ADLINK PCIe PXIe-8565 Expansion Kit Remote Control and Compatibility

ADLINK PCIe PXIe-8565 Expansion Kit Remote Control and Compatibility

In the fields of automated testing, data acquisition, and military electronics, the PXI/PXIe platform has become the industry standard due to its modularity, high bandwidth, and robust structure. However, PXIe chassis typically require dedicated embedded controllers or external PCs to be controlled through PCIe bridging. Traditional solutions are limited by bus distance (usually less than 0.3 meters), resulting in the host having to be close to the tested object, which is extremely inconvenient in environments with high temperatures, vibrations, or limited space. The PCIe-PXIe-8565 expansion kit launched by ADLINK utilizes PCI Express Gen1 x1 technology to achieve a remote connection of up to 7 meters between the host and PXIe chassis, while maintaining complete hardware and software transparency. This article will provide engineers with a complete practical guide from the aspects of system architecture, installation configuration, power on timing, LED status diagnosis, and the most critical PCI bus resource compatibility issues, to help them efficiently deploy this expansion solution and quickly locate faults.

System architecture and transparency advantages

The PCIe-PXIe-8565 expansion kit consists of three parts:

PCIe-8560 Host Adapter Card: Installed in the PCIe x1 (or higher) slot of the host PC, it adopts a low profile design (87 × 69mm), with a typical power consumption of 4W and a maximum power consumption of 8W.

PXIe-8565 system module controller: 3U PXIe specification, installed in the system slot of the PXIe chassis, supports PXI-5 PXI Express hardware specification Rev. 2.0.

ACL-EXPRESS high-speed cable: available in three lengths of 1 meter, 3 meters, and 7 meters, using shielded twisted pair cables, supporting PCIe Gen1 x1 signal rate (2.5GT/s), with an effective data throughput of 250MB/s.

This kit achieves protocol conversion through PCIe bridge chips, allowing all modules inside the PXIe chassis to be viewed by the host BIOS and operating system as devices directly connected to the host PCIe bus. Therefore, there is no need to install any additional drivers (but ADLINK PXI Platform Services need to be installed to support SMBus controllers and PXI software frameworks), achieving plug and play functionality. This transparency greatly reduces the difficulty of system integration.

Hardware installation steps and key precautions

1. Installation of PCIe-8560 on the host side

Turn off the host power and select any x1, x4, x8, or x16 PCIe slot to insert the PCIe 8560. This card only uses x1 links, but can be installed in longer slots.

After installation, the baffle screws need to be fixed to ensure good grounding.

2. Installation of PXIe-8565 on the PXIe chassis end

Must be installed in the PXIe system slot, do not insert into peripheral slots.

Before installation, check the type of chassis backplane: This controller supports 4-link (x1 x1 x1) or 2-link (x1 x1) configurations and can automatically detect the backplane topology without the need for manual settings.

3. Cable connection

Connect one end of the ACL-EXPRESS cable to the dedicated connector on the PCIe-8560 panel and the other end to the corresponding interface of the PXIe-8565 module. Be sure to tighten the fixing screws to ensure reliable grounding of the shielding layer.

It is strictly prohibited to plug or unplug cables when the system is powered on, otherwise it may cause the host to blue screen or the chassis to lose control.

Power on timing - critical and often overlooked

Due to the PCIe switch connection between PCIe-8560 and PXIe-8565, during the POST (Power On Self Test) phase of the host BIOS, the system scans the PCIe bus and allocates resources (I/O address, memory space, IRQ, and bus number). To enable the BIOS to correctly recognize all modules in the remote PXIe chassis, the following sequence must be strictly followed:

First, turn on the PXIe chassis power (while the host remains turned off).

Wait for the chassis status LED to indicate "ready" (PWR/PRSNT indicator light is orange or green).

Turn on the host power again.

Reason: When enumerating PCIe devices, the host BIOS needs to detect the presence of the PXIe-8565 bridge and its subordinate devices. If the chassis is not powered on and the bridge cannot respond to configuration requests, the BIOS will ignore the bus branch, causing it to be unrecognizable even if the chassis is powered on in the future. Once such a situation occurs, the power must be cut off simultaneously and reconnected in the correct order.

The shutdown sequence is the opposite:

First, shut down the host operating system and power off.

Turn off the PXIe chassis power again.

If this order is violated (turn off the PXIe chassis first), the host PCIe bridge will detect that the device has been accidentally removed, which may cause system crashes or data loss.

LED status indicator diagnosis

Both PCIe-8560 and PXIe-8565 are equipped with status LEDs for quick determination of link status:

PCIe-8560（STATUS LED）：

Extinguish: Not powered on or without a link.

Always on: PCIe Geni link activated (working normally).