NI-XNET 2023 Q2 for Linux/x86 64-bit Architecture Readme

April 2023

This file contains installation instructions and compatibility information for NI-XNET 2023 Q2 for Linux.

You can find more release information on ni.com.

  • Release Notes for known issues, bugs fixed since the last release, and other release details.
  • NI-XNET Documentation: New features, behavior changes, and other documentation

Refer to NI Linux Technology for the most recent information about Linux support at NI.

System Requirements

Installation Instructions

Supported Hardware

Device Configuration

New Features

Finding Examples

Linux Limitations

System Requirements

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

  • openSUSE Leap 15.4
  • openSUSE Leap 15.3
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.0
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
  • Ubuntu 22.04
  • Ubuntu 20.04

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

Installation Instructions

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

  1. Refer to Download and Install NI Driver Software on Linux Desktop for detailed instructions.
  2. Download the installer for the repository add-on for your Linux distribution.
  3. Install the repository add-on using the install command appropriate for your distribution.
  4. Select and install the following NI-XNET driver packages through your Linux distribution's package manager:
    • ni-xnet
    • ni-xnet-labview-<year>-support
    • ni-xnet-busmonitor

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.

Supported Hardware

The following list details the hardware models supported in NI-XNET 2023 Q2 for Linux.

  • PCI-8511 Low‑Speed/Fault-Tolerant CAN Interface Device
  • PCI-8512 High‑Speed/FD CAN Interface Device
  • PCI-8513 Software‑Selectable/FD CAN Interface Device
  • PCI-8516 PCI LIN Interface Device
  • PCI-8517 FlexRay Interface Device
  • PCIe-8510 PCIe Vehicle Multi-Protocol Interface Device
  • PXI-8511 Low-Speed/Fault Tolerant PXI CAN Interface Module
  • PXI-8512 High-Speed, Flexible Data Rate PXI CAN Interface Module
  • PXI-8513 Software-Selectable PXI CAN Interface Module
  • PXI-8516 PXI LIN Interface Module
  • PXI-8517 PXI FlexRay Interface Module
  • PXIe-8510 PXI Vehicle Multiprotocol Interface Module
  • PXIe-8521 100BASE-T1 PXI Automotive Ethernet Interface Module
  • PXIe-8522 1000BASE-T1 PXI Automotive Ethernet Interface Module
  • PXIe-8523 100/1000BASE-T1 PXI Automotive Ethernet Interface Module
  • PXIe-8623 100/1000BASE-T PXI Automotive Ethernet Interface Module
  • TRC-8542 CAN HS/FD Transceiver Cable
  • TRC-8543 CAN HS/FD or LS/FT Transceiver Cable
  • TRC-8546 LIN Transceiver Cable
  • NI 9860 C Series Vehicle Multiprotocol Interface Module1
  • NI 9861 Low-Speed/Fault Tolerant C Series CAN Interface Module
  • NI 9862 High-Speed, Flexible Data Rate C Series CAN Interface Module
  • NI 9866 C Series LIN Interface Module

1  The NI-9860 is supported only with TRC-8542 and TRC-8543 transceiver cables and installed in a cDAQ-9185 or cDAQ-9189 CompactDAQ Ethernet chassis.

For more information, see Linux Limitations.

Device Configuration

This distribution includes the NI-XNET Hardware Configuration Utility, nixnetconfig, a command line interface configuration utility for Linux desktop distributions. This utility provides functionality similar to the Measurement and Automation Explorer (MAX) graphical configuration utility, which is not supported on Linux. Run nixnetconfig to start the utility and configure supported NI-XNET interfaces and devices.

New Features

Static ARP Cache Configuration:

  • Enables user to configure XNET IP stack with IP Address/MAC Address pairs statically so the XNET IP stack doesn’t have to send an ARP Request in order to determine destination MAC address.

Finding Examples

This release includes examples showing the use of NI-XNET in C and LabVIEW.

C examples are located in /usr/share/doc/ni-xnet/examples (From LabVIEW 2023 Q1 and later the examples can be found under LVAddons directory /usr/local/natinst/share/lvaddons/ni-xnet/examples). Make files are provided that link to the necessary libraries.

LabVIEW examples are located in the LabVIEW examples directory.

Be sure to run the device configuration utility (described in Device Configuration) before running examples.

Linux Limitations

Some features discussed in the NI-XNET documentation are unavailable on Linux.

  • NI-XNET supports two application development environments:
    • LabVIEW: LabVIEW 2020 SP1, LabVIEW 2021 SP1, LabVIEW 2022 and LabVIEW 2023
    • C and C++ (gcc)
  • NI-XNET does not support other ADEs, such as the LabVIEW Real-Time Module, LabWindows/CVI, Microsoft Visual C/C++, or Microsoft Visual Basic.
  • While NI-XNET includes LabVIEW VIs, it does not provide other graphical utilities that are available for other operating systems:
    • LabVIEW Express VIs
    • Measurement and Automation Explorer (MAX) graphical configuration utility. Refer to Device Configuration in the Installation section for information about configuring your device in Linux.
    • Soft front panels.
  • When using NI-XNET in a PXI system, several restrictions apply:
    • Control through MXI-4 is supported
    • Control through MXI-3 is not supported
  • External calibration functions are not supported. Refer to your hardware documentation for information about external calibration, and refer to ni.com/calibration. If your NI-XNET requires external calibration, either perform the calibration on a Windows system, or hire NI or an independent calibration laboratory to perform the calibration.