National Instruments PXIe-8238 User manual

USER MANUAL
PXIe-8238
Dual-Port 10 Gigabit Ethernet Peripheral Module
This document provides reference information for PXI Express and the PXIe-8238 module.
Contents
Electromagnetic Compatibility Guidelines...............................................................................1
Related Documentation.............................................................................................................2
PXI Express Features................................................................................................................ 2
Benefits of PXI Express....................................................................................................2
PXIe-8238 Overview................................................................................................................ 3
Functional Overview.........................................................................................................3
Functional Description......................................................................................................3
National Instruments Software..........................................................................................4
Specifications............................................................................................................................ 5
Features............................................................................................................................. 5
Front Panel Dimensions.................................................................................................... 5
Electrical........................................................................................................................... 6
Physical............................................................................................................................. 7
Environmental...................................................................................................................7
Shock and Vibration..........................................................................................................8
Safety................................................................................................................................ 8
SFP+ Connectors Pinout......................................................................................................... 10
Worldwide Support and Services............................................................................................ 12
Electromagnetic Compatibility Guidelines
This product was tested and complies with the regulatory requirements and limits for
electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) stated in the product specifications. These requirements
and limits provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the product is
operated in the intended operational electromagnetic environment.
This product is intended for use in industrial locations. However, harmful interference may
occur in some installations, when the product is connected to a peripheral device or test object,
or if the product is used in residential or commercial areas. To minimize interference with
radio and television reception and prevent unacceptable performance degradation, install and
use this product in strict accordance with the instructions in the product documentation.
Furthermore, any modifications to the product not expressly approved by National Instruments
could void your authority to operate it under your local regulatory rules.

Caution This icon denotes a caution, which advises you of precautions to take to
avoid injury, data loss, or a system crash.
Caution The protection the PXIe-8238 provides can be impaired if it is used in a
manner not described in the user documentation.
Caution To ensure the specified EMC performance, operate this product only with
shielded cables and accessories.
Related Documentation
The following documents contain information that you might find helpful as you read this
manual:
• Your chassis documentation
•PXI Express Hardware Specification, Revision 2.0
•PXI-6 PXI Express Software Specification
•PICMG CompactPCI Express EXP.0 R1.0 Specification
•PCI Express Base Specification, Revision 2.1, PCI Special Interest Group
PXI Express Features
Benefits of PXI Express
The PXI (PCI eXtensions for Instrumentation) industry standard, an open specification
governed by the PXI Systems Alliance (PXISA), has quickly gained adoption and grown in
prevalence in test, measurement, and control systems since its release in 1998. One of the key
elements driving the rapid adoption of PXI is its use of PCI in the communication backplane.
As the commercial PC industry has improved the available bus bandwidth by evolving PCI to
PCI Express, PXI is now able to meet even more application needs by integrating PCI Express
into the PXI standard. By taking advantage of PCI Express technology in the backplane, PXI
Express increases the available PXI bandwidth from up to 132 MB/s to up to 8 GB/s for a
more than 60x improvement in bandwidth.
PXI Express maximizes both hardware and software compatibility with PXI modules. PXI
Express hybrid slots deliver both PCI and PCI Express signaling to accept devices that use
PXI communication and triggering or the newer PXI Express standard. Software compatibility
is maintained because PCI Express uses the same OS and driver model as PCI, resulting in
complete software compatibility among PCI-based systems, for example PXI, and PCI
Express-based systems such as PXI Express.
PXI Express, like PXI, leverages from the CompactPCI specification to define a rugged,
modular form factor that offers superior mechanical integrity and easy installation and removal
of hardware components. PXI Express products offer higher and more carefully defined levels
of environmental performance required by the shock, vibration, temperature, and humidity
extremes of industrial environments. Mandatory environmental testing and active cooling is
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added to the CompactPCI mechanical specification to ease system integration and ensure
multivendor interoperability.
