Deterministic Ethernet Expansion Chassis User's Guide

NI 9144 User Guide and Specifications 12 ni.com
Resetting the NI 9144 Network Configuration
To reset the NI 9144 network configuration, unplug and replug in the
NI 9144 chassis.
Safe-State Outputs
The NI 9144 has a safe state that lies between its configuration and
operational states. When moving out of the operational state down to the
configuration state, during normal operation or in case of a serious error,
the NI 9144 passes through this safe state.
The safe state forces the data of output modules to pre-defined safe values,
which are set by default to output zero volts for the default channel
configuration. It is possible to change the safe values as needed by writing
to the appropriate object dictionary entries for your output module.
Slave Timing Modes
There are two fundamental timing modes the NI 9144 can operate in:
free-run and synchronized using the EtherCAT distributed clock through
DC synchronized mode.
In free-run mode the NI 9144, by default, runs its conversion cycle as
quickly as the slowest module allows. It is possible to slow the free-run
conversion cycle down by writing a minimum cycle time in nanoseconds to
the NI 9144’s index 0x3001.1.
In DC synchronized mode the NI 9144 begins each conversion cycle on a
signal from the EtherCAT Master/scan engine. If the external cycle time is
too fast for the given module configuration, the NI 9144 signals an error.
Updating your Firmware
Firmware updates are performed via the File over EtherCAT (FoE)
download protocol. All NI firmware update files have a suffix of
.foe and
have internal identification information that guides the NI 9144 during the
update. Refer to your specific master software documentation for the
procedure of sending FoE downloads.
The NI 9144 firmware update does not use the filename or password
information.