National Instruments NI PXI-8840 User manual
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USER MANUAL
NI PXI-8840
This document provides reference information for PXI and the NI PXI-8840 embedded
controller.
Contents
Related Documentation ............................................................................................................2
PXI Features..............................................................................................................................2
Benefits of PXI..................................................................................................................2
NI PXI-8840..............................................................................................................................3
Description........................................................................................................................ 3
Functional Overview.........................................................................................................3
National Instruments Software..................................................................................................5
Configuration............................................................................................................................ 6
BIOS Setup Utility............................................................................................................ 6
BIOS Diagnostic Utilities............................................................................................... 16
System CMOS.................................................................................................................16
ExpressCard.................................................................................................................... 17
Boot Options................................................................................................................... 18
Hard Drive Recovery...................................................................................................... 18
Upgrade Information.......................................................................................................19
Installing an OS...............................................................................................................20
Specifications.......................................................................................................................... 20
Features........................................................................................................................... 21
Front Panel Dimensions.................................................................................................. 22
Electrical......................................................................................................................... 23
Physical........................................................................................................................... 23
Environmental.................................................................................................................23
Shock and Vibration........................................................................................................25
Safety.............................................................................................................................. 25
I/O Information....................................................................................................................... 27
DisplayPort......................................................................................................................27
COM1..............................................................................................................................28
Ethernet........................................................................................................................... 29
Universal Serial Bus........................................................................................................31
Trigger.............................................................................................................................32
GPIB (IEEE 488.2)......................................................................................................... 33
ExpressCard/34 Slot........................................................................................................34
Worldwide Support and Services............................................................................................ 36
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Related Documentation
The following documents contain information you may find helpful as you read this manual:
•IEEE Standard 488.1-2003, IEEE Standard for Higher Performance Protocol for the
Standard Digital Interface for Programmable Instrumentation
•PICMG 2.0 R3.0 CompactPCI Specification, PCI Industrial Computers Manufacturers
Group
•PCI Local Bus Specification, Revision 2.3, PCI Special Interest Group
•PXI Hardware Specification, Revision 2.2, PXI Systems Alliance
•PXI Software Specification, Revision 2.1, PXI Systems Alliance
•Serialized IRQ Support for PCI Systems Specification, Compaq Computer et al.
•ExpressCard Standard, PCMCIA
•Universal Serial Bus (USB) Specification, Revision 2.0
•Universal Serial Bus (USB) Specification, Revision 3.0
PXI Features
Benefits of PXI
The PXI (PCI eXtensions for Instrumentation) industry standard, an open specification
governed by the PXI Systems Alliance (PXISA), defines a compact modular PC platform for
test, measurement, and control systems. Because PXI leverages the PCI bus, PXI users receive
all the benefits of PCI within an architecture that supports mechanical, electrical, and software
features tailored to industrial instrumentation, data acquisition, industrial automation, and
control applications.
Well-suited for industrial applications, PXI leverages from the CompactPCI specification,
which defines a rugged form factor for PCI that offers superior mechanical integrity and easy
installation and removal of hardware components. PXI products offer higher and more
carefully defined levels of environmental performance required by the vibration, shock,
temperature, and humidity extremes of industrial environments. PXI adds mandatory
environmental testing and active cooling to the CompactPCI mechanical specification to ease
system integration and ensure multivendor interoperability.
Additionally, PXI meets the more specific needs of instrumentation users by adding an
integrated trigger bus and reference clock for multiple-board synchronization, a star trigger
bus for very precise timing, and local buses for side-band communication between adjacent
peripherals.
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NI PXI-8840
Description
The NI PXI-8840 PXI/CompactPCI embedded computer is a high-performance PXI/
CompactPCI-compatible system controller. The NI PXI-8840 controller integrates standard
I/O features in a single unit by using state-of-the-art packaging. Combining an NI PXI-8840
embedded controller with a PXI-compatible chassis, such as the NI PXI-1042, results in a fully
PC-compatible computer in a compact, rugged package.
The NI PXI-8840 has an Intel® Core™ i5 4400E processor (2.7 GHz dual core processor), all
the standard I/O, and a 320 GB (or larger) hard drive. It also has a PCI-based GPIB controller
and an ExpressCard/34 expansion slot.
The standard I/O on each module includes two DisplayPort video, one RS-232 serial port, four
Hi-Speed USB ports, two SuperSpeed USB ports, two Gigabit Ethernet, a reset button, and a
PXI trigger.
Functional Overview
The NI PXI-8840 is a modular PC in a PXI 3U-size form factor. The following figure is a
functional block diagram of the NI PXI-8840. Following the diagram is a description of each
logic block shown.