The demanding timing and synchronization requirements of instrumentation systems are met
by the integrated features of PXI Express. Not only are the trigger bus, 10 MHz system
reference clock, and star trigger bus available in PXI retained by PXI Express, but new timing
and synchronization features that include a 100 MHz differential system reference clock for
the synchronization of multiple modules and three differential star trigger buses for the
distribution of precise clock and trigger signals have been added. Differential timing and
synchronization signals provide PXI Express systems with increased noise immunity and the
ability to transmit clock signals at higher frequencies.
PXIe-8238 Overview
Functional Overview
The PXIe-8238 is a peripheral module that provides up to 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE)
connectivity on two SFP+ ports for a PXI Express system. It can attach to a PXI Express
system via a high-bandwidth, low-latency PXI Express backplane Gen2 x8 link.
With the 10Gb Ethernet, it allows offloading data from a PXI Express system to an external
storage solution or a server for further analysis. It also allows data exchange and aggregation
across two or more PXI Express systems.
Functional Description
The PXIe-8238 is a peripheral module in a 1-slot 3U PXI Express form factor. The following
figure is a functional block diagram of the PXIe-8238. Following the diagram is a description
of each logic block shown.
Figure 1. PXIe-8238 Block Diagram
PXI Express PCI Express
Switch
NI ASIC
Ethernet
Controller
SFP+
Connector
SFP+
Connector
x8 x8
x1
OCP Mezzanine Card
The PXIe-8238 consists of the following logic blocks on two circuit card assemblies (CCA):
• The PXI Express Connectors connect the PXIe-8238 to the PXI Express/CompactPCI
Express backplane.
• The PCI Express Switch links the PXI Express backplane to the Ethernet controller on the
OCP mezzanine card with PCI Express x8 links.
• The OCP Mezzanine Card block consists of the Ethernet controller and the SFP+
connectors that provide the 10 GbE connectivity.
PXIe-8238 User Manual | © National Instruments | 3

National Instruments Software
National Instruments has developed several software tools you can use with the PXIe-8238.
National Instruments’ hardware and software work together to help you make the most of your
PXI Express system. The LabVIEW, Measurement Studio, and LabWindows™/CVI™
application development environments combine with leading hardware drivers such as NI-
DAQmx to provide exceptional control of NI hardware. Instrument drivers are available at
ni.com/idnet to simplify communication with instruments over a variety of buses.
LabVIEW is a powerful and easy-to-use graphical programming environment you can use to
acquire data from thousands of different instruments including USB, IEEE 488.2, VXI, serial,
PLCs, and plug-in boards. LabVIEW helps you convert acquired data into meaningful results
using powerful data analysis routines. Add-on tools provide additional specialized
functionality. For more information, visit ni.com/labview and ni.com/toolkits.
If you prefer to use Microsoft’s Visual Basic, Visual C++, and Visual Studio .NET for the core
of your application, Measurement Studio adds tools for measurement and automation to each
language. For more information, visit ni.com/mstudio.
LabWindows/CVI is an interactive ANSI C programming environment designed for building
virtual instrument applications. LabWindows/CVI delivers a drag-and-drop editor for building
user interfaces, a complete ANSI C environment for building your test program logic, and a
collection of automated code generation tools, as well as utilities for building automated test
systems, monitoring applications, or laboratory experiments. For more information, visit
ni.com/lwcvi.
NI-DAQmx provides an extensive library of functions you can call from your application
development environment or interactive environment such as NI Signal Express. These
functions provide an intuitive API for National Instruments multifunction DAQ products.
Features available include analog input (A/D conversion), buffered data acquisition (high-
speed A/D conversion), analog output (D/A conversion), waveform generation, digital I/O,
counter/timer operations, SCXI signal conditioning, RTSI or PXI Express synchronization,
self-calibration, messaging, and acquiring data to extended memory. For more information,
visit ni.com/daq.
