© National Instruments Corporation 2-1 NI-DNET User Manual
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NI-DNET Hardware Overview

Types of Hardware

The National Instruments DeviceNet hardware includes the PCI-CAN,
PXI-8461, and PCMCIA-CAN.
The PCI-CAN is software configurable and compliant with the PCI Local
Bus Specification. It features the National Instruments MITE bus interface
chip that connects the card to the PCI I/O bus. With a PCI-CAN, you can
make your PC-compatible computer with PCI Local Bus slots
communicate with and control DeviceNet devices.
The PXI-8461 is software configurable and compliant with the PXI
Specification and CompactPCI Specification. It features the National
Instruments MITE bus interface chip that connects the card to the PXI or
CompactPCI I/O bus. With a PXI-8461 card, you can make your PXI or
CompactPCI chassis communicate with and control DeviceNet devices.
PCMCIA-CAN hardware is a 16-bit, Type II PC Card that is software
configurable and compliant with the PCMCIA standards for 16-bit PC
cards. With a PCMCIA-CAN card, you can make your PC-compatible
notebook with PCMCIA slots communicate with and control DeviceNet
devices.
The PCI-CAN, PXI-8461, or PCMCIA-CAN in your DeviceNet kit is fully
compliant with the DeviceNet Specification.
All of the DeviceNet hardware uses the Intel 386EX embedded processor
to implement time-critical features provided by the NI-DNET software.
The cards communicate with the NI-DNET driver through on-board shared
memory and an interrupt.
The DeviceNet physical communication link protocol is based on the
Controller Area Network (CAN) protocol. The physical layers of the
PCI-CAN, PXI-8461, and PCMCIA-CAN fully conform to the DeviceNet
physical layer requirements. The physical layer is optically isolated to
500 V and is powered from the DeviceNet bus power supply. DeviceNet
interfacing is accomplished using the Intel 82527 CAN controller chip.