PXIe-1082 Lab Windows functions

[Ken-This-is-my-stinking-a]

I am working in Lab Windows (so please don't give me any Lab View answers),

I have a Lab Windows utility I support, and I am in the process of getting it working on the PXIe-1082. We are going to be controlling the PXIe with a MXIe (PXIe-8360) connected to a PC.

One thing I would like to do it check to see if the PXIe-1082 is connect (or am I running on a regular PC).

I have serached the forums and cannot find anything.

I can't even find any funcitons that can query the PXIe box to check something like cards in particular slots (I was thinking if I ould read if a card was present in a slot, then I might be able to use something like that to determine if I was running with the PXIe box!

[afrowizard]

Hi Ken,

Have you checked out this LabWindows/CVI PXI resource page:

http://www.ni.com/white-paper/14927/en/

That page mentions that we have examples built in for many types of measurements using a variety of card types, perhaps you could reference those for your type of measurement to make sure your code looks good.  What cards are you using and what type of measurement are you taking?

You could also install PXI Platform Services which will allow your PXI system to be recognized:

http://www.ni.com/download/pxi-platform-services-3.2.2/3835/en/

PXI Platform Services will automatically install NI Measurement & Automation Explorer (NI MAX) which is the interface you'll use to detect your hardware.  Here's a getting started guide for NI MAX:

http://www.ni.com/pdf/manuals/373737e.pdf

Good luck!

[Ken-This-is-my-stinking-a]

afrowizard,

Thanks for the reply.

I'm not trying to perform any operations with any type of card.

What I'm trying to do is determine if the code is running out of a PXI chassis, or just a PC.

I will look at the white paper you refer to.

I have Max installed, but that is not what I am looking for, I want my program that is running to determine the platform (PC or PXI chassis).

I will check back here after I look through the white paper and let you know what I have found.

Thanks

[afrowizard]

Hey Ken,

I found this page that discusses finding the DAQ devices connected to your system in both LabVIEW and LabWindows/CVI:

http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/FB06DD7676906A1786257632006F75BC?OpenDocument

Hope this helps!

[Ken-This-is-my-stinking-a]

No.

I'm not trying to communicate with any cards, I'm trying to read the PXIe chassis.

There is a PXIe (MXI Interface) which is connected to my laptop, if I can read SOMETHING from that, it would allow me to determine that I am connected to a PXIe chassis.

[afrowizard]

Hi Ken,

By using the document I linked before, you would be able to determine the form factor of the card you're communicating with, which would tell you if it is PXI, PXIe, PCI USB etc.  This would tell you if you are using a chassis or not.

[Ken-This-is-my-stinking-a]

If anything referenced above answers my question, I cannot find it in any of the links.

I have a PXI box with an embedded controller (PC with Windows 2000) that my software can run on, 

It can also be installed and run on a PXIe box, connected by a MXIExpress card with cable and smart card,

AND it can run on just a plan old PC with WinXP or Win 7.

So, when my utility starts running, I would like to read the PXIe box, not knowing what or if any cards are in the chassis, to find out if I am connected to the PXIe. Some sort of function that would return something like platform type NI_CHASSIS_PXIe (I made this up, but something like this would be great).

Or, something that would give me a hint that this was running a PXIe chassis or BOX.

I DON'T WANT TO READ THE CARDS IN THE CHASSIS.

I DON"T WANT TO OPEN NI MAX AND LOOK AT THE CONNECTED DEVICES WITH MY EYES.

I want my program, at runtime, to determine which of the three above it is running on.

THERE HAS TO BE A WAY TO DO THIS, I CANNOT FIND IT, AND ALL ANSWERS SEEM TO TAKE ME IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION, OR ARE SOMETHING FOR LabView, WHICH I HAVE ALREADY STARTED I AM NOT USING (and I am not familiar with LabView)!!!

Is there a way of doing this????

PS: I thought of one thing, NI Max reads stuff from my Chassis, and it gets that it is a PXIe with the NI PXIe 8360 controller card, and all the other cards that just happen to be in my chasis. That is the stuff I want to be able to do FROM MY LAB WINDOWS CVI UTILITY.

Thanks!

[afrowizard · Accepted solution]

Hello Ken,

If you have downloaded the NI System Configuration API:

http://www.ni.com/download/ni-system-configuration-5.5/4086/en/

You can run the CVI example " ShowAllHardware.prj."  From the example finder, it is located at "Hardware Input and Output-->System Configuration-->ShowAllHardware.prj."  If you run this project and choose "localhost" when it asks you to enter the Host Name, you'll get a list of all the devices connected to your machine.  One of them listed is the MXI express card you're using to connect to the chassis. 

Hopefully this will help you out a bit!

Happy Holidays!

[Ken-This-is-my-stinking-a]

Mason,

Thanks for this info.

I will look at this when I have the chance and let you know if it is what I'm looking for.

[Ken-This-is-my-stinking-a]

Mason,

I found this example before, and ran it, but I did not know what to enter for the target. I was running a bunch of different examples than, so I did not look closely at the code. This looks promising, so I will take this to the lab ane connect to my PXIe box, and see what it finds.

THanks