NI Ethernet Data Acquisition Overview

Simple. Complete. Ethernet Data Acquisition.

Ethernet data acquisition is an extension of PC-based data acquisition to measurement applications distributed over a large area or network. NI Ethernet data acquisition (DAQ) devices combine industry-standard Ethernet communication, direct sensor connectivity, and the flexibility of NI-DAQmx software for remote monitoring and control of electrical, physical, mechanical, and acoustic signals. NI Ethernet DAQ devices can stream data on each channel at more than 50 kS/s with 24 bits of resolution. With the flexibility of NI-DAQmx driver software, you can program your NI Ethernet DAQ device in NI LabVIEW, and LabWindows™/CVI; ANSI C/C++; and Microsoft C#, Visual Basic, or Visual Basic .NET. With NI-DAQmx and the ubiquity of Ethernet networking infrastructure, NI Ethernet data acquisition makes it easy to incorporate remote connectivity into new or existing PC-based measurement or control systems.

Figure 1. NI Ethernet Data Acquisition Device and C Series Modules

NI ENET-9163 and C Series Hardware

Each National Instruments Ethernet data acquisition device is a combination of an NI ENET-9163 wireless carrier and an NI C Series measurement module. The ENET-9163 provides IEEE 802.3 Ethernet connectivity back to a host PC. You can synchronize an ENET-9163 with other devices by using two onboard individually programmable digital trigger lines to export or import sample clocks, start triggers, pause triggers, and reference triggers.

C Series modules deliver direct sensor connectivity and built-in signal conditioning for a variety of measurements, including temperature, strain, acceleration, current, and voltage. In addition to the ENET-9163, you can use C Series modules interchangeably for measurement and control applications with different chassis, including NI CompactDAQ and CompactRIO, as well as the NI USB-9162 single module carrier and WLS-9163 wireless carrier.

Module	Signal	Channels	Rate	Connectivity
Analog Input
NI ENET-9205	±10V Programmable gain, 16-bit	16	250 kS/s	Spring terminal
NI ENET-9206	600 V Isolation, 16-bit	16	250 kS/s	Spring terminal
NI ENET-9211	Thermocouple, 24-bit	4	14 S/s	Screw terminal
NI ENET-9213	Thermocouple, 24-bit	16	75 S/s/ch	Spring terminal
NI ENET-9215	Simultaneous sampling, 16-bit	4	100 kS/s/ch	Screw terminal or BNC
NI ENET-9219	Universal (11 modes)	4	100 S/s/ch	Spring terminal
NI ENET-9234	IEPE (accelerometer and microphone), 24-bit	4	51.2 kS/s/ch	BNC
NI ENET-9237	Bridge completion, 24-bit	4	50 kS/s/ch	RJ50
Digital I/O
NI ENET-9421	11 to 30 VDC sinking digital input	8	Software-timed	Screw terminal or D-Sub
NI ENET-9472	6 to 30 VDC sourcing digital output	8	Software-timed	Screw terminal or D-Sub
NI ENET-9481	60 VDC, 250 Vrms relay output	4	Software-timed	Screw terminal

Table 1. NI Ethernet DAQ Devices

You may purchase ENET-9163 carriers and select C Series modules separately or together in a kit as ENET-9xxx devices. View the C Series compatibility table for a complete list of C Series devices.

Measure Remotely with Ethernet Data Acquisition

Ethernet is ideal for taking measurements at distances beyond the 5 m length of a USB cable. A single Ethernet cable can extend 100 m before needing a hub, switch, or repeater. This distance, in combination with a large install base of networks in homes, labs, offices, and manufacturing facilities, makes NI Ethernet DAQ hardware an ideal choice for delivering NI measurement quality to remote locations. Though network performance is highly dependent on the number of networked devices, 10/100BASE-T (100 Mbps) Ethernet can accommodate multiple Ethernet data acquisition devices running at full speed. For example, the ENET-9234 needs a little more than 6.5 Mbps of bandwidth to constantly stream more than 200 kS/s of 24-bit data over Ethernet. No special gateways or interface cards are required to use an Ethernet data acquisition device; any standard IEEE 802.3 router, switch, or hub works. NI also offers a line of rugged, industrial Ethernet switches and wireless access points.

Integrate Ethernet Devices into an Existing System with NI LabVIEW

Test and measurement systems range in size from a few channels to a few thousand channels, and Ethernet data acquisition devices can be the whole system or the distributed component of a larger system. You can use many different bus technologies, such as PXI, PCI, USB, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi, for data acquisition. Often, it is advantageous to use more than one bus. PXI Express and PCI Express have the highest bandwidth available, USB has the easiest device setup and configuration, Ethernet is best for distributed systems, and Wi-Fi eliminates all problems associated with wires.

Because LabVIEW is an open development environment, one application can include data from multiple devices, buses, and manufacturers. Figure 2 shows a single LabVIEW program, or virtual instrument (VI), that can acquire data from an Ethernet-, USB-, or PXI-based device. Each NI device has an associated DAQ Assistant, which abstracts the data acquisition hardware interfaces from the programming experience.

