NI released new NI-XNET CAN and FlexRay interfaces for PCI and PXI

[Paul M.]

Hi All, I'd like to let the community know that NI has released a completely new family of CAN and FlexRay interfaces for PCI and PXI. We are calling the new hardware, driver, and software assocaited with these boards NI-XNET. If you need fast round-trip message times, want simpler programming, are considering FlexRay, or are running into performance limits on Series 2 CAN, NI-XNET products are ideal for you.

An overview of the product line is found in this Developer Zone document:

• NI-XNET CAN and FlexRay Platform Overview

Feel free to post questions about the products here and we will do our best to answer!

[MeuhMeuh9360]

Hi

I know that the subject is a little bit older but I'm currently working on flexray communication with a PCI 8517/2. I have to drive a non-coldstart ECU and I see that is possible in the XNET specification :

• Test single ECU that is not coldstart: If you connect to a single ECU (and nothing else),
and that ECU is not a coldstart node, you must connect two NI-XNET interfaces. The
ECU cannot communicate without two coldstart nodes (two clocks). According to the
FlexRay specification, a single FlexRay interface can transmit only one startup frame.
Therefore, you need to connect two NI-XNET FlexRay interfaces to the ECU, and each
NI-XNET interface must transmit a different startup frame.

Each port contains 2 channels (A and B), what i suppose to do with those channels?

Can I use the channel B to synchronize the channel A? If not, why we have 2 channels by port?

[Gibson]

this is more a question why the FlexRay consortium introduced a 2 Channel communication.

You could use this feature for several use cases:

#1 enhance redundancy: transmit same information on both channels

#2 increase data throughput: transmit independent information on each channel

so in the end, it is more a question how the FlexRay network has been designed, which information may be critical (use higher redundancy Tx on Channel A AND B), which information needs more bandwidth (use Transmit independent inforamtion on A and B)

[MeuhMeuh9360]

Thanks for your answer,

I have seen this functionnality about bandwith or redundancy but i didn't understand that works with the two channels.