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PXIe-8106 SMBus Controller

Hello,

I am trying to determine if the PXIe-8106 Controller has a SMBus master onboard.  If it does, how do I access it?  Are there SMBus signals that pass through the rear connectors, or are they only on the front pannel?  Thanks
Message 1 of 6
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Howdy Ken,

Yes, the PXIe-8106 has an onboard SMB connector located on its front panel.

As additional piece of info—unlike our PXI-665x boards which have a maintained API and precise triggering properties, the PXI controller's SMB connector and routing circuitry is intended for Watchdog use, as opposed to signal/trigger routing.
Warm regards,

pBerg
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Message 2 of 6
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Howdy Ken,

Just out of curiosity, what does your application entail? I'd be interested to hear how you want to use the SMB trigger onboard the controller.

Let me know, thanks!
Warm regards,

pBerg
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Message 3 of 6
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What I was hoping for is that the rear connector, not the one on the front panel, would have SMBus connections and that the PXIe-8106 could be the SMBus master for the system I am working on.  Ideally, the PXIe-8106 would querry temperature sensors, etc., and hold results in registers/memory to be read by software.  I want to avoid designing my own SMBus master to be implemented in a FPGA because I have enough other work to do and my first draft attempt at a SMBus controller doesn't work very well 🙂


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Message 4 of 6
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Hi Ken,

I think in the previous replies there was some confusion between the SMBus controller on the 8106 and the SMB connector which is found on the front panel and can be used as a digital trigger for watch dog purposes.  If I understand correctly you are interested in the SMBus controller (2 wire serial interface).  While the 8106 does have such a controller I do not believe that the signals are routed to any connectors on the front or rear panels.  This controller is used to communicate with the PXIe chassis so that the chassis type can be identified by MAX.  The SMBus signals also route to the PXIexpress and Hybrid PXIe/PXI slots in the chassis so tha the controller could be used for sideband control and monitoring of a peripheral card in these slots. 

It would be potentially possible for you to design a PXI module that breaks these signals out to a connector but there are many reasons not to do so.  I do not believe that there is currently a public software interface to access the SMBus controller.  Additionally there would be no protection for these signals from harmful voltages they may be exposed to outside of the chassis, and th signals may no even match the voltage levels you want to use.

I think your best bet might be to consider a board like the USB-8451 which offers SMBus capabilities and a fully supported programming API.

Hope this helps!

-Matt

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Message 5 of 6
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Working link to the NI USB-8451 I2C/SPI Interface

-B2k


Message Edited by biker2000 on 04-24-2008 07:55 AM
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Message 6 of 6
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