Is There a Difference in How I Reference My FPGA Target?

Issue Details

I’ve noticed that the resource name on the Open FPGA VI Reference.vi can reference an FPGA target by either an IP address or by the target name. What is the difference in the way the FPGA target is referenced?

Solution

When you reference your FPGA using an IP address, the information sent to, and from, the FPGA goes through the RIO server which requires going through the network using TCP/IP. 



Alternatively, you can use the same method with the address of “localhost”, or “127.0.0.1”. This is usually mapped to a virtual loopback network device that will look for a local target.



Finally, you can reference it by the RIO alias that can found in Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX). This uses an internal communication method to interface with local targets and does not rely on network communication.


Note: For referencing local FPGA targets, it is recommended to use the RIO alias as this will avoid any network issues and typically offers better performance. If targeting a remote FPGA, network considerations should be taken into account when designing the application.