lxi standard – current and future david owen – pickering interfaces tc chair lxi consortium...
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LXI Standard – Current and Future
David Owen – Pickering InterfacesTC Chair LXI Consortium
LXI – “It’s About Your Time”
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LXI Consortium Defined Ethernet based control interface for
the T&M industry Built around other standards
Provide a precise definition of behavior within those standards
In 3 years since first publication Over 500 products on the market 15 vendors with compliance tested products Over 50 vendors are members – almost all the
key T&M players
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Product Breadth in just a few years
Spectrum Analyzers Power Supplies Switching Multifunction Mainframes Digital Multimeters Signal Generators Function/Arbitrary Waveform Generators RF/Microwave Downconverters/Upconverters IF Digitizers Thermocouple Instruments WTB Accessories Bridges Signal Analyzers Oscilloscopes Power Analyzers
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Why LXI? LAN-based systems offer speed, simplicity, and
low cost. The ubiquitous nature of LAN, with its ongoing
enhancements and backward compatibility, provides a perfect test and measurement platform.
System configuration is quick and easy through the intuitive Web interface
Programming is simplified, and there is greater software re-use through IVI drivers.
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Why LXI? (2) LXI provides the ability to create hybrid
systems that include LXI, GPIB, VXI, PXI, PCI, USB, and others.
LXI offers enhanced system performance and event handling via hardware- and LAN-based triggering modes.
Local and remote instruments can be synchronized through the IEEE 1588 precision time protocol.
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From small to large systems
Single or multiple controllers
Short to continental distances
IT industry standard cables and building blocks
High degree of building block independence
Operating systems Controller technology
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LXI is a Different “_XI”
LXI not a Modular Standard Like PXI & VXI No additional Slot 0 or 1 Controller No Additional Chassis
Works in Harmony with These Standards
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Making it easy to configure and control
Through simple web based interfaces Providing Soft Front Panels without
drivers Typically through Java programs
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3 Classes of LXI
Class B
Class C
Class A
Class C plus IEEE 1588 time sync LAN messaging• Brings the potential to make systems “smarter”• Breaks the traditional PC centric system model with network and timing capabilities
Class B & C plus LVDS Hardware trigger bus• Tight sub 5ns local trigger allows module integration for performance products
Ethernet standardsIVI driverInstrument web pagePhysical Size / Shielding Power / Cooling Indicators / reset button• The baseline for common LAN connectivity
Class A
Class B
Class C
All products have consistent LAN implementation Functional classes may be in any physical size
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Bringing a sense of Time to a test system
IEEE1588 brings an accurate knowledge of time to instruments Time stamp events, execute triggers in time,
recover past event information Easy to correlate between instruments Schedule events across instruments
Off loading traffic at busy times Minimizing device to device traffic
“
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Compliance Testing
LXI products have to be compliance tested At an LXI Event or through an
approved test house Ensures interoperability between
vendors Ensures consistent specification
interpretation Provides direction for future clarification
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LXI Evolution (1)
Version 1.3 being published Specification reorganised to aid clarity of
reading Adoption of mDNS Discovery mechanism
Commonly used mechanism for printers and other IT products
Adoption of 1588-2008 Providing improved timing accuracy through
use of transparent clocks
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LXI Evolution (2) Very active TC looking forward to
Version 2 with added user focussed features Improved Event Log and Web based trigger
support Resource Management model to arbitrate
between processes Improved peer to peer communication And probably more, the planning is starting
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Conclusion LXI is a Well Thought Out Specification
Based on the collective knowledge of the leading players
Strong Acceptance in T&M Community Growing Number of Products Growing Acceptance by users Designed for long market life Ongoing improvements in the standard in response
to user demand With careful attention to legacy compatibility and usability
Bright Future