FlexRIO 21.5 for Linux Readme

January 2022

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

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

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

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System Requirements

FlexRIO software for the Linux 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 7
• Ubuntu 20.04
• Ubuntu 18.04

FlexRIO 21.5 for Linux requires a 64-bit distribution and does not support 32-bit applications.

Supported Hardware

FlexRIO 21.5 for Linux supports the following hardware models:

FlexRIO Coprocessors

• PXIe-7911
• PXIe-7912
• PXIe-7915

FlexRIO Digitizers

• PXIe/PCIe-5763
• PXIe/PCIe-5764
• PXIe/PCIe-5774
• PXIe/PCIe-5775

FlexRIO Signal Generators

• PXIe-5745

FlexRIO IF Transceivers

• PXIe/PCIe-5785

FlexRIO High-Speed Serial Modules

• PXIe-6593
• PXIe-6594

FlexRIO FPGA Modules

• PXI-7951R
• PXI-7952R
• PXI-7953R
• PXI-7954R
• PXIe-7961R
• PXIe-7962R
• PXIe-7965R
• PXIe-7966R
• PXIe-7971R
• PXIe-7972R
• PXIe-7975R
• PXIe-7976R

FlexRIO Adapter Modules

• NI 5731
• NI 5732
• NI 5733
• NI 5734
• NI 5741
• NI 5742
• NI 5751/5751B
• NI 5752/5752B
• NI 5753
• NI 5761
• NI 5762
• NI 5771
• NI 5772
• NI 5781
• NI 5782
• NI 5783
• NI 5791
• NI 5792
• NI 5793
• NI 6581/6581B
• NI 6583
• NI 6584
• NI 6585/6585B
• NI 6587
• NI 6589

FlexRIO FPD-Link Interface Modules

• PXIe-1486

FlexRIO GMSL Interface Modules

• PXIe-1487

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:
   • For support for all FlexRIO devices: ni-flexrio
   • For support for PXI-795x devices: ni-flexrio-795x
   • For support for PXI-796x devices: ni-flexrio-796x
   • For support for PXI-797x devices: ni-flexrio-797x
   • For support for FlexRIO Integrated IO devices: ni-flexrio-798x

After the driver packages 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.

Using the FlexRIO Driver and FPGA Interface C API

You must begin development on a computer running Windows.

1. Use LabVIEW FPGA to develop and build an FPGA VI that runs on a FlexRIO device.
2. Use the FPGA Interface C API Generator to create the C source files for your application. Go to ni.com/info and enter the Info Code fpgainterfacecapi to get the latest version of the FPGA Interface C API Generator.
3. Copy the generated files to the Linux machine to begin development of C/C++ code for your application. For information about using the FPGA Interface C API, go to ni.com/info and enter the Info Code fpgainterfacecapihelp.

To find the FlexRIO device you are using in your application, use the command 'lsni -v' to list information on all National Instruments devices in the system.

Linux Limitations

Some features discussed in the FlexRIO documentation are unavailable on Linux.

The following FlexRIO driver features supported for Windows are not supported for Linux.

• Development of LabVIEW FPGA VIs and bitfiles (*.lvbitx)
• Development of LabVIEW FPGA Interface host VIs

You must compile a bitfile using LabVIEW FPGA on a Windows machine. Refer to the "Using the FlexRIO Driver and FPGA Interface C API" section for more information.

Legal Information

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Patents

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