXIpc-850

Table of Contents

Appendix B
Customer Communication

Glossary
Index
Tables

Table 3-1. VXIpc-850 Hardware Default Settings ...............................................3-1

Table 3-2. Logical Address Configuration Editor Default Settings......................3-2

Table 3-3. Device Configuration Editor Default Settings ....................................3-3

Table 3-4. Bus Configuration Editor Default Settings..........................................3-3

Getting Started with Your VXIpc-850 vi © National Instruments Corporation

You can use this manual to help you get a quick start with the
VXIpc-850 Series embedded computer and the NI-VXI software. This
manual summarizes the setup instructions and default settings for the
hardware and software. You may find that these sections contain as
much information as you need to get started with your VXIpc-850 kit.

Organization of This Manual

This manual is organized as follows:

• Chapter 1, Introduction, describes the VXIpc-850 Series of
embedded VXI computers along with the NI-VXI software, lists
what you need to get started, and lists optional software.

• Chapter 2, Setup, contains basic instructions for setting up the
VXIpc-850 and the NI-VXI software.

• Chapter 3, Default Settings, summarizes the hardware and software
default settings for the VXIpc-850 kit. If you need more
information about a particular setting or if you want to try a
different configuration, refer to the user manuals in your kit.

• Appendix A, Specifications, describes the environmental,
electrical, and mechanical specifications of the VXIpc-850.

• Appendix B, Customer Communication, contains forms you can
use to request help from National Instruments or to comment on
our products and manuals.

• The Glossary contains an alphabetical list and description of terms
used in this manual, including abbreviations, acronyms, metric
prefixes, mnemonics, and symbols.

• The Index contains an alphabetical list of key terms and topics in
this manual, including the page where you can find each one.

About
This
Manual

© National Instruments Corporation vii Getting Started with Your VXIpc-850

About This Manual

Conventions Used in This Manual

The following conventions are used in this manual:

bold Bold text denotes menus, menu items, or dialog box buttons or options.

bold Bold text in this font denotes the messages and responses that the
monospace computer automatically prints to the screen.

italic Italic text denotes emphasis, a cross reference, or an introduction to a

key concept.

monospace Text in this font denotes text or characters that are to be literally input

from the keyboard, sections of code, programming examples, and
syntax examples. This font is also used for the proper names of
programs, subprograms, functions, filenames, and extensions.

♦ The ♦ symbol indicates that the text following it applies only to a

specific operating system.

Abbreviations, acronyms, metric prefixes, mnemonics, symbols, and
terms are listed in the Glossary.

How to Use This Documentation Set

Begin by reading this manual, Getting Started with Your VXIpc-850,
for basic instructions on setting up the hardware and software. This is a
brief quick start manual that describes how to get started with your kit
using the default hardware and software settings. Refer to the following
manuals for more information about the hardware or software.

The VXIpc-850 Series User Manual contains more details about
changing the installation or configuration from the defaults, and using
the hardware.

The VXIpc-850 Peripherals User Manual contains in-depth information
about configuring and using various peripherals on the VXIpc-850.

Getting Started with Your VXIpc-850 viii © National Instruments Corporation

The NI-VXI Software Manual for the VXIpc-850 Series contains
more details about changing the NI-VXI software installation or
configuration from the defaults, and using the NI-VXI software on
the VXIpc-850.

When you are familiar with the material in this getting started manual,
you can begin to use the NI-VXI Software Reference Manual for C.
Chapter 1, Introduction to VXI, and Chapter 2, Introduction to the
NI-VXI Functions, present the concepts of VXI and prepare you for
detailed explanations of the NI-VXI functions. Study the descriptions
of each function given in Chapters 3 through 13 to fully understand the
purpose and syntax of each function.

Refer to the NI-VXI Graphical Utilities Reference Manual and the
NI-VXI Text Utilities Reference Manual to learn more about the
NI-VXI utilities.

Related Documentation

The following documents contain information that you may find
helpful as you read this manual:

• ANSI/IEEE Standard 1014-1987, IEEE Standard for a Versatile

Backplane Bus: VMEbus

• ANSI/IEEE Standard 1155-1993, IEEE VMEbus Extensions for
Instrumentation: VXIbus

• ANSI/VITA 1-1994, VME64

• VXI-6, VXIbus Mainframe Extender Specification, Rev. 1.0,
VXIbus Consortium

About This Manual

Customer Communication

National Instruments wants to receive your comments on our products
and manuals. We are interested in the applications you develop with
our products, and we want to help if you have problems with them.
To make it easy for you to contact us, this manual contains comment
and configuration forms for you to complete. These forms are in
Appendix B, Customer Communication, at the end of this manual.

