Chapter 4 Common Configuration Questions
NI PXI-8183 User Manual 4-6 ni.com
Basic PXI System Configuration1. Launch MAX.
2. In the Configuration tree, click the Devices and Interfaces branch to
expand it.
3. If the PXI system controller has not yet been configured, it is labeled
PXI System (Unidentified). Right-click this entry to display the
pop-up menu, then select the appropriate controller model from the
Identify As submenu.
4. Click the PXI System controller. The chassis (or multiple chassis, in a
multichassis configuration) is listed below it. Identify each chassis by
right-clicking its entry, then selecting the appropriate chassis model
through the Identify As submenu. Further expanding the PXI System
branch shows all devices in the system that can be recognized by
NI-VISA. When your controller and all your chassis are identified, the
required pxisys.ini file is complete.
The PXI specification allows many combinations of PXI chassis and
system modules. To assist system integrators, the manufacturers of
PXI chassis and system modules must document the capabilities of their
products. The minimum documentation requirements are contained in
.ini files, which consist of ASCII text. System integrators, configuration
utilities, and device drivers can use these .ini files.
The capability documentation for the chassis is contained in a
chassis.ini file provided by the chassis manufacturer. The information
in this file is combined with information about the system controller to
create a single system initialization file called pxisys.ini (PXI System
Initialization). The NI PXI-8183 uses MAX to generate the pxisys.ini
file from the chassis.ini fil e.
Device drivers and other utility software read the pxisys.ini file to
obtain system information. For detailed information regarding initialization
files, refer to the PXI specification at www.pxisa.org.