NI-Serial for Linux/x86 64-bit Architecture Readme

January 2022

This file contains late breaking news about NI-Serial and supersedes any information found in other documentation included in the distribution.

Refer to for the most recent information about Linux support at National Instruments.

Refer to NI-Serial Release Notes for known issues, bugs fixed since the last release, and other release details.

System Requirements

NI-Serial software for the Linux/x86 64-bit architecture has been tested on the following distributions:

  • openSUSE Leap 15.1
  • openSUSE Leap 15.2
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
  • CentOS 7
  • Ubuntu 18.04
  • Ubuntu 20.04

NI-Serial requires a 64-bit distribution and does not support 32-bit applications.

Supported Hardware

PCI Interfaces Standard Number of Ports Isolated Max Baud (kbaud)
PCI-8430/2 RS-232 2 No 1000.0
PCI-8430/4 RS-232 4 No 1000.0
PCI-8430/8 RS-232 8 No 1000.0
PCI-8430/16 RS-232 16 No 1000.0
PCI-8431/2 RS-485/RS-422 2 No 3000.01
PCI-8431/4 RS-485/RS-422 4 No 3000.01
PCI-8431/8 RS-485/RS-422 8 No 3000.01
PCI-8432/2 RS-232 2 Yes 1000.0
PCI-8432/4 RS-232 4 Yes 1000.0
PCI-8433/2 RS-485/RS-422 2 Yes 3000.01
PCI-8433/4 RS-485/RS-422 4 Yes 3000.01

PCI Express Interfaces Standard Number of Ports Isolated Max Baud (kbaud)
PCIe-8430/2 RS-232 2 No 1000.0
PCIe-8430/8 RS-232 8 No 1000.0
PCIe-8430/16 RS-232 16 No 1000.0
PCIe-8431/2 RS-485/RS-422 2 No 3000.01
PCIe-8431/8 RS-485/RS-422 8 No 3000.01
PCIe-8431/16 RS-485/RS-422 16 No 3000.01
PCIe-8432/2 RS-232 2 Yes 1000.01
PCIe-8433/2 RS-485/RS-422 2 Yes 1000.01

PXI Interfaces Standard Number of Ports Isolated Max Baud (kbaud)
PXI-8430/2 RS-232 2 No 1000.0
PXI-8430/4 RS-232 4 No 1000.0
PXI-8430/8 RS-232 8 No 1000.0
PXI-8430/16 RS-232 16 No 1000.0
PXI-8431/2 RS-485/RS-422 2 No 3000.01
PXI-8431/4 RS-485/RS-422 4 No 3000.01
PXI-8431/8 RS-485/RS-422 8 No 3000.01
PXI-8432/2 RS-232 2 Yes 1000.0
PXI-8432/4 RS-232 4 Yes 1000.0
PXI-8433/2 RS-485/RS-422 2 Yes 3000.01
PXI-8433/4 RS-485/RS-422 4 Yes 3000.01

PXI Express Interfaces Standard Number of Ports Isolated Max Baud (kbaud)
PXIe-8430/8 RS-232 8 No 1000.0
PXIe-8430/16 RS-232 16 No 1000.0
PXIe-8431/8 RS-485/RS-422 8 No 3000.01,2
PXIe-8431/16 RS-485/RS-422 16 No 3000.01,2

1The two-wire auto control mode for RS-485 transceiver control has a maximum baud rate of 2 Mbaud.

2For possible use with higher baud rates, refer to ni.com/kb and search for KnowledgeBase 58KEI82F.

Installation

NI provides a repository add-on for all supported drivers that you can install using your Linux distribution's native package manager.

  1. Visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code LinuxRepository.
  2. Download the installer for the repository add-on for your Linux distribution.
  3. Install the repository add-on using the rpm command.
  4. Select and install the following <> driver packages through your Linux distribution's package manager:
    • ni-serial

After the driver package(s) are installed, you must rebuild the new packages for the system kernel. NI recommends that you run the command 'dkms autoinstall' after installation, and before rebooting the system, to install the latest revision of all modules that have been installed for other kernel revisions. After doing so, the installed device drivers will function immediately on the next system start.

Documentation and Help

Use a web browser to view the NI-Serial documentation at ni.com/manuals

Legal Information

Copyright:

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If you are an agency, department, or other entity of the United States Government ("Government"), the use, duplication, reproduction, release, modification, disclosure or transfer of the technical data included in this manual is governed by the Restricted Rights provisions under Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.227-14 for civilian agencies and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement Section 252.227-7014 and 252.227-7015 for military agencies.

IVI Foundation Copyright Notice

Content from the IVI specifications reproduced with permission from the IVI Foundation.

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Patents

For patents covering the NI products/technology, refer to the NI Patent Notice at ni.com/patents.

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