National Instruments 8330 Series - Manual (Page 11)

Chapter 1 Introduction
PXI-PCI 8330 Series User Manual 1-2 www.ni.com
Software Transparency
Because the MXI-3 system is a PCI-PCI bridge , all devices on the system
appear as local devices in a single PCI system. You do not need to rewrite
your device drivers for operation on a MXI-3 system.
High Performance
MXI-3 supports write posting and read prefetching to enhance
performance. MXI-3 buffers and retimes the signals between the buses,
maintaining the tight timing and high performance PCI requires.
What You Need to Get Started
To set up and use your MXI-3 system, you need the following:
❑
Two PXI MXI-3 cards or a PXI MXI-3 card and a PCI MXI-3 card
❑
Copper or fiber-optic MXI-3 cable
❑
Documentation—Set Up Your MXI-3 System and Getting Started with
Your MXI-3 System
❑
Primary bus—A computer with a PCI backplane, or a PXI embedded
controller in a PXI/CompactPCI chassis
❑
Secondary bus—A PXI/CompactPCI chassis
❑
Software—MXI-3 Software Installation Diskette for
Windows 2000/NT4/9x
Unpacking
Your MXI-3 cards are shipped in antistatic packages to prevent
electrostatic damage to the devices. To avoid such damage in handling the
device, take the following precautions:
1. Ground yourself with a grounding strap or by holding a grounded
object.
2. Before removing the device from the package, touch the antistatic
package to a metal part of your computer chassis.
Caution Never touch the exposed pins of connectors. Doing so may damage the device.