Use NI-XNET Alongside TSN Enabled DAQmx Measurements in CompactDAQ

Issue Details

I am using a combination of XNET and DAQ C Series cards in a TSN enabled network with CompactDAQ. Can I synchronize both tasks to start acquiring data at the same time? Moreover, will the XNET message timestamps and DAQ timestamps be synchronized by default?

Solution

The DAQmx and XNET modules within one chassis should already share a timebase, which is in turn synchronized to the timebases of other TSN devices on the network.

You will need to trigger the XNET session appropriately. A good place to start is the "Synchronize C Series CAN with DAQmx Analog Input" shipping example (Help > Find Examples > Hardware Input and Output > CAN > NI-XNET > Synchronization).

Additional Information

An important thing to note is that the trigger routed between the DAQmx task and XNET session is a digital signal on the chassis backplane and is not sent over the network. This means that a DAQmx task must exist on each chassis that you are using an XNET module in. Otherwise, the XNET session cannot be triggered.