National Instruments modular instruments use specialized drivers suited to each product’s
specialization. Express VIs provide customized, interactive programming of instruments in a
single interface and soft front panels provide an interface for testing the functionality of each
instrument with no programming required. NI Switches, DMMs, High-Speed DIO, High-
Speed Digitizers, and Sources each have customized drivers for high-end modular
instrumentation systems. RF applications leverage two drivers, NI-RFSG and NI-RFSA and
Dynamic Signal Acquisition is available through NI-DAQmx. For more information, visit
ni.com/modularinstruments.
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You can expand the timing and triggering functionality of your PXI Express system with PXI
Express Timing and Synchronization products. These products provide precision clock
sources, custom routing of triggers for multichassis synchronization, clock sharing, and more
and are programmed with NI-Sync. For more information, visit ni.com/pxi.
NI-VISA is the National Instruments implementation of the VISA specification. VISA is a
uniform API for communicating and controlling USB, Serial, GPIB, PXI, PXI Express, VXI,
and various other types of instruments. This API aids in the creation of portable applications
and instrument drivers. For information about writing your own PXI Express instrument driver
with NI-VISA, refer to the NI-VISA Getting Started Manual and the readme.txt file in the
NI-VISA directory. For more information, visit ni.com/visa.
With LabVIEW for Linux and support for more than two hundred devices on Linux with the
NI-DAQmx driver, you now can create Virtual Instruments based on the Linux OS. The NI-
VISA driver for Linux has improved instrument control in Linux, and NI Modular Instruments
are partially supported. For more information, visit ni.com/linux.
Specifications
This document lists the electrical, mechanical, and environmental specifications of the
PXIe-8238 dual-port 10 Gigabit Ethernet peripheral module.
Features
PXIe-8238
Ethernet Connectivity Two SFP+ ports support 10GBASE-SR optic and Copper
Direct Attach physical media
Data rate supported per port Up to 10 GbE
PXI Express Link
Configuration
Gen2 x8 PCI Express connection (maximum throughput is
achievable with PXI Express Gen2 x8)
Slot Requirement One peripheral slot
LED Indicators LINK (solid) and ACTIVITY (blinking)
LINK SPEED (green = 10 Gbps; yellow = 1 Gbps)
Front Panel Dimensions
The following figure shows the front panel layout and dimensions of the PXIe-8238.
Dimensions are in inches (millimeters).
PXIe-8238 User Manual | © National Instruments | 5

Figure 2. PXIe-8238 Front Panel Layout and Dimensions
2.796 in. (71.01 mm)
2.111 in. (53.61 mm)
0.000 in. (0.00 mm)
2.993 in. (76.02 mm)
2.645 in. (67.17 mm)
2.296 in. (58.32 mm)
1.948 in. (49.47 mm)
0.000 in. (0.00 mm)
0.249 in. (6.33 mm)
0.612 in. (15.54 mm)
NI PXIe-8238
ETH 0
LINK/ACT
LINK/ACT
SPEED
SPEED
ETH 1
Electrical
Power Rail Typical Value Max Value
+3.3 VDC 0.62 A 0.93 A
+12 VDC 1.02 A 1.68 A
Total Power 14.28 W 23.23 A
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Physical
Board dimensions 1-slot 3U PXI Express peripheral module
Compatibility Fully compatible with PXI Express
Specification 1.0
Weight 249 g (0.55 lb) typical
Caution Clean the hardware with a soft, nonmetallic brush. Make sure the
hardware is completely dry and free from contaminants before returning it to
service.
Environmental
Operating Environment
Ambient temperature range 0 °C to 55 °C (Tested in accordance with
IEC-60068-2-1 and IEC-60068-2-2.)
Relative humidity range 10% to 90%, noncondensing (Tested in
accordance with IEC-60068-2-56.)
Maximum altitude 2,000 m (800 mbar)
Pollution Degree 2
Indoor use only.
Storage Environment
Ambient temperature range -40 °C to 71 °C (Tested in accordance with
IEC-60068-2-1 and IEC-60068-2-2.)
Relative humidity range 5% to 95%, noncondensing (Tested in
accordance with IEC-60068-2-56.)