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Figure 1. NI PXI-8840 Block Diagram
Intel
8 Series
PCH
Processor
Intel Core
i5
SO-DIMM
DDR3L SDRAM
PC3 12800
DisplayPort
Memory Bus Ch. A
Express
Card/34 Slot
x1 PCIE
USB
USB 2.0 x4
SATA
Hard Disk
FLASH
Watchdog
Trigger SMB
Connector
UART COM1
x1 PCIE
PXI
T
riggers
GPIB
Controller
GPIB
Connector
USB 2.0 x4
Intel I217-V
Gigabit
PHY
RJ45
Port 1
SATA
x4 DMI2
x4 DDI
LPC
PCI Express
to PCI Bridge
PXI PCI
Intel I210-IT
Gigabit
MAC/PHY
RJ45
Port 2
x1 PCIE
SPI
PCI
DisplayPort
USB 3.0 x2
USB 3.0 x2
x1 PCIE
x4 DDI
The NI PXI-8840 consists of the following logic blocks on two circuit card assemblies
(CCAs):
•The processor is an Intel® Core™ i5 4400E processor (3 MB Cache, 2.7 GHz). The
processor connects to the SO-DIMM block through the DDR3L interface supporting up
to 1600 MHz SO-DIMMs, the PCH through a x4 DMI2 (Direct Media Interface)
interface supporting up to 5 GT/s per lane.
• The SO-DIMM block consists of one 64-bit DDR3L SDRAM socket that can hold up to
8 GB of memory.
• The processor provides the DisplayPort interface that connects to display peripherals on
the NI PXI-8840, and the PCI Express interface to the PXI backplane through a PCI
Express to PCI bridge.
• The Platform Controller Hub (PCH) provides the USB, PCI Express x1, and LPC
interfaces that connect to the peripherals on the NI PXI-8840.
• The DisplayPort block consists of two DisplayPort connectors.
• The USB block consists of four Hi-Speed USB 2.0 connectors and two SuperSpeed USB
3.0 connectors.
• The GPIB block contains the GPIB interface.
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• The ExpressCard/34 slot accommodates an ExpressCard/34 module.
• The Ethernet Port 1 block consists of an Intel® I217-V Gigabit Ethernet Connection.
• The Ethernet Port 2 block consists of an Intel® I210-IT Gigabit Ethernet Connection.
• The UART block connects to one serial port.
• The SMB Front Panel Trigger provides a routable connection of the PXI triggers to/from
the SMB on the front panel.
• The Watchdog block consists of a watchdog timer that can reset the controller or generate
triggers.
• The PXI Connectors connect the NI PXI-8840 to the PXI/CompactPCI backplane.
National Instruments Software
National Instruments has developed several software tools you can use with the NI PXI-8840.
National Instruments hardware and software work together to help you make the most of your
PXI system. The LabVIEW, Measurement Studio, and LabWindows™/CVI™ application
development environments combine with leading hardware drivers such as NI-DAQmx to
provide exceptional control of NI hardware. Instrument drivers are available at ni.com/
idnet to simplify communication with instruments over a variety of buses.
LabVIEW is a powerful and easy-to-use graphical programming environment you can use to
acquire data from thousands of different instruments including USB, IEEE 488.2, VXI, serial,
PLCs, and plug-in boards. LabVIEW helps you convert acquired data into meaningful results
using powerful data analysis routines. Add-on tools provide additional specialized
functionality. For more information, visit ni.com/labview and ni.com/toolkits.
If you prefer to use Microsoft’s Visual Basic, Visual C++, and Visual Studio .NET for the core
of your application, Measurement Studio adds tools for Measurement and Automation to each
language. For more information, visit ni.com/mstudio.
LabWindows/CVI is an interactive ANSI C programming environment designed for building
virtual instrument applications. LabWindows/CVI delivers a drag-and-drop editor for building
user interfaces, a complete ANSI C environment for building your test program logic, and a
collection of automated code generation tools, as well as utilities for building automated test
systems, monitoring applications, or laboratory experiments. For more information, visit
ni.com/lwcvi.
NI-DAQmx provides an extensive library of functions that you can call from your application
development environment or interactive environment such as NI Signal Express. These
functions provide an intuitive API for National Instruments multifunction DAQ products.
Features available include analog input (A/D conversion), buffered data acquisition (high-
speed A/D conversion), analog output (D/A conversion), waveform generation, digital I/O,
counter/timer operations, SCXI signal conditioning, RTSI or PXI synchronization, self-
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calibration, messaging, and acquiring data to extended memory. For more information, visit
ni.com/daq.
