Thunderbolt 3 PXI chassis interface

[Cranky]

It seems that the ExpressCard format is no longer offered on Dell laptops available through my employer. I currently use the Expresscard MXI kit to connect to a PXI-1042 chassis. There is not currently a single-solution product on the market for connecting Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C connector) to either an ExpressCard or PCIe slot. There are Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 1&2 adapters, and a thunderbolt to ExpressCard34 adapter. There are also Thunderbolt 2 to PCIe external enclosures, but they are significantly more expensive than the ExpressCard adapter, and not available in Thunderbolt 3 as of this posting.

Using two adapters seems like a kludge at best, and an untenable mess of signal latencies at worst.

https://secure1.sonnettech.com/product_info.php?cPath=139_140&products_id=392&osCsid=ed838f9d723d8e7...

https://www.startech.com/Cables/thunderbolt-3-cables/thunderbolt-3-usb-c-thunderbolt-adapter~TBT3TBT...

So the question is, what is NI doing to address the needs of their customers? Laptops are probably the minority of usage cases, but it's still a very real need for those of us that still fall into that case. There was little if any response to the request for native Thunderbolt 1 or 2 support, but expresscard was still a potential workaround.

[SSPTest]

Hi Cranky,

The PXI and PXIe systems were designed with industrial standalone computers or rack mounted computers in mind. We developed the ExpressCard as a work around for those few cases where our customers are using laptops. The ExpressCard is the only option for those cases at this time. 

[Cranky]

I know that I'm in the extreme minority here, but just like PCMCIA was replaced with ExpressCard, there should be some plan to support the next generation interface. Maybe it's just not ready for a press release? Thunderbolt 3 is on the bleeding edge of new tech, so there may also be some hesitation to jump on the latest-and-greatest peripheral interconnect bandwagon for such a small target demographic as well.

Thanks for your feedback.

[Ryan_Smith]

Cranky,

I can confirm that the kludge configuration you listed does indeed work.  Like you, we are facing the obsolescence of the ExpressCard option on Dell laptops.  We mainly use the ExpressCard option for development machines.  i don't think I would put the the three adapter configuration (TB3>>TB2, TB2>>ExpressCard, ExpressCard>>MXI) on a production machine.

I am not sure of the long term stability of this solution.  The first time I tried it, the machine locked up hard.  Subsequent attempts were successful.  I was able to see the PXI Chassis in MAX and was able to collect data from a FlexRIO card.  One nice thing about this configuration is that it is able to hotplug the PXI Chassis.

It would be nice if NI were able to support TB3.  Specification-wise, TB3 appears to rival the fastest MXI interface cards for throughput. TB3 is 4x PCIe Gen3 and the PCIe-8381 is 8x PCIe Gen2, which have nearly identical throughput.

Just FYI,

-Ryan

[Cranky]

Also confirmed on Win7 Pro 64-bit. Here's my reply to a similar thread.

http://forums.ni.com/t5/PXI/Thunderbolt-ExpressCard-Adaptor-for-ExpressCard-8360/m-p/3332184#M16392

[NickNZ]

Hi

I posted a replacement on the idea exchange so it can be upvoted.

http://forums.ni.com/t5/Data-Acquisition-Idea-Exchange/Modern-Upgrade-for-ExpressCard-8360/idi-p/333...

Nick

[Terry_ALE]

NI PXIe 8301 should solve this, right? 

[KeaneSenses]

Hi Terry,

Glad you caught the keynote! Yes, the PXIe-8301 will be available later this summer and provides Thunderbolt 3 control of PXI - for a bit more info, check out this white paper:

http://www.ni.com/white-paper/53757/en/ 

[NickNZ]

Hi

in my case with a PXI-1042 chassis I guess I would have upgrade to a new PCIe chassis to use the PXI-1042 ?

Nick

[Terry_ALE]

Will the PXIe-8301 work on the Mac?