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

October 2021


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

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

Supported Hardware

PXI Interfaces Standard Number of Ports Isolated Max Baud (kbaud)
PXI-8431/2 RS-485/RS-422 2 No 3000.0
PXI-8431/4 RS-485/RS-422 4 No 3000.0
PXI-8431/8 RS-485/RS-422 8 No 3000.0
PXI-8433/2 RS-485/RS-422 2 Yes 3000.0
PXI-8433/4 RS-485/RS-422 4 Yes 3000.0

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 3000.0
PXIe-8431/16 RS-485/RS-422 16 No 3000.0

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

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

This port supplies connections only for transmit, receive, and ground.

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

Linux Limitations

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

While NI-Serial includes support for NI RS-485 serial hardware, it does not support wire mode configuration on all supported Linux distributions:

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
  • CentOS 8
  • CentOS 7

A default transceiver mode of 4 wire-auto will be configured upon install on these distributions.

Legal Information

COPYRIGHT:

(c) 2018-2021 National Instruments Corporation. All rights reserved.

This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storing in an information retrieval system, or translating, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of National Instruments Corporation.

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End-User License Agreements and Third-Party Legal Notices

Notices are located in the /usr/share/doc//NOTICES directory EULAs are located in the /usr/share/ni/licenses directory

U.S. Government Restricted Rights

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.

The IVI Foundation and its member companies make no warranty of any kind with regard to this material, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The IVI Foundation and its member companies shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this material.

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Refer to the NI Trademarks and Logo Guidelines at ni.com/trademarks for information on NI trademarks. Other product and company names mentioned herein are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.

Patents

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

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