GPIB, Serial, and Ethernet products communicate between your PC and stand-alone or modular instruments. You can use the GPIB (IEEE 488), Serial (RS232, RS485, and RS422), or Ethernet interfaces to create instrument control systems.
Platform modules integrate with modular hardware platforms that allow you to combine different types of modules in a custom system that leverages shared platform features. NI offers three hardware platforms—CompactDAQ, CompactRIO, and PXI—though all platforms may not be represented in this category.
Stand-alone or computer-based devices either integrate with standard desktop and laptop computers or allow you to use them without the need for other modular hardware.