NI provides three software options for programming the PXIe-5644NI-RFmx, NI-RFSA and NI-RFSG instrument driver software, and the instrument design libraries.

Table 2. PXIe-5644 Software Options
Software Option Description Use Case
NI-RFmx

Provides a single-handle instrument driver with built-in measurements.

You can use instrument driver FPGA extensions to customize the device FPGA using precompiled bitfiles.

Use NI-RFmx SpecAn to perform spectral measurements.

Use NI-RFmx Demod to perform modulation quality measurements, such as EVM.

Use NI-RFmx cellular personalities to perform physical layer measurement analysis on supported cellular signals.

NI-RFSA and NI-RFSG instrument driver

The NI-RFSA and NI-RFSG APIs each provide a fixed API for interacting with your PXIe-5644 device.

NI-RFSA and NI-RFSG provide standard IVI-based functionality needed for most vector signal analyzer and vector signal generator applications.

You can use NI-RFSA and NI-RFSG instrument driver FPGA extensions to customize the device FPGA using precompiled bitfiles.

Use NI-RFSA to create custom measurements or applications that require I/Q data.

Use NI-RFSG to generate continuous or modulated waveforms.

Use NI-RFSA and NI-RFSG with the NI Modulation Toolkit to develop software-defined radio transmitters and receivers.

Use NI-RFSG with the NI Modulation Toolkit to create and generate modulated signals to test receivers.

Instrument design libraries

The instrument design libraries allow you to customize your PXIe-5644 device to suit the needs of your application.

Sample projects, which allow you to take common measurements with your device, are included with the installation.

Use the instrument design libraries with the LabVIEW FPGA Module to customize the behavior of the device FPGA to create application-specific instrument designs.
Note You can use either NI-RFmx or NI-RFSA and NI-RFSG instrument driver software in combination with the instrument design libraries in a single application; however, only one software option can access the device at a time.