Using NI Switches in IVI

Create an IVI logical name and a corresponding driver session to use National Instruments switch modules in IVI. Complete the following steps to create an IVI logical and a corresponding driver session.

1. Open Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX).
2. Expand IVI Drivers in the MAX configuration tree.
3. Create a new driver session.
   1. Right-click Driver Sessions in the configuration tree, and select Create New (case-sensitive). The configuration panel opens in the configuration window.
   2. Complete the following steps to configure the new driver session.
      1. Select the Software tab, and select niSwitch from the Software Module listbox.
      2. Select the Hardware tab, and select the switch module you want to use from the Hardware Asset listbox.

         Note  To create a new hardware asset, click Create New to the right of the Hardware Asset listbox.

      3. Select the General tab, and select Don't Simulate from the Simulate With listbox.
      4. In the Driver Setup textbox, enter the driver setup string for the switch module you want to use. Refer to Determining the Driver Setup String for more information about driver setup strings.
4. Create a new logical name.
   1. Right-click Logical Names in the configuration tree, and select Create New (case-sensitive). The configuration panel opens in the configuration window.
   2. To configure the new logical name, select the driver session that you created in step 3 from the Driver Session listbox.

      Note  To view the properties of the driver session you have selected, click Go To to the right of the Driver Session listbox.

5. To save the IVI configuration, click Save IVI Configuration at the top of the configuration view. If you decide not to save your changes, click Revert to revert to the previous configuration.

Determining the Driver Setup String

Complete the following steps to determine the driver setup string for the switch module.

1. Determine the topology name.
   1. Open the NI Switches Help file.
   2. Select the Contents tab.
   3. Expand the Devices book, and select the switch module you want to use. The device overview for the switch module is displayed in the help window.
   4. In the device overview, the Operation Modes table(s) lists the topology and software names for each supported topology. The topology name is the first software name listed in the table not the constant name in parenthesis. For example, if you want to use the NI SCXI-1127 in the 64x1 Mux mode, the topology name is "1127/1-Wire 64x1 Mux" not "NISWITCH_TOPOLOGY_1127_1_WIRE_64X1_MUX."
2. Using the topology name, determine the driver setup string.
   • NI-DAQmx devices
     The driver setup string is topology:<topology name>. If you are using the NI SCXI-1127 in the 64x1 Mux mode, for example, the driver setup string is topology:1127/1-Wire 64x1 Mux.
   • Traditional NI-DAQ (Legacy) or NI-VISA based devices
     The driver setup string is topology:<topology name>;resourcetype:legacy. If you are using the NI SCXI-1127 in the 64x1 Mux mode, for example, the driver setup string is topology:1127/2-Wire 32x1 Mux;resourcetype:legacy.

     Note  This driver setup string is valid only for NI-VISA based devices (i.e. NI PXI-2501/2503/2565/2590/2591 and SCXI switch modules) that have been created under Traditional NI-DAQ (Legacy) Devices in MAX. Legacy support is maintained for existing system installations. All new NI switch modules are supported under NI-DAQmx and should be configured as such.