PXIe-8238 User Manual | © National Instruments | 7

Shock and Vibration
Operating shock 30 g peak, half-sine, 11 ms pulse (Tested in
accordance with IEC-60068-2-27. Meets MIL-
PRF-28800F Class 2 limits.)
Random vibration
Operating 5 Hz to 500 Hz, 0.3 grms
Nonoperating 5 Hz to 500 Hz, 2.4 grms (Tested in accordance
with IEC-60068-2-64. Nonoperating test
profile exceeds the requirements of MIL-
PRF-28800F, Class 3.)
Safety
This product is designed to meet the requirements of the following standards of safety for
information technology equipment:
• IEC 61010-1, EN 61010-1
• CAN/CSA-C22.2 No. 61010-1
Note For UL and other safety certifications, refer to the product label or the Online
Product Certification section.
Electromagnetic Compatibility
This product meets the requirements of the following EMC standards for electrical equipment
for measurement, control, and laboratory use:
• EN 61326-1 (IEC 61326-1): Class A emissions; Basic immunity
• EN 55011 (CISPR 11): Group 1, Class A emissions
• EN 55022 (CISPR 22): Class A emissions
• EN 55024 (CISPR 24): Immunity
• AS/NZS CISPR 11: Group 1, Class A emissions
• AS/NZS CISPR 22: Class A emissions
• FCC 47 CFR Part 15B: Class A emissions
• ICES-001: Class A emissions
Note In the United States (per FCC 47 CFR), Class A equipment is intended for
use in commercial, light-industrial, and heavy-industrial locations. In Europe,
Canada, Australia and New Zealand (per CISPR 11) Class A equipment is intended
for use only in heavy-industrial locations.
Note Group 1 equipment (per CISPR 11) is any industrial, scientific, or medical
equipment that does not intentionally generate radio frequency energy for the
treatment of material or inspection/analysis purposes.
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Note For EMC declarations and certifications, and additional information, refer to
the Online Product Certification section.
CE Compliance
This product meets the essential requirements of applicable European Directives, as follows:
• 2014/35/EU; Low-Voltage Directive (safety)
• 2014/30/EU; Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive (EMC)
Online Product Certification
Refer to the product Declaration of Conformity (DoC) for additional regulatory compliance
information. To obtain product certifications and the DoC for this product, visit ni.com/
certification, search by model number or product line, and click the appropriate link in the
Certification column.
Environmental Management
NI is committed to designing and manufacturing products in an environmentally responsible
manner. NI recognizes that eliminating certain hazardous substances from our products is
beneficial to the environment and to NI customers.
For additional environmental information, refer to the Minimize Our Environmental Impact
web page at ni.com/environment. This page contains the environmental regulations and
directives with which NI complies, as well as other environmental information not included in
this document.
Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)
EU Customers At the end of the product life cycle, all NI products must be
disposed of according to local laws and regulations. For more information about
how to recycle NI products in your region, visit ni.com/environment/weee.
Battery Replacement and Disposal
Cd/Hg/Pb
Battery Directive This device contains a long-life coin cell battery. If you need to
replace it, use the Return Material Authorization (RMA) process or contact an
authorized National Instruments service representative. For more information about
compliance with the EU Battery Directive 2006/66/EC about Batteries and
Accumulators and Waste Batteries and Accumulators, visit ni.com/environment/
batterydirective.
电子信息产品污染控制管理办法（中国 RoHS）
中国客户 National Instruments 符合中国电子信息产品中限制使用某些有害物
质指令(RoHS)。关于 National Instruments 中国 RoHS 合规性信息，请登录
ni.com/environment/rohs_china。(For information about China RoHS
compliance, go to ni.com/environment/rohs_china.)
PXIe-8238 User Manual | © National Instruments | 9

SFP+ Connectors Pinout
The following figure shows the pinouts for the SFP+ connectors on the PXIe-8238. The
following table lists and describes the SFP+ connector signals.
