Modular Instrumentation Technology Overview
Outline Overview of the PXI Platform PCI & PXI Express The Future of RF Leveraging Modular Instrumentation Mixed signal test Streaming RF Streaming Demo Summary
Platform For Software Defined Test GSM Tester WLAN Tester All in one PXI Platform! Spectrum Radio Tester Power Meter Multi- Protocol UUT RFID Tester Images courtesy of Agilent, Tektronix, R&S, Anritsu
PXI Combines Standard Technologies PXI controller OS Technology ADEs Chassis PXI backplane Bus Technology Timing Synchronization Peripheral Slots
Multiple Configurations for Different Applications Benchtop Rack-Mount Portable / Embedded Design Validation Manufacturing Test Repair Depot Test Hardware-In-the-Loop Manufacturing Test Mechanical/Structural Test Machine Monitoring & Control Environmental Control & Data Logging In-Vehicle Systems Data Acquisition / Control Systems Rapid Control Prototyping System Monitoring Preventative Maintenance
Standardization on PXI PXI System Sales Unit Forecast Number of Systems Per Year 35,000 30,000 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 Actual Forecast 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 1400 1200 25% CAGR forecast for 2005 2011 Source: World VXI & PXI Test Equipment Markets, Frost & Sullivan, April 2005 Available PXI Products 1000 800 More than 1,500 PXI Products and Growing 600 400 200 0 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Source: PXI Systems Alliance
Timing and Synchronization Features of PXI PXI Trigger Bus 8 TTL Trigger, Clock, and Handshaking Signals System Reference Clock 10 MHz TTL or 100 MHz Differential Phase Lock Looping Equal-Length Traces (< 200 ps skew) Star Trigger Differential 3 per module Equal-Length Traces (< 150 ps Skew)
Instrumentation Architecture Leveraging Advanced Timing and Synchronization PXI_CLK10 SMC (Synchronization and Memory Core) PXI_StarTrig PXI_Trig(0:7) PXI Bus Timing and Synchronization Engine Deep Onboard Memory DataStream FPGA Analog or Digital Front-End PCI Bus NI MITE PCI Interface Data Movement Core Benefits of SMC Architecture Common use/features Quickly deploy new ADCs, DACs Scalability across bus technologies
PCI & PXI Express Overview Serial interconnect at 2.5 Gbits/s PCI transactions are packetized and then serialized Low-voltage differential signaling, point-to-point, 8B/10B encoded x1 (by 1) has bandwidth of 250 Mbytes/s/direction x16 (by 16) has bandwidth of 4 Gbytes/s/direction 100 MHz differential clock, differential triggering Roadmap for longevity with Gen-2 clocking (5 Gbits/s)
Long-term Compatibility with PCI and PCI Express Technology High data throughput (>4.0 GB/s) Enhanced Timing and Synchronization Backwards compatibility Complete software compatibility Hybrid slot supports either PCI or PCI Express signaling in a single slot Solutions to new applications High bandwidth communications High-speed digital signaling High-speed imaging
Bandwidth vs. Latency Increasing (Improving) Bandwidth Max Bandwidth (MB/s) 10000 1000 100 10 Good Better Best PCI/PXI (32/33) Gigabit Ethernet USB 2.0 IEEE 1394a Fast Ethernet VME/VXI GPIB (HS 488) USB 1.1 GPIB (488.1) 1 10000 1000 100 10 1 0.1 Approximate Latency (µs) PCI Express (x4) Decreasing (Improving) Latency
National Instruments PXI RF Platform NI PXI-566x RF Vector Signal Analyzer NI PXI-567x RF Vector Signal Generators NI PXI-565x RF Signal Generators NI PXI-5690 RF Preamplifier NI PXI RF Switches to 26.5 GHz LabVIEW & LabWindows/CVI Modulation Toolkit LabVIEW & LabWindows/CVI Spectral Measurements Toolkit
Modular Instrumentation for RF Signal Generation NI PXI-5671 2.7 GHz Vector Signal Generator with Digital Upconversion Measurement Performance 250 khz to 2.7 GHz 20 MHz real-time bandwidth -145 to +10 dbm power level Flexible Modulation Software ASK, FSK, MSK, GMSK, PSK, QPSK, /4 DQPSK, QAM, AM, FM, PM, OFDM, Custom Deep Onboard Memory 32, 256, and 512 MB memory options
Modular Instrumentation for RF Signal Analysis NI PXI-5661 2.7 GHz Vector Signal Analyzer Measurement Performance 9 khz to 2.7 GHz 20 MHz real-time bandwidth 80 db SFDR 50 ppb frequency accuracy -135dBm/Hz noise density (< 1GHz) Modulation and Analysis Tools Features Power 20 MHz wideband DDC Hardware Equalization I/Q offset and gain compensation I/Q Power Triggering Continuous Data Streaming Trigger Zone Frequency 2.35 GHz 2.55 GHz
