NI PXIe-1088 9 Slot PXI Chassis

The NI PXIe-1088 is a 9-slot 3U PXI Express chassis from National Instruments.It designed for mid-to-high channel count automated test and measurement systems. This chassis features a fully hybrid backplane architecture (8 hybrid peripheral slots + 1 system controller slot), with each peripheral slot offering flexible installation of PXI Express, PXI, or CompactPCI modules, providing maximum flexibility in instrument module layout. The system has a maximum bandwidth of 8 GB/s, with 3 hybrid slots directly connected to the system slot via Gen-2 x4 links (2 GB/s/s unidirectional), and 5 hybrid slots connected via Gen-2 x1 links through a PCI Express switch (500 MB/s/s unidirectional). Each slot provides 58 W of cooling capacity (slots 2-8), far exceeding the PXI specification's minimum requirement of 30 W, enabling stable operation of high-power instruments such as FlexRIO digitizers, high-speed digital I/O, and RF modules.

The chassis has a total usable power of 329 W, equipped with an instrument-grade AC power supply (100-240 VAC), and features built-in low-jitter 10 MHz and 100 MHz reference clocks (±25 ppm accuracy, 100 MHz inter-slot skew of only 100 ps), as well as an 8-wire PXI trigger bus, providing nanosecond-level time alignment capabilities for multi-module synchronous acquisition. The operating temperature range is 0-50°C (≤38 W/slot configuration), and the acoustic performance is as low as 52.3 dBA in automatic fan mode. Weighing 7.64 kg, the chassis is compact (177.2 × 355.6 × 214.2 mm) and can be deployed on a desktop or rack-mounted in a 19-inch bay. (Part number 784782-01) It is widely used in semiconductor testing, aerospace, automotive electronics verification, and research laboratory environments.

Product Description from the Supplier

Xi'an Mingxi Taida Information Technology Co., Ltd. brings over 12 years of industry expertise to deliver cutting-edge measurement and control solutions.With progressed computerization forms and strict quality control, we guarantee each item meets the most noteworthy guidelines for proficient applications.

Description

The NI PXIe-1088 is a mid-to-high-end 9-slot model in the NI PXI Express chassis product line, positioned between entry-level low-slot chassis (such as PXIe-1071/1073/1090/1083) and flagship 18-slot high-performance chassis (such as PXIe-1095). It targets automated test and measurement applications requiring a moderate number of channels, high bandwidth, and robust cooling, covering critical environments such as semiconductor wafer testing, automotive ECU verification, aerospace radar signal preprocessing, and 5G RF characterization.

The core selling point of the PXIe-1088 9 Slot PXI Chassis lies in its fully hybrid backplane design—all eight peripheral slots are hybrid, compatible with both PXI Express and traditional PXI/CompactPCI modules. This design eliminates the need for users to worry about "which slot can accommodate which type of module" when configuring their systems, significantly reducing system integration complexity. It is particularly suitable for heterogeneous test systems that require the integration of instruments with different bus standards.

The Core Improvements Brought by PXI Express Include:

• Dedicated bandwidth per slot: Evolving from the PCI shared bus architecture to the PCI Express point-to-point architecture, each slot has dedicated bandwidth, up to 2 GB/s/s/slot.
• 100 MHz differential system clock: Adding a differential 100 MHz reference clock and differential star triggering to the existing 10 MHz clock.
• Backward compatibility: Compatible with PXI modules through a hybrid slot design, protecting existing user investments.​​​​​​​

Key Features of The NI PXIe-1088 9 Slot PXI Chassis

• High-Performance Backplane and Bandwidth Architecture

The PXIe-1088's backplane uses a Gen-2 PCI Express interconnect topology, providing differentiated dedicated bandwidth for different slots:

3 High-Performance Hybrid Slots (Slots 4, 6, and 8): Directly connected to the system controller slot via x4 links, providing 2 GB/s of dedicated unidirectional bandwidth per slot, suitable for high-throughput instruments such as digitizers and high-speed digital I/O.

5 Standard Hybrid Slots (Slots 2, 3, 5, 7, and 9): Connected to the system slot via a PCI Express switch via x1 links (the switch is connected via x4 links), providing 500 MB/s of dedicated unidirectional bandwidth per slot, suitable for medium-to-low speed data acquisition, switch matrices, and other modules.

This differentiated bandwidth design ensures that high-throughput modules have sufficient data pipeline access, while medium- and low-speed modules do not crowd out system bandwidth, resulting in an overall system bandwidth peak of up to 8 GB/s.

• Fully Hybrid Tank Flexibility

The PXIe-1088 9 Slot PXI Chassis 's 8 hybrid peripheral slots accept the following types of modules:

PXI Express peripherals (x8/x4/x1 PCI Express links), CompactPCI Express Type-2 peripherals, PXI peripherals (hybrid compatible, requires XJ4 connector modification), Standard CompactPCI 32-bit peripherals (communication via backplane 32-bit PCI bus).

The hybrid slot offers full PXI Express functionality and 32-bit PXI functionality (except for PXI Local Bus, which only connects to Local Bus 6). This fully hybrid architecture is a highly flexible design for a 9-slot product, allowing users to freely combine PXI Express high-speed modules with PXI legacy modules.

• Enhanced Cooling System

The PXI Express specification requires at least 30 W of cooling capacity per outer slot, while the PXIe-1088 offers 58 W/slot (slots 2-8) and 38 W/slot (slot 9), far exceeding the specification requirements. The cooling system employs a positive pressure forced air cooling scheme with two 171 CFM fans. Airflow enters from the bottom of the chassis, passes through the modules, and exits from the top right side.

