Mesh network with PXI-8106 controller and PXI-8367 module

[Peter_Chang]

Hi,

I have a master controller (PXI-8106) and would like to create a data acquisition network with controllers located at two other locations located 200 meters away. I would like to use the PXI-8367 fiber optic module to acomplish this, but instead of using a star topology, I'd like to make a mesh network to eliminate single point failures in the fiber connection.

Is this possible with the PXI-8367 modules? 

Thanks,

Peter

[Aaron O]

Peter,

Thank you for posting. I would take a look at the following article. It shows the extensive options for configuring multiple chassis with MXI.

MXI Controllers for PXI System Expansion: Expansion Options for PXI and PXI Express Chassis

You are not going to be able to create a mesh network of chassis. You have three options I can think of:

1. Daisy chain together chassis using MXI expansion cards. This has the advantage of only needing one MXI card in the "Master" machine. It has the disadvantage where if a chassis fails in the chain, you will lose connections to the other chassis that are chained on to that chassis.

2. Use multiple MXI cards in the "Master" machine to connect to multiple chassis. This way you can maintain connections even if one chassis fails.

3. Connect the chassis and use remote desktops to connect to the chassis. If you need synchronized data, then you can use signal or time-based synchronization to correlate data that you are acquiring. If you want more information on synchronization, let me know.

Regards,

Aaron