Figure 3. SFP+ Connector Pinout
NI PXIe-8238
ETH 0
LINK/ACT
LINK/ACT
SPEED
SPEED
ETH 1
VeeR
RD–
RD+
VeeR
VccR
VccT
TD+
VeeT
TD–
VeeT
VeeR
RS1
Rx_LOS
RSO
MOD_ABS
SCL
Tx_Disable
SDA
Tx_Fault
VeeT
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
20 1
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
Table 1. SFP+ Connector Signals
Pin Symbol Name/Description
1 VeeT Module Transmitter Ground
2 Tx_Fault Module Transmitter Fault
3 Tx_Disable Transmitter Disable; turns off transmitter laser output
4 SDA 2-Wire Serial Interface Data Line
5 SCL 2-Wire Serial Interface Clock
6 Mod_ABS Module Absent; connected to VeeT or VeeR in the module
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Table 1. SFP+ Connector Signals (Continued)
Pin Symbol Name/Description
7 RS0 Rate Select 0; optionally controls SFP+ module receiver
8 Rx_LOS Receiver Loss of Signal Indication
9 RS1 Rate Select 1; optionally controls SFP+ module transmitter
10 VeeR Module Receiver Ground
11 VeeR Module Receiver Ground
12 RD- Receiver Inverted Data Output
13 RD+ Receiver Non-Inverted Data Output
14 VeeR Module Receiver Ground
15 VccR Module Receiver 3.3 V Supply
16 VccT Module Transmitter 3.3 V Supply
17 VeeT Module Transmitter Ground
18 TD+ Transmitter Non-Inverted Data Input
19 TD- Transmitter Inverted Data Input
20 VeeT Module Transmitter Ground
Note The PXIe-8238 can perform an automatic crossover, thus eliminating the
need for crossover cables.
Table 2. Link/Activity and Speed Indicator LEDs
Link/Activity LED Speed LED
No Link Off Off
Linked—No Activity Green Yellow = 1 GbE
Green = 10 GbE
Linked—Activity Blinking Green Yellow = 1 GbE
Green = 10 GbE
PXIe-8238 User Manual | © National Instruments | 11

Worldwide Support and Services
The NI website is your complete resource for technical support. At ni.com/support, you have
access to everything from troubleshooting and application development self-help resources to
email and phone assistance from NI Application Engineers.
Visit ni.com/services for NI Factory Installation Services, repairs, extended warranty, and
other services.
Visit ni.com/register to register your NI product. Product registration facilitates technical
support and ensures that you receive important information updates from NI.
A Declaration of Conformity (DoC) is our claim of compliance with the Council of the
European Communities using the manufacturer’s declaration of conformity. This system
affords the user protection for electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and product safety. You
can obtain the DoC for your product by visiting ni.com/certification. If your product supports
calibration, you can obtain the calibration certificate for your product at ni.com/calibration.
NI corporate headquarters is located at 11500 North Mopac Expressway, Austin, Texas,
78759-3504. NI also has offices located around the world. For telephone support in the United
States, create your service request at ni.com/support or dial 1 866 ASK MYNI (275 6964). For
telephone support outside the United States, visit the Worldwide Offices section of ni.com/
niglobal to access the branch office websites, which provide up-to-date contact information,
support phone numbers, email addresses, and current events.
Information is subject to change without notice. Refer to the NI Trademarks and Logo Guidelines at ni.com/trademarks for
information on NI trademarks. Other product and company names mentioned herein are trademarks or trade names of their
respective companies. For patents covering NI products/technology, refer to the appropriate location: Help»Patents in your
software, the patents.txt file on your media, or the National Instruments Patent Notice at ni.com/patents. You can find
information about end-user license agreements (EULAs) and third-party legal notices in the readme file for your NI product. Refer
to the Export Compliance Information at ni.com/legal/export-compliance for the NI global trade compliance policy and how
to obtain relevant HTS codes, ECCNs, and other import/export data. NI MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES AS
TO THE ACCURACY OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN AND SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY ERRORS. U.S.
Government Customers: The data contained in this manual was developed at private expense and is subject to the applicable
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© 2017 National Instruments. All rights reserved.
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