VME eXtensions for instrumentation bus (VXI bus) refers to standards for

automated test In software testing, test automation is the use of software separate from the software being tested to control the execution of tests and the comparison of actual outcomes with predicted outcomes. Test automation can automate some repetitive bu ...

based upon

VMEbus VMEbus (Versa Module Europa or Versa Module Eurocard bus) is a computer bus standard, originally developed for the Motorola 68000 line of CPUs, but later widely used for many applications and standardized by the IEC as ANSI/IEEE 1014-1987. ...

. VXI defines additional bus lines for timing and triggering as well as mechanical requirements and standard protocols for configuration, message-based communication, multi-chassis extension, and other features. In 2004, the 2eVME extension was added to the VXI bus specification, giving it a maximum data rate of 160 MB/s. The basic building block of a VXI system is the mainframe or chassis. This contains up to 13 slots into which various modules (instruments) can be added. The mainframe also contains all the power supply requirements for the rack and the instruments it contains. Instruments in the form of VXI Modules then fit the slots in the rack. VXI bus modules are typically 6U in height (see Eurocard) and C-size (unlike VME bus modules which are more commonly B-size). It is therefore possible to configure a system to meet a particular requirement by selecting the required instruments. The basic architecture of the instrument system is described in US patent 4,707,834. This patent was freely licensed by Tektronix to the VXIbus Consortium. The VXIbus grew from the VME bus specification, it was established in 1987 by Hewlett Packard (now

Keysight Technologies Keysight Technologies, or Keysight, is an American company that manufactures electronics test and measurement equipment and software. The name is a blend of ''key'' and ''insight''. The company was formed as a spin-off of Agilent Technologies, wh ...

), Racal Instruments (now Astronics Test Systems), Colorado Data Systems,

Wavetek Wavetek was an electronic test equipment manufacturer that made function generators, signal generators and service monitors. Although Wavetek did not invent the function generator, it made them commercially popular. The company's swept RF/microwa ...

and

Tektronix Tektronix, Inc., historically widely known as Tek, is an American company best known for manufacturing test and measurement devices such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and video and mobile test protocol equipment. Originally an independent ...

. VXI is promoted by the VXIbus Consortium, whose sponsor members are currently (in alphabetical order) Astronics Test Systems (formerly Racal Instruments),

Bustec Bustec is a company that designs and manufactures instrumentation for high-performance data acquisition and instrument control. The company's products serve applications that include engine testing, automotive and missile testing, wind tunnel data ...

, Keysight Technologies,

National Instruments National Instruments Corporation, doing business as NI, is an American multinational company with international operation. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, it is a producer of automated test equipment and virtual instrumentation software. C ...

Teradyne Teradyne, Inc. is an American automatic test equipment (ATE) designer and manufacturer based in North Reading, Massachusetts. Teradyne's high-profile customers include Samsung, Qualcomm, Intel, Analog Devices, Texas Instruments and IBM. Histo ...

, and

VTI Instruments VTI Instruments Corporation sells precision instrumentation for electronic signal distribution, data acquisition and monitoring. The company's products are used to automate the functional testing of complex electronic systems as well as to monitor ...

(formerly known as VXI Technology) .Reuters
/ref> ZTEC Instruments] is a participating Executive Member. VXI's core market is in Military and Avionics Automatic Test Systems. The VXI''plug&play'' Alliance specified additional hardware and software interoperability standards, such as the

Virtual Instrument Software Architecture Virtual instrument software architecture (VISA) is a widely used application programming interface (API) in the test and measurement (T&M) industry for communicating with instruments from a computer. VISA is an industry standard implemented by sev ...

(VISA), although the alliance was eventually merged with th
IVI Foundation
Application software that supports VXI''plug&play'' instrument drivers for controlling instruments include

LabVIEW Laboratory Virtual Instrument Engineering Workbench (LabVIEW) is a system-design platform and development environment for a visual programming language from National Instruments. The graphical language is named "G"; not to be confused with G-c ...

and

MATLAB MATLAB (an abbreviation of "MATrix LABoratory") is a proprietary multi-paradigm programming language and numeric computing environment developed by MathWorks. MATLAB allows matrix manipulations, plotting of functions and data, implementa ...

References

External links

VXIbus Consortium

VMEbus Extensions for Instrumentation. VXIbus. System Specification VXI-1. Revision 4.0
May 27, 2010
Technical note. VXIbus overview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vxi Computer buses

See also

References

External links