National Instruments modular instruments use specialized drivers suited to each product’s
specialization. Express VIs provide customized, interactive programming of instruments in a
single interface, and soft front panels provide an interface for testing the functionality of each
instrument with no programming required. NI Switches, DMMs, High-Speed DIO, High-
Speed Digitizers, and Sources each have customized drivers for high-end modular
instrumentation systems. RF applications leverage two drivers, NI-RFSG and NI-RFSA, and
Dynamic Signal Acquisition is available through NI-DAQmx. For more information, visit
ni.com/modularinstruments.
You can expand the timing and triggering functionality of your PXI system with PXI Timing
and Synchronization products. These products provide precision clock sources, custom routing
of triggers for multi-chassis synchronization, clock sharing, and more and are programmed
with NI-Sync. For more information, visit ni.com/pxi.
NI-VISA is the National Instruments implementation of the VISA specification. VISA is a
uniform API for communicating and controlling USB, Serial, GPIB, PXI, VXI, and various
other types of instruments. This API aids in the creation of portable applications and
instrument drivers. For information about writing your own PXI instrument driver with NI-
VISA, refer to the NI-VISA Getting Started Manual and the readme.txt file in the NI-VISA
directory. For more information, visit ni.com/visa.
With LabVIEW for Linux and support for more than two hundred devices on Linux with the
NI-DAQmx driver, you can now create virtual instruments based on the Linux OS. Instrument
control in Linux has been improved by the NI-VISA driver for Linux, and NI modular
instruments are partially supported. For more information, visit ni.com/linux.
Configuration
BIOS Setup Utility
You can change the NI PXI-8840 configuration settings in the BIOS setup program. The BIOS
is the low-level interface between the hardware and operating system software that configures
and tests your hardware when you boot the system. The BIOS setup program includes menus
for configuring settings and enabling NI PXI-8840 controller features.
Most users do not need to use the BIOS setup program, as the NI PXI-8840 controller ships
with default settings that work well for most configurations.
Caution Changing BIOS settings may lead to incorrect controller behavior and
possibly an unbootable controller. If this happens, follow the instructions for
restoring default settings in the System CMOS section. In general, do not change a
setting unless you are absolutely certain what it does.
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Accessing BIOS Setup Utility
Complete the following steps to start the BIOS setup program.
1. Power on or reboot your NI PXI-8840 controller.
2. When the message Press <DEL> to enter setup appears, press the <Delete> key.
The setup program loads after a short delay.
The Main menu is displayed when you first enter the BIOS setup program.
Use the following keys to navigate through the BIOS setup program:
•Left Arrow, Right Arrow—Use these keys to move between the different setup menus.
If you are in a submenu, these keys have no effect, and you must press <Esc> to leave the
submenu first. (To use the arrows on the numeric keypad, you must turn off Num Lock.)
•Up Arrow, Down Arrow—Use these keys to move between the options within a setup
menu. (To use the arrows on the numeric keypad, you must turn off Num Lock.)
•<Enter>—Use this key either to enter a submenu or display all available settings for a
highlighted configuration option.
•<Esc>—Use this key to return to the parent menu of a submenu. At the top-level menus,
this key serves as a shortcut to the Exit menu.
•<+> and <–>—Use these keys to cycle between all available settings for a selected
configuration option.
•<Tab>—Use this key to select time and date fields.
•<F9>—Use this key to load the optimal default values for BIOS configuration settings.
The optimal default values are the same as the shipping configuration default values.
Main Setup Menu
The most commonly accessed and modified BIOS settings are in the Main setup menu. The
Main setup menu reports the following configuration information:
•BIOS Version and Build Date—These values indicate the version of the NI PXI-8840
controller BIOS and the date on which the BIOS was built.
•Embedded Firmware Version—This value helps identify the built-in hardware
capabilities.
•Processor Type, Base Processor Frequency, and Active Processor Cores—These
values indicate the type of processor used in the NI PXI-8840 controller, the processor
speed, and the maximum number of processor cores.
•Total Memory—This value indicates the system RAM size the BIOS detects.
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The Main setup menu also includes the following settings:
•System Date—This setting controls the date, which is stored in a battery-backed real-
time clock. Most operating systems also include a way to change this setting. Use <+>
and <-> in conjunction with <Enter> and <Tab> to change these values.
•System Time—This setting controls the time of day, which is stored in a battery-backed
real-time clock. Most operating systems include a way to change this setting. Use <+>
and <-> in conjunction with <Enter> and <Tab> to change these values.