NI Modular Instrumentation for Mixed Signal Testing Digital Test Voltage, Current, Resistance and Power Signal Generation Dynamic Signal Acquisition High Speed Digitizing Switching Programmable Power Supply
Tightly Coupled Instrumentation Instrumentation Analog Output DC, AC Audio, Video IF, RF Device Under Test ADCs DACs Embedded Processor Instrumentation Analog Input DC, AC Audio, Video IF, RF Digital Output Serial Parallel RF Logic/ Memory Power Peripheral Interfaces Digital Input Serial Parallel System Switching, Clocking and Triggering
Example: RF Tuner RF Input RF signal with modulated video & audio signal Baseband Output Demodulated video & audio signal from RF Digital Input Digital patterns to control tuner
PXI Based Solution RF Signal Generator Dynamic Signal Analyzer High Speed Digitizer High Speed Digital I/O
RF Streaming Applications Drive/field testing to lab environment Signal intelligence/government Capturing/generating large waveforms Device emulation RADAR Tuner Test
High Data Throughput - RF Streaming Save expense for field experiments Travel & Time Accelerate design & validation to get product out of door faster Characterize signal anomalies Better than just peak averaging and limited time captures Understand patterns of signals in spectrum or modulation Provide long term testing for enhanced robustness of products How does your product behave over extended periods of time? Simulate continual channel interference from multiple sources Real-world simulation of non-repetitive & real data
Streaming to/from PXI Controller Hard Drives Front-Side Bus CPU North Bridge Controller Memory Bus Chassis RAID South Bridge ATA PCI Bus PCI Bridge
Hard Drive Streaming Performance Outer Rim vs. Inner Rim 62 MB/s at outer rim; 36 MB/s at inner rim Windows allocates from outer rim inward
Streaming Rates Required by NI RF Platform 100 MB/s RF acquisition streams at a rate of 25 MS/s 100 MB/s RF generation currently streams at a rate of 8.33 MS/s 33.33 MB/s. Conventional single disk systems cannot handle this much throughput
Introduction to RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) RAID-0 Striping without redundancy Improved speed Normal system reliability Transparently supported by Windows Make RAID-0 stripe size as large as possible
PXI RAID-0 Configurations Current Solutions Desktop PC with RAID controller PXI-8351 rackmount 1U controller Orderable 2-drive RAID-0 configuration Challenge is that MXI controller is limited on bandwidth across PCI bus Embedded controller with esata ExpressCard and external hard drive enclosure The RAID controller can be on the ExpressCard or in the external enclosure
Demo Streaming FM Band to and from Disk NI PXI-5661 and PXI-5671 for record and playback of RF data 4-drive Addonics with integrated port multiplier (RAID controller on the ExpressCard) to store data on disk 120 MB/s write to disk; 123 MB/s read from disk (no instrument I/O) Rates supported on entire array
Need More Bandwidth? Multiple RF analyzers and/or generators in a single system High-speed IF products that require 400 MB/s streaming throughput or more PXI Express Data Streaming Architecture
PXI & PXI Express Streaming Benchmarks Hare Drive(s) Rate(s) (MB/s) write/read PXI: 2.5 PATA 30 (Fujitsu 40 GB, 5400 RPM) 3.5 SATA 70 (Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250 GB, 7200 RPM) 4 RAID-0 120 / 123 (PXI ExpressCard to esata) PXI Express: 4 RAID-0 243 / 240 (PCIe x4 HighPoint RocketRAID 2320) 12 RAID-0 600+ / 700+ (PCIe x8 (as x4) with RocketRAID 2340) Hard drive streaming only no instrument I/O
PXI Express Streaming Options Good PXIe-8351 with RAID-0 -OR- x1 cabled PCI Express ExpressCard External RAID-0 hard drive array (4 drives) Bandwidth > 100 MB/s Better x4 cabled PCI Express PXI Express module External RAID-0 hard drive array (up to 12 drives) Bandwidth 400-600 MB/s Best Conduant StreamStor PXIe-416 Bandwidth > 600 MB/s
Summary Commercial technology is shaping the future of test and measurement PXI and PXI Express deliver a modular, software-based instrument architecture PXI and PXI Express, are the ideal platform for future mixed signal automated test systems that save cost, space and test time High-speed RF recording & playback is a key differentiator for the PXI/PXI Express platform