Installation and Configuration (xPC Target)

xPC Target

Target PC

The target PC has to be a PC compatible system. You can use a second desktop computer as the target PC, but also you can use an industrial system like a PC/104 or CompactPCI as the target computer.

Software Requirements for the Target PC

The following table lists the minimum software xPC Target requires on your target PC system.

Software
Description

Operating system
None. If you have an operating system installed on the target PC, the xPC Target kernel does not affect it.

BIOS
PC compatible

Software	Description
Operating system	None. If you have an operating system installed on the target PC, the xPC Target kernel does not affect it.
BIOS	PC compatible

Hardware Requirements for the Target PC

The following table lists the minimum resources xPC Target requires on the target PC system.

Hardware
Description

Chip set
PC compatible with UART, programmable interrupt controller, keyboard controller, and counter

Communication
One free serial port (COM1 or COM2) with a 9-pin or 25-pin D-sub connector or an Ethernet card connected to a network. The xPC Target software includes a serial null modem cable and an Ethernet card for the target PC

CPU
Intel 386/486/ Pentium or AMD K5/K6/Athlon with or without a floating point processor or unit. We recommend a Pentium, Athlon or later CPU

Keyboard and mouse
Needed to control the target PC when you create stand-alone applications
Note If a keyboard is not connected, the BIOS may display an error message (keyboard failure). With a newer BIOS, you can use the BIOS setup to skip the keyboard test.

Monitor
We recommend using a monitor, but it is not necessary. You can get all of the target information using xPC Target functions on the host PC.

Peripheral
One 3.5 inch floppy disk drive. A hard disk drive is not required.
Note If you install the xPC Target Embedded Option, you can copy files to a hard disk or flash memory and boot from that device.

RAM
8 Mbytes or more

Hardware	Description
Chip set	PC compatible with UART, programmable interrupt controller, keyboard controller, and counter
Communication	One free serial port (COM1 or COM2) with a 9-pin or 25-pin D-sub connector or an Ethernet card connected to a network. The xPC Target software includes a serial null modem cable and an Ethernet card for the target PC
CPU	Intel 386/486/ Pentium or AMD K5/K6/Athlon with or without a floating point processor or unit. We recommend a Pentium, Athlon or later CPU
Keyboard and mouse	Needed to control the target PC when you create stand-alone applications Note If a keyboard is not connected, the BIOS may display an error message (keyboard failure). With a newer BIOS, you can use the BIOS setup to skip the keyboard test.
Monitor	We recommend using a monitor, but it is not necessary. You can get all of the target information using xPC Target functions on the host PC.
Peripheral	One 3.5 inch floppy disk drive. A hard disk drive is not required. Note If you install the xPC Target Embedded Option, you can copy files to a hard disk or flash memory and boot from that device.
RAM	8 Mbytes or more

Random Access Memory (RAM) -- xPC Target works with PC compatible computers that use inexpensive dynamic RAM, unlike many nonPC compatible target computers that use expensive static RAM. You can acquire several megabytes of data during a run depending on how much memory you install in the target PC.

PC compatible target computers -- xPC Target supports the following PC compatible hardware (form factors):

PC ISA
PC PCI
PC/104 and PC/104+
CompactPCI

I/O boards -- You can install inexpensive I/O boards in the PCI or ISA slots of the target PC. These boards provide a direct interface to the sensors, actuators, or other devices for real-time control or signal processing applications.

For a list of I/O functions supported by xPC Target, see I/O Driver Support.

Host PC Installation on the Host PC