National Instruments PCI-8330 MXI-3 Interface Board

The PCI 8330 (Part number: 777944-01) is part of the MXI-3 innovation master/slave framework actualizing the PCI-PCI connect enroll set. It couples two physically isolate buses with either a copper or fiber-optic cable equipped for 1.5 Gbit/s serial information rates.  It is possible to utilize MXI-3 to control PCI gadgets on up to 255 buses from any PCI-based framework, as long as the BIOS will support such a setup. The user can utilize either a daisy-chain or a star setup, with the greatest bus-to-bus separation of 10 meters (copper link) or 200 meters (fiber-optic link). Since the MXI-3 framework is a PCI-PCI connect, all gadgets on the framework show up as nearby gadgets in a solitary PCI framework. The user does not have to revamp their gadget drivers for tasks on an MXI-3 framework.  

MXI-3 supports and retimes the signals between the buses, keeping up the tight planning and superior PCI requires. The NI PCI 8330 incorporates a setup program for Microsoft Windows working frameworks. The setup program works in a similar way for Windows 2000/NT4/9x. Clients of other working frameworks can disregard this segment. On the opposite side of the framework, the MXI-3 Interface Board gets the information, utilizing rapid photodetectors to change over light signals back to advanced information for the situation where a fiber-optic MXI-3 is utilized. A serial to parallel converter then changes over the advanced serial information to the first 20-bit wide information for the MXI-3 ASIC. MXI-3 then reproduces the PCI exchange with fitting alterations. The device has a maximum of 254 links, a data transfer rate of 132 Mbytes/s at peak performance, and 84 Mbytes per second at sustained performance.

The NI device weighs 0.33 lb, and measures 4.2 x 6.9 in. in physical dimensions. It has a recommended operating temperature range of 0 to 50 °C, a storage temperature range of –20 to 70 °C, a non-condensing operating and storage humidity range of 10 to 90% and 5 to 95% respectively.

PCI-8330 Obsolete Status has been announced by National Instruments, but will still be available for purchase and repairs by Apex Waves.