Chapter 2 Installation and Configuration
VXI-1394 User Manual for Windows 2-6 ni.com
Installing Your VXI-1394 Interface Board
All kits contain a VXI-1394 interface module.
To install the VXI-1394 in Slot0 of your VXI chassis, complete the
following steps.
1. Power off the chassis.
2. Insert the VXI-1394 into the chassis in Slot 0, as shown in Figure 2-1.
3. Power on the chassis.
The VXI-1394 default configuration automatically detects whether it
should be the VXI system controller. The VXI system controllers operate
certain VXI lines asrequired for VXI systems. Verify that any other VXI
devices with system controller capability that are located in the same
chassis are not configured as system controller.
Caution Having more than one device configured as system controller can damage the
VXI system.
For VXI systems that include VME devices, ensure that the VME devices
are not configured in the upper 16 KB (starting from 0xC000) of the
A16address space. This region is reserved for VXI device configuration
registers, which are used for initializing, configuring, and interacting with
VXI devices. The VXI-1394 also uses this region for this purpose.
Note Also ensure that no VXI devices in your system are configured for logical address0.
This is the default configuration forthe VXI-1394.
Connecting Cables
Connect the IEEE1394 cable to the PCI-1394 host adapter and to the
VXI-1394, as shown in Figure2-1. You can use any available 1394 port for
each device. The VXI-1394 has three external ports. The OHCI 1394 host
adapter has three external ports.
You can connect any other 1394 devices to any available port on an existing
device, but for best results minimize the number of levels in the tree
topology. Adding to thenumber of levels in the tree degrades system
performance.
Caution Do not cable devices to your 1394 system in such a way as to form a loop. Any
device should have only one connection to the 1394 bus. An example of a loop would be a
system containing a PCI-1394, a VXI-1394, and a device connected to both. Such a closed
loop would break the 1394 system.