LAN eXtensions for Instrumentation

LAN eXtensions for Instrumentation (LXI) is a standard developed by the LXI Consortium, an industry consortium that maintains the LXI specification, promotes the LXI Standard, and ensures interoperability. The LXI standard defines the communication protocols for instrumentation and data acquisition systems using Ethernet. Ethernet is an accessible and versatile interface that must be implemented against a standard for instrumentation to communicate effectively.

The LXI Consortium provides the structure that ensures instrumentation developed by various vendors works effectively as long as the instruments are compliant. The LXI Consortium ensures that the LXI standard complements test and measurement systems, such as existing GPIB and PXI systems.

Overview

Introduced in 2005 by Agilent Technologies and VTI Instruments (formerly called VXI Technology), the LXI instrumentation platform combines Ethernet-enabled instrumentation with the ubiquity of the World Wide Web and applies them to test and measurement applications. Small, modular instruments, using low-cost, open-standard LAN (Ethernet) are the system backbone. LXI-compliant instruments offer the size and integration advantages of modular instruments without the cost and constraints of card-cage architectures. LXI supports synthetic instruments and peer-to-peer networking, which provides number of unique capabilities to the test engineer. Utilizing Ethernet communications, permits flexible packaging, high-speed I/O, and standardized use of LAN connectivity addresses a broad range of commercial, industrial, aerospace, and military applications.