© National Instruments Corporation | 1-3
MXI-Express x1 Series User Manual
Note For full PXI/PXI Express functionality such as chassis and controller
identification, trigger routing, and slot detection, install the PXI Platform Services
software included with your kit. This software also can be found at
ni.com/
updates
by searching for PXI Platform Services.
The link between the PC and the chassis is a x1 cabled PCI Express link. This link is a
dual-simplex communication channel comprised of a low-voltage, differentially driven signal
pair. The link can transmit at a rate of 2.5 Gbps in each direction simultaneously. This port is not
compatible with the cabled PCI Express specification developed by the PCI-SIG.
The BIOS of some host machines may not support the extension of the PCI-Express fabric or
PCI bus. Since this is the primary function of MXI-Express x1 products, those systems may not
boot or function correctly. To address this issue, certain MXI-Express x1 products have
additional functionality intended to hide all PCI or PCI-Express resources that are connected to
the host machine, and allow NI MXI-Express BIOS Compatibility Software to handle the
enumeration process of these resources instead of the BIOS.
In the cases where this software is required, there may be a dip switch on the board that needs to
be toggled as instructed by the documentation for the software. The functional block diagrams
in this chapter illustrate the locations and availability of the dip switch package. Only the first
dip switch in the package is used for this purpose. The other switches serve no function and
should be left in their default position
1
.
Note Unless NI MXI-Express BIOS Compatibility Software is installed on the host
machine for use, the BIOS Compat Mode dip switch (switch 1) should remain in the
off position. If this mode is enabled on a MXI-Express x1 product in a host machine
that does not have the software installed, the connected devices will not be detected
by the operating system.
The ExpressCard-8360 (198266x-01L only) also includes support for NI MXI-Express BIOS
Compatibility Software, but the support is toggled using the software instead of a physical dip
switch. The software is required to check whether the function is enabled.
For more information on host system compatibility with MXI-Express x1 products, refer to the
NI Developer Zone document Tips to Help You Successfully Use MXI-Express Controllers at
ni.com/zone.
1
On certain legacy MXI-Express x1 products that contain the dip switch package, the secondary switches
may serve a reserved purpose.
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