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Figure 2. LabVIEW Code for a Multibus Data Acquisition System

Detect, Configure, and Acquire within Minutes

NI Ethernet DAQ devices are shipped with the Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX) test and configuration application. This is the same utility (Figure 3) that all other NI hardware uses, so all of your devices, regardless of the data bus you use, show up in the same place. Ethernet data acquisition devices are configured the same way as any other networked device such as laptops or gaming systems. An Ethernet data acquisition device can operate with either a static IP address or one dynamically assigned from a DHCP server. Once your system detects the device, you can remotely change the configuration settings, test the connected sensors, or begin programming your system with the NI-DAQmx driver.

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Figure 3. MAX Configuration Utility with Multiple Devices

NI-DAQmx and LabVIEW – The National Instruments Data Acquisition Difference

The two main advantages when developing a system with LabVIEW and NI-DAQmx are development time and flexibility. NI-DAQmx is the API that is shipped with NI ENET-9xxx and all other NI data acquisition devices. With this set of drivers, you can program for many text-based programming languages including ANSI C/C++, C#, Visual Basic, and Visual Basic .NET. When programmed with NI LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, or Measurement Studio, you have access to the DAQ Assistant (Figure 4), a graphical wizard-style programming interface that guides you through acquiring data with your NI device. The DAQ Assistant significantly reduces the development of your data acquisition code by turning your configuration settings into running code.

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Figure 4. NI DAQ Assistant Configuration Screen

In addition to the DAQ Assistant, LabVIEW has hundreds of built-in functions for analysis, alarming, reporting, and file I/O that further reduce your application development time. Because you are developing with LabVIEW programming, the functionality of your system is not limited. As your project grows or changes, you can modify your code to meet the new requirements. LabVIEW also helps you eliminate the need for multiple software programs for a single process. There are thousands of third-party devices on the market that have drivers written for LabVIEW. You can easily integrate these devices into any LabVIEW program. For those devices that do not have a full driver, you can use a development API to integrate the new hardware device with your system based on LabVIEW.

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I/O for Any Application with NI C Series

NI Ethernet DAQ devices are a component of the NI C Series hardware family. C Series hardware includes modules, chassis, and carriers designed for high-speed data acquisition and deterministic control on the benchtop, in the field, on the production line, or embedded in larger machines. More than 40 modules are available for measurements such as temperature, pressure, voltage, acceleration, current, resistance, and strain. You can obtain chassis and carriers for PC communication over Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and USB, as well as chassis with onboard controllers and storage for embedded machine design or rugged data acquisition systems with local storage. Figure 5 shows an eight-slot USB chassis, an eight-slot chassis with embedded controller and hard disk, and a bus-powered USB carrier for a portable laptop-based system. For more information on C Series hardware or a list of compatible modules, see the compatibility table.

Figure 5. C Series Modules Shown in Different Chassis and Carriers

Ethernet Data Acquisition Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

These modules look like the same ones for NI CompactDAQ and CompactRIO. Are they interchangeable?

The modules used in NI ENET-9xxx devices are exactly the same as the NI modules that have been on the market for many years. At the time of this release, five of the modules work with the ENET-9163 carrier. If you already own some of these modules, you can use them in an ENET-9163 carrier, for which there is a separate kit. NI-DAQmx 8.8 or later is required for ENET-9xxx devices.

Where can I see which modules are supported by which C Series chassis and carriers?

View the NI C Series compatibility table online »

What comes in the box?

If you order the ENET-9xxx devices as a kit, the kit contains an ENET-9163 Ethernet carrier, a C Series module, and the following accessories:

Power adapter 4-pin connector for trigger inputs Nonslip rubber feet for desktop use NI-DAQmx driver kit Getting Started with NI-DAQmx Hardware user manuals for carrier and module

Can I order the carrier separately if I already own modules?

Yes. The ENET-9163 is sold separately. Please check the online support guide to see if your modules are compatible with the ENET-9163 carrier.

What is the best way to order an NI Ethernet DAQ device?

View the online model pages for the kits as well as the ENET-9163 carrier and use the advisor to retrieve quotes for multiple modules and carriers in one online configuration.

How fast can ENET-9xxx devices acquire data?

Under normal network conditions, ENET-9xxx devices constantly stream all data back to the PC without needing to buffer any data on the device side.

 

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Reader Comments | Submit a comment »

Sync answer, an WHERE ARE THE MAC DRIVERS?!
Ditto the previous question- can devices on multiple network legs be started simultaneously, and if so to what accuracy, and can they be kept in sync in any way? And- why are there no Mac drivers for this device?? It should be trivial to produce a native LabVIEW TCP/IP suite to communicate with this device- LabJack manage to for theirs...
- Tom Lawton, EnFlo, FEPS. t.lawton@surrey.ac.uk - Oct 13, 2009

synchronized data between enet devices
I am wondering if the acquired data from different ethernet modules within one network will be synchronized. Does it count for the wifi module aswell?
- Aart-Jan van Zadelhoff, Lloyd's Register Rail Europe. gouwzee@gmail.com - Nov 9, 2008