Can I use KPCI boards in DOS, Linux or other operating system that is not Windows?

Can I use KPCI boards in DOS, Linux or other operating system that is not Windows?

Product(s) :

PCI/ISA Plug-In Boards: various

Question : Can I use KPCI boards in DOS, Linux or other operating system that is not Windows?

Answer: Keithley provides a DriverLINX driver for all KPCI cards and supports it's use on Windows platforms only.

In order to use these products in an operating system other than Windows, a custom driver would need to be developed.

PCI cards are typically memory mapped rather than I/O mapped. Controlling a PCI card requires access to the 32bit memory space of the board's registers (or if in the DOS environment will require use of 32bit DOS extenders). Your programming language needs to be able to access the 32bit registers of the card. Furthermore, PCI boards are Plug-and-Play devices so do not have base address switches to control what addresses they inhabit; your program needs to be able to enumerate the PCI bus to detect the card and to read out the assigned address configuration.

Register level control of PCI cards requires a significantly different skill and tool set than was required for ISA boards.

For purely digital I/O KPCI cards (KPCI-PIO24, KPCI-PIO96, KPCI-3160, KPCI-PDISO8A, KPCI-PIO32IOA), the register map details are documented in the hardware User's Manual. For multi-function KPCI cards, there is a separate register level document that can be furnished once a non-disclosure agreement has been executed. Please contact Keithley Applications Engineering or your local Keithley office for details.