National Instruments NI CardBus-8310-to-PXI Expansion - Manual (Page 12)

Chapter 1 Introduction
© National Instruments Corporation 1-5 NI CardBus-8310-to-PXI Expansion User Manual
• Handle all sensitive components at an ESD workstation. If possible,
use anti-static floor pads and workbench pads.
• Handle components and boards with care. Don’t touch the components
or contacts on a board. Hold a board by its edges or by its metal
mounting bracket.
NI PXI-8310 Overview
The NI PXI-8310 expansion card is connected to the NI CardBus-8310
through the CAT5-e cables. You must install the PXI card in slot 1 (the
system controller slot) of the PXI chassis. The NI PXI-8310 card has two
ports for communication (L0 and L1), each utilizing four twisted pair
connections. Each twisted pair is represented on the PXI card front panel
by a separate LED. If a twisted pair connection is functioning, the
corresponding LED will be lit on the front panel.
Each port requires two CAT5-e cables. You must connect the RX jack of
the CardBus-8310 to the TX jack of the PXI-8310, and the TX jack of the
CardBus-8310 to the RX jack of the PXI-8310.
Note You must use the RX and TX connector for the same port to establish
communication. For instance, use the L1 RX and TX connectors to establish
communication on the L1 port. If you only use one port, it is recommended that you use
the L0 port, as the status LEDs will be easier to see.
The top 4 LEDs provide connection status of the top two RJ-45 jacks
(labeled L0) while the bottom 4 LEDs provide the status of the bottom two
jacks (L1). Each pair of RJ-45 jacks constitutes a link capable of
throughput of up to 2.5 Gbps at full duplex, one jack being used as
transmitter (TX) and the other as receiver (RX). The LED control register
within the StarGen chip can operate them in one of three modes.
• All LEDs off—No Link. The differential receiver and transmitter are
not synchronized, meaning that the RJ45 cables are either not
connected or they are crossed.
• All LEDs on—Link is active. The differential transmitter and receiver
are synchronized and data can flow across the link.
• All LEDs blinking—Communication has been lost. At some point the
transmitter and receiver were linked, however now they are longer
synchronized. The link needs to be re-established before data can be
transmitted again.