National Instruments PXIe-8840 Quad-Core User manual
USER MANUAL
NI PXIe-8840 Quad-Core
This document provides reference information for PXI Express and the
NI PXIe-8840 Quad-Core embedded controller.
Contents
Related Documentation ............................................................................................................2
PXI Express Features................................................................................................................ 2
Benefits of PXI Express....................................................................................................2
NI PXIe-8840 Quad-Core......................................................................................................... 3
Description........................................................................................................................ 3
Functional Overview.........................................................................................................3
National Instruments Software..................................................................................................5
Configuration............................................................................................................................ 6
BIOS Setup Utility............................................................................................................ 6
BIOS Diagnostic Utilities............................................................................................... 17
System CMOS.................................................................................................................17
ExpressCard.................................................................................................................... 18
Boot Options................................................................................................................... 19
Hard Drive Recovery...................................................................................................... 19
Upgrade Information.......................................................................................................20
Installing an OS...............................................................................................................21
Specifications.......................................................................................................................... 21
Features........................................................................................................................... 22
Front Panel Dimensions.................................................................................................. 23
Electrical......................................................................................................................... 24
Physical........................................................................................................................... 24
Environmental.................................................................................................................24
Shock and Vibration........................................................................................................25
Safety.............................................................................................................................. 26
I/O Information....................................................................................................................... 27
DisplayPort......................................................................................................................27
COM1..............................................................................................................................29
Ethernet........................................................................................................................... 30
Universal Serial Bus........................................................................................................31
Trigger.............................................................................................................................33
GPIB (IEEE 488.2)......................................................................................................... 34
ExpressCard/34 Slot........................................................................................................35
Worldwide Support and Services............................................................................................ 37
Related Documentation
The following documents contain information you may find helpful as you read this manual:
•PICMG EXP.0 R2.0 CompactPCI Express Specification, PCI Industrial Computers
Manufacturers Group
• IEEE Standard P1284.1-1997 (C/MM) Standard for Information Technology for
Transport Independent Printer/System Interface
•PCI Express Base Specification, PCI Special Interest Group
•PXI-5 PXI Express Hardware Specification, PXI Systems Alliance
•PXI-6 PXI Express Software Specification, PXI Systems Alliance
•Serialized IRQ Support for PCI Systems Specification, Compaq Computer et al.
•ExpressCard Standard, PCMCIA
PXI Express Features
Benefits of PXI Express
The PXI (PCI eXtensions for Instrumentation) industry standard, an open specification
governed by the PXI Systems Alliance (PXISA), has quickly gained adoption and grown in
prevalence in test, measurement, and control systems since its release in 1998. One of the key
elements driving the rapid adoption of PXI is its use of PCI in the communication backplane.
As the commercial PC industry has improved the available bus bandwidth by evolving PCI to
PCI Express, PXI is now able to meet even more application needs by integrating PCI Express
into the PXI standard. By taking advantage of PCI Express technology in the backplane, PXI
Express increases the available PXI bandwidth from up to 132 MB/s to up to 8 GB/s for a
more than 60x improvement in bandwidth.
PXI Express maximizes both hardware and software compatibility with PXI modules. PXI
Express hybrid slots deliver both PCI and PCI Express signaling to accept devices that use
PXI communication and triggering or the newer PXI Express standard. Software compatibility
is maintained because PCI Express uses the same OS and driver model as PCI, resulting in
complete software compatibility among PCI-based systems, for example PXI, and PCI
Express-based systems such as PXI Express.
PXI Express, like PXI, leverages from the CompactPCI specification to define a rugged,
modular form factor that offers superior mechanical integrity and easy installation and removal
of hardware components. PXI Express products offer higher and more carefully defined levels
of environmental performance required by the shock, vibration, temperature, and humidity
extremes of industrial environments. Mandatory environmental testing and active cooling is
added to the CompactPCI mechanical specification to ease system integration and ensure
multivendor interoperability.
2| ni.com | NI PXIe-8840 Quad-Core User Manual
The demanding timing and synchronization requirements of instrumentation systems are met
by the integrated features of PXI Express. Not only are the trigger bus, 10 MHz system
reference clock, and star trigger bus available in PXI retained by PXI Express, but new timing
and synchronization features that include a 100 MHz differential system reference clock for
the synchronization of multiple modules and three differential star trigger buses for the
distribution of precise clock and trigger signals have been added. Differential timing and
synchronization signals provide PXI Express systems with increased noise immunity and the
ability to transmit clock signals at higher frequencies.
NI PXIe-8840 Quad-Core
Description
The NI PXIe-8840 Quad-Core PXI Express/CompactPCI Express embedded controller is a
high-performance PXI Express/CompactPCI Express-compatible system controller. The
NI PXIe-8840 Quad-Core controller integrates standard I/O features in a single unit by using
state-of-the-art packaging. Combining an NI PXIe-8840 Quad-Core embedded controller with
a PXI Express-compatible chassis, such as the NI PXIe-1085, results in a fully PC-compatible
computer in a compact, rugged package.
The NI PXIe-8840 Quad-Core has an Intel® Core™ i7 5700EQ processor (2.6 GHz quad-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 slot1.
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 PXIe-8840 Quad-Core is a modular PC in a PXI Express 3U-size form factor. The
following figure is a functional block diagram of the NI PXIe-8840 Quad-Core. Following the
diagram is a description of each logic block shown.
1Available on the NI PXIe-8840 Quad-Core ExpressCard variant only.