© National Instruments Corporation ix Getting Started with Your VXIpc-850

Introduction

This chapter describes the VXIpc-850 Series of embedded VXI
computers along with the NI-VXI software, lists what you need to get
started, and lists optional software.

What You Need to Get Started

VXIpc-850 embedded controller
VXIbus mainframe
Keyboard (and included adapter cable)
PS/2 mouse
Monitor with VGA or better resolution

Chapter

1

The following items are already installed on your VXIpc-850
computer. They are also included on disk in the event that you need to
reinstall your software.

LabWindows®/CVI Run-Time Engine
(for Windows 95/NT/3.1 users)

NI-VXI software media for the VXIpc-850 Series

Hardware Description

The VXIpc-850, a Pentium-based, C-size embedded computer based on
the Peripheral Component Interface (PCI) bus, is a high-performance,
easy-to-use platform for controlling VXIbus systems, featuring
complete VXI functionality through interactive utilities and C function
calls. In addition, the VXIpc-850 has an IEEE 488 interface that is
compatible with the NI-488.2 architecture.

© National Instruments Corporation 1-1 Getting Started with Your VXIpc-850

Chapter 1 Introduction

The VXIpc-850 is a custom computer that you install directly in two
C-size slots of your VXIbus mainframe. It can take advantage of the
VXI high-performance backplane capabilities and give you direct
control of VXI registers, memory, interrupts, and triggers.

All models in the VXIpc-850 Series are fully VXIplug&play compliant
and can be used with PC-compatible software tools, the National
Instruments LabVIEW and LabWindows/CVI application software, and
the NI-VXI, NI-VISA, and NI-488.2 bus interface software.

For in-depth details on the VXIpc-850 hardware, consult the VXIpc-850
Series User Manual. The VXIpc-850 Peripherals User Manual
describes how to configure and use various peripherals with your
VXIpc-850.

Software Description

The NI-VXI bus interface software for the VXIpc-850 Series includes a
VXI/MXI Resource Manager, graphical and text-based versions of an
interactive VXI resource editor program, a comprehensive library of
software routines for VXI programming, and a VXI interactive control
program. You can use this software to create applications that
seamlessly control multiple-mainframe configurations. These
applications have software compatibility across a variety of VXI
controller platforms.

For more information on installing and configuring the NI-VXI
software, refer to the NI-VXI Software Manual for the VXIpc-850

Series. This manual describes each field in the VXIpc Configuration
Editor of the VXIedit software utility. You can use the NI-VXI

Graphical Utilities Reference Manual and the NI-VXI Text Utilities
Reference Manual to get more information about the VIC or VICtext

utilities and the other configuration editors in VXIedit. Refer to the
NI-VXI Software Reference Manual for C for details about NI-VXI
function calls.

Software Configurations

There are four software configurations described in this manual:

• NI-VXI for DOS/Windows 3.1—you can use this version of the
software to develop and run 16-bit DOS/Windows 3.1 applications.
You can also use this software under Windows 95 if you intend to
use 16-bit applications only.

Getting Started with Your VXIpc-850 1-2 © National Instruments Corporation

• NI-VXI Upgrade for Windows 95—this is a compatibility release

• NI-VXI for Windows 95—this is a fully 32-bit native Plug and

• NI-VXI for Windows NT—this is a 32-bit driver designed for

Optional Software

Your VXIpc-850 kit includes the NI-VXI bus interface software. In
addition, you can use the National Instruments LabVIEW and
LabWindows/CVI application programs and instrument drivers to ease
your programming tasks. These standardized programs match the
modular virtual instrument capability of VXI and can reduce your
VXI/VMEbus software development time. These programs are fully
VXIplug&play compliant and feature extensive libraries of VXI
instrument drivers written to take full advantage of the VXI bus.

Chapter 1 Introduction

that extends your NI-VXI for DOS/Windows 3.1 to allow 32-bit
applications running in Windows 95 to use the 16-bit driver. In this
configuration you can run both 16-bit and 32-bit applications;
however, the core of the driver is 16-bit.

Play driver for Windows 95. You can run only 32-bit applications
with this driver. You cannot use this driver in conjunction with
either NI-VXI for DOS/Windows 3.1 or the NI-VXI Upgrade for
Windows 95 to run 16-bit applications. Applications developed
using this driver will run with NI-VXI for Windows NT without
the need to recompile.

Windows NT. You can use this version to develop and run 32-bit
applications for Windows 95/NT.

LabVIEW and LabWindows/CVI include all the tools needed for
instrument control, data acquisition, analysis, and presentation. When
you order the LabVIEW VXI Development System for Windows or the
LabWindows/CVI VXI Development System for Windows, you also
get more than 500 complete instrument drivers, which are modular,
source-code programs that handle the communication with your
instrument to speed your application development.

© National Instruments Corporation 1-3 Getting Started with Your VXIpc-850