NI also offers Slot Blockers as an option, which fill unused slots with plastic modules to reduce airflow bypass, potentially reducing the temperature rise of electronic components in installed modules by up to 20%. The 58W cooling capacity is sufficient to support full-load operation of the following high-power modules.

FlexRIO Digitizer (PXIe-5763/5764): Increased FPGA power budget supports large Kintex UltraScale designs with clock rates >150 MHz, PXI Data Storage Module, PXI RF Transceiver.

• High-Precision System Synchronization Clock

The PXIe-1088 9 Slot PXI Chassis has two built-in low-jitter reference clocks, providing a hardware-level time base for synchronous acquisition by multiple modules.

The 100 ps inter-slot skew and sub-picosecond jitter of the 100 MHz differential clock enable the PXIe-1088 to maintain nanosecond-level time alignment in multi-channel high-speed synchronous acquisition systems, which is crucial for applications such as millimeter-wave radar beamforming and 5G MIMO channel calibration.

• Acoustics and Reliability

Automatic fan control: Automatically operates in low-noise mode (38 W configuration, 52.3 dBA) in environments ranging from 0-30°C, automatically increasing fan speed as temperature rises. Field-replaceable fans: Maintenance requires no return to the factory. Power/temperature/fan monitoring: Real-time monitoring of chassis health status via MAX software. Wide operating temperature range: 0-50°C (≤38 W/slot), 0-40°C (>38 W/slot). 

NI Offering a complete PXI Express chassis product line with 2 to 18 bays, 38 W to 82 W cooling capacity, and 250 MB/s to 24 GB/s system bandwidth. The PXIe-1088 belongs to the "entry-level or previous generation mid-to-high bay" product category, and its positioning within the product line can be summarized as follows:

The PXIe-1088 9 Slot PXI Chassis's differentiating value lies in the fact that it is the only 9-slot chassis in NI's product line, perfectly filling the gap between 5-slot (PXIe-1083) and 18-slot (PXIe-1084/1086) chassis. It provides the best cost-performance option for users who do not need 18-slot expandability but require more lanes than 5 slots

• Instrument-grade power supply: NI's proprietary power supply (non-commercial ATX power supply), optimized for the unique power requirements of PXI, ensuring no power derating across the entire temperature range
• Patented rear-mounted fan design: The fan is located at the rear of the chassis, distributing airflow evenly through guide vanes, reducing electrical noise (EMI) coupling to the measurement module compared to a bottom-mounted fan design
• True power rating: NI rates the "Module Available Power" (after deducting fan and backplane power consumption), not the total power supply output, avoiding misleading specifications.
• Long-term supply guarantee: NI maintains ownership of the power supply design, preventing chassis design changes due to third-party power supply vendors

NI PXI Express Entry-Level Chassis Comparison

Functions of The NI PXIe-1088 9 Slot PXI Chassis

​​​​​​​As the core platform of the PXI Express system, the PXIe-1088 provides the following key functions

• Data Communication Functions

High-speed inter-module data transfer based on Gen-2 PCI Express, supporting DMA direct memory access, PCI Express switch enables parallel data paths from multiple modules to the controller, Two PCI Express-to-PCI bridges provide a 32-bit 33 MHz PCI bus for PXI/CompactPCI modules in a mixed-slot environment.

• Synchronization and Trigger Functions

10 MHz PXI_CLK10 System Reference Clock: Each peripheral slot is equipped with an independent buffer driver (source impedance matched backplane, skew <250 ps),100 MHz PXIeCLK100 / PXIeSYNC100 Differential System Clock: 100 ps inter-slot skew, 8-Wire PXI Trigger Bus: Supports dynamic trigger routing (automatically assigned via drivers such as NI-DAQmx) and static trigger reservation (configurable via MAX). PXI Local Bus 6: Point-to-point high-speed/analog signal path (0-42 V) between adjacent slots.

• System monitoring functions

Power supply voltage monitoring (real-time readings of each voltage rail), Temperature monitoring (multi-point temperature sensing inside the chassis), Fan speed monitoring, Front panel LED status indicators (can be configured via software to flash to assist chassis identification in multi-chassis systems)​​​​​​​. Chassis self-test function.

• Trigger Bus Architecture

The PXIe-1088's 8-wire PXI trigger bus uses two trigger bridges for segmented driving in a 9-slot configuration. Trigger bridge #1: Connects the trigger wires of slots 1-6, Trigger bridge #2: Connects the trigger wires of slots 6-9.

Drivers such as NI-DAQmx support dynamic trigger routing, automatically selecting trigger line paths to avoid conflicts. Users can also perform static trigger reservation and route configuration through MAX. The advantage of dynamic routing is that routes are bound to the task lifecycle, automatically releasing resources after the task ends.

• Fan Mode Configuration

The PXIe-1088 supports two fan operating modes, which can be configured via DIP switches or MAX software.

Both cooling configurations (38 W / 58 W) offer Auto or High modes, with a total of 4 combinations. The DIP switch must be in the Auto position to use software configuration.

• Power Inhibit Mode

The PXIe-1088 9 Slot PXI Chassis supports Inhibit mode, allowing selection of "automatic" or "manual" inhibition via a DIP switch. In automatic mode, the system controller controls the power switch via the PS_ON# signal (low level to turn on power). This function is suitable for automated test systems requiring remote power-on/off.

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Contact our technical specialists at manager03@mxtdinfo.com  / manager02@mxtdinfo.com for detailed specifications, pricing information, or to discuss your custom requirements. We're committed to delivering the perfect NI PXIe-1088 9 Slot PXI Chassis solution for your application needs.