Integration techniques for VXIbus instrumentation systems

The author discusses a common approach to hardware and software development as well as integration techniques developed as a result of using VXI in its test systems. The VXIbus allows the system integrator to purchase commercial cards and integrate them with unit under test (UUT)-specific cards in one or more chassis. VXI provides a standard backplane and communication protocol to allow these cards to interface with each other. The effort to integrate these cards depends upon the type of card being used and the level of customization that is required by the application. By developing standard hardware and firmware interfaces, the design and integration of UUT-specific cards can be made less complex. The chassis and system level integration effort can be eased by the use of commercial software and hardware packages designed for this purpose