National Instruments VXI-USB Installing Your VXI-USB Interface Module, Connecting Cables

Chapter 2 Installation and Configuration

Installing Your VXI-USB Interface Module

All kits contain a VXI-USB interface module.

To install the VXI-USB in Slot 0 of your VXI chassis, complete the

following steps:

1. Power off the chassis.

2. Verify that the backplane connector is intact and that there are no bent

or missing pins on the module.

3. Insert the VXI-USB into the chassis in Slot 0, as shown in Figure 2-2.

4. Power on the chassis.

The VXI system controllers operate certain VXI lines as required for VXI

systems. Verify that any other VXI devices with system controller

capability that are 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 A16

address space. This region is reserved for VXI device configuration

registers, which are used for initializing, configuring, and interacting with

VXI devices. The VXI-USB 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 VXI-USB logical address, which you cannot change.

Connecting Cables

Connect the USB cable to a USB connection in your host PC and to the

VXI-USB, as shown in Figure 2-2. You can use any available USB port on

the PC for each device. The VXI-USB has two external ports for devices.

You can connect any other USB devices to any available port on a

VXI-USB, but for best performance, minimize the number of USB

devices/hubs in the system. Adding to the number of devices in the tree

degrades system performance.

Note Your VXI-USB controller is a Hi-Speed USB device, which means it performs much

faster when connected to a Hi-Speed USB port as described in the USB 2.0 specification.

USB 2.0 ports are often integrated on the motherboard of current computers. National

Instruments recommends using an integrated USB 2.0 port, if available, for optimal