NI PXIe-8840 Quad-Core User Manual | © National Instruments | 3
Figure 1. NI PXIe-8840 Quad-Core Block Diagram
Intel
8 Series
PCH
Processor
Intel Core
i7
SO-DIMM
DDR3L SDRAM
PC3 12800
DisplayPort
Memory Bus Ch. A
ExpressCard/34 Slot
(ExpressCard
Variant Only)
x1 PCIE
USB
USB 2.0 x4
SATA
Hard Disk
FLASH
Watchdog
Trigger SMB
Connector
UART COM1
x8
PXI
Triggers
GPIB
Controller
GPIB
Connector
USB 2.0 x4
Intel I217-LM
Gigabit
PHY
RJ45
Port 1
SATA
x4 DMI2
x4 DDI
LPC
PCI Express
Switch
PXI
Express 4x4
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 PXIe-8840 Quad-Core consists of the following logic blocks on two circuit card
assemblies (CCAs):
• The processor is an Intel® Core™ i7 5700EQ processor (6 MB Cache, 2.6 GHz). The
processor connects to the SO-DIMM block through the DDR3L interface supporting up
to 1600 MHz SO-DIMMs and 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 PXIe-8840 Quad-Core, and the PCI Express interface to the PXI Express
backplane through a PCI Express switch.
• The Platform Controller Hub (PCH) provides the USB, PCI Express x1, and LPC
interfaces that connect to the peripherals on the NI PXIe-8840 Quad-Core.
• 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.
4| ni.com | NI PXIe-8840 Quad-Core User Manual
• The ExpressCard/34 slot accommodates an ExpressCard/34 module.
• The Ethernet Port 1 block consists of an Intel® I217-LM 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 Express Connectors connect the NI PXIe-8840 Quad-Core to the PXI Express/
CompactPCI Express backplane.
National Instruments Software
National Instruments has developed several software tools you can use with the
NI PXIe-8840 Quad-Core.
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,
NI PXIe-8840 Quad-Core User Manual | © National Instruments | 5
counter/timer operations, SCXI signal conditioning, RTSI or PXI synchronization, self-
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 PXIe-8840 Quad-Core 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 PXIe-8840 Quad-Core
controller features.
Most users do not need to use the BIOS setup program, as the NI PXIe-8840 Quad-Core
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
6| ni.com | NI PXIe-8840 Quad-Core User Manual
restoring default settings in the System CMOS section. In general, do not change a
setting unless you are absolutely certain what it does.
Accessing BIOS Setup Utility
1. Power on or restart your NI PXIe-8840 Quad-Core 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 PXIe-8840 Quad-Core 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 PXIe-8840 Quad-Core controller, the
processor speed, and the maximum number of processor cores.
•Total Memory—This value indicates the system RAM size the BIOS detects.
•PXIe Chassis Information—These values indicate the overall chassis link configuration,
the link width of each link, and the link speed of each link.
NI PXIe-8840 Quad-Core User Manual | © National Instruments | 7
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 Configuration2—Use this setting to access the ExpressCard
Configuration submenu. Refer to the ExpressCard Configuration Submenu section for
more information.
•PCI Configuration—Use this setting to access the PCI Configuration submenu. Refer
to the PCI Configuration Submenu section for more information.
•AMT Configuration—Use this setting to access the AMT Configuration submenu.
Refer to the AMT 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.
2Available on the NI PXIe-8840 Quad-Core ExpressCard variant only.
8| ni.com | NI PXIe-8840 Quad-Core User Manual
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
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, 2, 3 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.
NI PXIe-8840 Quad-Core User Manual | © National Instruments | 9
•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
line prefetching can increase system performance for some applications, but can cause
control algorithms to behave less deterministically.
Video Configuration Submenu
Use this submenu to apply alternate settings to the video configuration. Normally, you do not
need to modify these settings, as the factory default settings provide the most compatible and
optimal configuration possible.
•Primary Display—This setting specifies which video adapter the BIOS should use as the
primary adapter if more than one is present. To use an external video adapter as the
primary graphics adapter, choose Add-in Board Video. The default value is Onboard
Video.
Power/Wake Configuration Submenu
Use this submenu to apply alternate configurations to the power and wake features of the
chipset and controller. Normally, you do not need to modify these settings, as the factory
default settings provide the most compatible and optimal configuration possible.
•Restore After Power Loss—This setting specifies the power state that the controller
should return to after AC power is lost. Valid values are Stay Off and Turn On. The
default is Stay Off. When set to Stay Off, the controller returns to the soft off power state
after AC power is restored. When set to Turn On, the controller powers on when AC
power is restored.
•Power Button Off Behavior—This setting specifies how the PXI Express power button
should behave. Valid options are Normal and Disabled. The default value is Normal.
When set to Normal, the OS controls the power button. When set to Disabled, pressing
the power button has no effect. The Disabled option should be used only in conjunction
with the PXI Express chassis’ inhibit mode switch.
•ExpressCard WAKE#3—This setting enables or disables an ExpressCard device’s
ability to wake a soft off system. The default value is Disabled.
•PXIe Backplane WAKE#—This setting enables or disables a PXI Express peripheral
module’s ability to wake a soft off system. The default value is Disabled.
•SMBus ALERT#—This setting enables or disables a System Management device’s
ability to wake a soft off system by asserting the ALERT# signal. The default value is
Disabled.
3Available on the NI PXIe-8840 Quad-Core ExpressCard variant only.
10 | ni.com | NI PXIe-8840 Quad-Core User Manual
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