I am currently working on a real-time PXI system where the PXI setup serves as the EtherCAT master. Within this setup, I have several EtherCAT slave machines. Additionally, the PXI system incorporates various data acquisition cards, including models like 4339 and 6355. My primary objective is to synchronize the data acquired by these PXI cards with the data generated or processed by the EtherCAT slaves.
Given the nature of my setup, I am exploring synchronization techniques, particularly leveraging Precision Time Protocol (PTP). However, I'm unsure about the specific implementation details and whether PTP can effectively synchronize the PXI data acquisition cards with the EtherCAT slaves.
Could someone provide insights into the following:
- Strategies or methodologies for synchronizing the data acquisition process of PXI cards with EtherCAT slaves?
- How can PTP be integrated into this setup to achieve synchronization effectively?
- Any recommended formats or protocols for combining PTP with EtherCAT communication within a real-time PXI environment?
- Practical considerations or challenges that I should be aware of when implementing synchronization between PXI data acquisition cards and EtherCAT slaves using PTP?
- Are there any existing tools, libraries, or frameworks that streamline the integration of PTP synchronization in a PXI-EtherCAT system?
Any guidance, recommendations, or experiences shared would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