Advanced Setup Menu
This menu contains BIOS settings that normally do not require modification. If you have
specific problems such as unbootable disks or resource conflicts, you may need to examine
these settings.
Caution Changing settings in this menu may result in an unstable or unbootable
controller. If this happens, follow the procedures outlined in the System CMOS
section to restore BIOS settings to their factory defaults.
The Advanced setup menu includes the following settings and submenus:
•SATA Configuration—Use this setting to access the SATA Configuration submenu.
Refer to the SATA Configuration Submenu section for more information.
•CPU Configuration—Use this setting to access the CPU Configuration submenu. Refer
to the CPU Configuration Submenu section for more information.
•Video Configuration—Use this setting to access the Video Configuration submenu.
Refer to the Video Configuration Submenu section for more information.
•Power/Wake Configuration—Use this setting to access the Power/Wake
Configuration submenu. Refer to the Power/Wake Configuration Submenu section for
more information.
•ExpressCard Configuration—Use this setting to access the ExpressCard
Configuration submenu. Refer to the ExpressCard Configuration Submenu section for
more information.
•USB Configuration—Use this setting to access the USB Configuration submenu. Refer
to the USB Configuration Submenu section for more information.
•Serial Port Configuration—Use this setting to access the Serial Port Configuration
submenu. Refer to the Serial Port Configuration Submenu section for more information.
SATA Configuration Submenu
Use this submenu to apply alternate settings to the hard disk drive (HDD) interfaces.
Normally, you do not need to modify these settings, as the factory default settings provide the
most compatible and optimal configuration possible.
•SATA Controller—This setting specifies whether or not the onboard SATA controller is
enabled or disabled. The default value is Enabled.
–SATA Mode Selection—This setting determines whether AHCI mode is enabled or
disabled for the SATA port. Some operating systems, such as Windows 2000, do not
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support AHCI mode. You can use this setting to disable AHCI mode and enable IDE
mode so that non-compatible OSes function correctly. The default value is AHCI.
•Internal Drive (SATA)—This item displays the onboard SATA drive detected in the
system.
CPU Configuration Submenu
Use this submenu to apply alternate settings to the CPU. Normally, you do not need to modify
these settings, as the factory default settings provide the most compatible and optimal
configuration possible.
•Hyper Threading—This setting enables or disables Intel Hyper-Threading technology.
The default value is Enabled. Enabling Hyper-Threading increases performance for some
applications by adding virtual CPU cores. Hyper-Threading can increase application
jitter, so be careful when enabling this setting on a Real Time system. When the BIOS is
configured to boot LabVIEW Real-Time, Hyper-Threading is disabled automatically. To
manually enable Hyper-Threading performance when in LabVIEW Real-Time mode,
refer to the LabVIEW RT Configuration Overrides Submenu.
•Enabled CPU Cores—This setting selects the number of active CPU cores for the
processor. Valid values are 1 and All. The default value is All.
•Turbo Boost—This setting enables or disables Intel Turbo Boost technology. The default
value is Enabled. Enabling Turbo Boost allows CPU cores to run at higher than their
base frequency for short durations, while other cores are idle. Enabling Turbo Boost also
can increase application jitter, so be careful when enabling this setting on a Real Time
system. To achieve maximum possible Turbo Boost frequencies, also enable the C-States
setting. When the BIOS is configured to boot LabVIEW Real-Time, Turbo Boost is
disabled automatically. To manually enable Turbo Boost performance when in LabVIEW
Real-Time mode, refer to the LabVIEW RT Configuration Overrides Submenu.
•C-States—This setting enables or disables CPU power management. The default value is
Enabled. Enabling C-States allows the processor to put idle CPU cores to sleep, allowing
active cores to run at higher than base frequencies when Turbo Boost is enabled. Enabling
C-States can increase application jitter, so be careful when enabling this setting on a Real
Time system. When the BIOS is configured to boot LabVIEW Real-Time, C-States are
disabled automatically. To manually enable C-States when in LabVIEW Real-Time mode,
refer to the LabVIEW RT Configuration Overrides Submenu.
•Hardware Prefetcher—This setting enables or disables CPU cache hardware
prefetching. The default value is Disabled when booting LabVIEW Real-Time and
Enabled when booting other OSs. Enabling hardware prefetching can increase system
performance for some applications, but can cause control algorithms to behave less
deterministically.
•Adjacent Cache Line Prefetch—This setting enables or disables prefetching of adjacent
cache lines from memory to the CPU cache. The default value is Disabled when booting
LabVIEW Real-Time and Enabled when booting other OSs. Enabling adjacent cache
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