Controlling and communicating with PXIe-8821 with external PC, precise timing

[chadt]

Hi all,

I have a PXIe chassis with internal chassis controller and an analog input module (controller: PXIe-8821, AI module: PXIe-4302 with TB4302).

I need to trigger data collection digitally, collect and store the data on the 8821, then transfer the data back to the remote PC. The timing needs to be precise, better than 1ms. I have three questions:
1) Can I trigger the PXIe-8821 digitally? There is a 'trig' input on the front panel but the user manual is vague about how this trigger works. It refers the reader to the 'quick start guide' for more information, but there is no more information in the guide.

2) If I can't trigger the data acquisition digitally, how bad is the timing precision with software triggers?

3) I want to communicate with the PXIe system over a local network. The data acquisition will have start and stop triggers, and once the stop trigger is received I would like to send the data collected to the remote PC. Are there any examples of doing something like this I can look at? I am relatively new to LabView, Network communications and TCP/IP protocols. I have read through the TCP/IP documentation but I'm unsure how to put it all together. I've poured through the forum and the examples but haven't found anything useful yet. Can anyone help me by providing an overview or some examples of how I should put this together?
Thanks!

[crossrulz · Accepted solution]

There should be a PFI line on your DAQ that can be used as a trigger.  Do you actually want your digital pulse to go there.  You just have to make sure it is configured to acquire  on that trigger first.  But this will eliminate your timing issues.