What are the fieldpoint basics? Have I understood correctly?

[shoneill]

Sorry for being a complete newcomer on this subject.

I've got a bit of distributed I/O in a lab at work, and instead of cabling up PCI devices centrally from all over the room, I've begun thinking that a networked approach would be better. Of course I know of "Fieldpoint" as a topic within NI, but I've no experience of it whatsoever.

Am I correct in assuming that.....

Fieldpoint is a network-based distributed I/O architecture (Ethernet)?
Fieldbus is the communication protocoll used to communicate with Fielpoint controllers?
I need "LV Realtime" to be able to use Fieldpoint?
The individual host-controllers can be accessed from anywhere on the ethernet network?

How does Fieldpoint compare to a USB-based VXI or PXI solution. Aside from the USB/Ethernet differences which is clear to me. Which is easier to expand? Which is more flexible?

Sorry for the newcomer questions, but everyon's got to start somewhere.....

Thanks

Shane.

[Aaron_G]

Am I correct in assuming that.....
FieldPoint is a network-based distributed I/O architecture (Ethernet)?
Yes, FieldPoint is a distributed I/O architecture. It can be ethernet, serial (RS-232 or RS-485), CAN, or FieldBus based.

FieldBus is the communication protocol used to communicate with FieldPoint controllers?
No. The serial controllers use the Optomux protocol. The ethernet controllers use a custom protocol developed by National Instruments. The Fieldbus and CAN controllers use FieldBus and CAN messaging protocols, respectively.

I need "LV Realtime" to be able to use FieldPoint?
No. You can use FieldPoint modules over a network without LabVIEW Real-Time. To embed programs within the [c]FP-2xxx series of RT controllers, you will need LabVIEW RT.

The individual host-controllers can be accessed from anywhere on the ethernet network?
For the ethernet based controllers, assuming you have not enabled security, you can access them from anywhere on the same subnet. If you are on a different subnet, you will need to know the IP Address in advance to acquire data from them.

How does FieldPoint compare to a USB-based VXI or PXI solution. Aside from the USB/Ethernet differences which is clear to me. Which is easier to expand? Which is more flexible?
Generally speaking, FieldPoint is slower, but has better isolation and is more rugged. Additionally, FieldPoint is better as a mix and match system, but does not have the breadth of offerings of VXI/PXI. Furthermore, FieldPoint as an I/O system and not a DAQ system, does not offer deterministic sampling, triggering, or synchronization.

Regards,
Aaron

[scubadude]

I've had my FieldPoint system for just under a year and we purchased it for some of the same reasons you're thinking about it.

Here's what I know so far...

-FP IS a network based distributed I/O system
-I believe Fieldbus is an Allen-Bradley thing. I've never seen NI mention it, but that doesn't mean its not running underneath somewhere.
-You do NOT need LV Realtime. I'm using regular LV. You CAN use Realtime if you get a controller that can store the program and run it. (more expensive)
-I can see my FP bus from anywhere on my network. This is one of the nice things about it. If you're going to make a distributed network I/O this can be nice because you can access all the FP buses even though they may not be located close to your controlling computer.

We went with FP vs. VXI/PXI just so we could expand easier. FP also has a lot of signal filtering built in. It seemed to us a much easier system to use. We had been using a DAQ board and it was a pain when you wanted to measure 4-20mA. FP can switch from Volts to mA in software.

Also, I would HIGHLY recomend upgrading to LV 7.0 minumum. It has Express VIs that allow you to read or write with one icon (subvi). In LV 6.1 you need about 6 subvis and its a real pain. I told my boss I wouldn't install it without LV 7.