The GX7200 Series mainframes are 21-slot PXI chassis that can accommodate up to 20 instruments as well as a PXI Express controller (an embedded CPU or a PXI bus expander interface such as the MXI). The backplane architecture supports Gen 2 PCI Express bus signaling and the use of both x1 or x4 system controllers. By offering a combination of PXI-1, Hybrid, and Express slots, the GX7200 offers users the ultimate in flexibility for general purpose as well as high bandwidth test needs.
A total of 755 watts of system power is available for the GX7200 Series chassis. Forced-air cooling for the chassis is provided by (4) 79 CFM fans located under the card cage with a dedicated fan supplying cooling for the system power supply. This cooling configuration, in conjunction with air plenums within the chassis, provides airflow for all module slots per the PXI specification and requires no additional rack space for inlet or outlet air.
The GX7200 Smart Chassis supports the monitoring of slot temperatures and system power supply voltages as well providing the ability to program or map each PXI trigger line from one PCI segment to another. In addition, the user can program the temperature monitoring function for specific warning and shutdown limits as well as monitor and control fan speed. All user specific setups can be stored in non-volatile memory as a user configuration and can be used as the default setup for normal chassis operation.
For applications requiring a mass interconnect interface and the means to route cables to/from the rear of the chassis, MTS offers the GX7202 and GX7212 models. These chassis include an integrated 2U cable tray, a hinged interface assembly that accommodates all popular mass interconnect devices, optional openings at the top & bottom of chassis for cable routing, and a recessed card cage (recessed by 2.5" or 4.5") providing up to 7" of space for interface wiring.
Slot 1 is dedicated to the system controller (embedded or remote, using a PXI bus expander) and supports a x1 or x4 PXI Express controller.
Slots 2, 9, 10 and 21 are x4 PXIe slots with slot 9 also supporting the PXIe system timing slot functions
Slots 3 – 8 and slots 19 & 20 are PXI hybrid slots
Slots 11 – 18 are PXI-1 slots
The chassis is supplied with the GxChassis software which includes a software library, driver, programming examples, a virtual panel application and documentation. The virtual panel provides a way to control, configure and display the smart chassis' features, including temperature monitoring, trigger line mapping, and power supply voltage monitoring. A 32/64-bit Windows DLL driver is provided with various interface files for accessing the DLL functions from programming tools and languages such as ATEasy, LabVIEW, C/C++, Microsoft Visual Basic®, Delphi, and more. A User's Guide provides documentation that includes instructions for installing, using and programming the chassis. Support for Linux for the chassis is provided using a separate software package - GtLinux.
