NI cDAQ-9178

Running a cDAQ-9178 on Linux, Windows or a Mac

NI-DAQmx supports the cDAQ-9178 on Windows 11, Windows 10 LTSC and Windows Server 2022 and 2025, and on the same desktop Linux distributions as the rest of the USB cDAQ family: RHEL 9 and 10, openSUSE Leap 15.6 and 16, and Ubuntu 22.04 and 24.04 per NI’s compatibility table. NI-DAQmx on Linux supports C and LabVIEW, while NI MAX and FlexLogger are Windows only. Nothing from NI runs it on a current Mac, since NI-DAQmx Base, the last Mac driver, stopped at macOS 10.14. DAQAtlas, which is in development, reaches the cDAQ-9178 through DAQAtlas Bridge running on either a Windows or a Linux host.

Slots, timing engines and BNC terminals

The chassis itself has no inputs. Channel count, resolution and rate come from the modules. Eight NI-9205 modules, for example, give 256 single-ended inputs that share each module’s 250 kS/s converter. Like the cDAQ-9174, it has three AI timing engines, so up to three analog input tasks can run at independent rates, and seven hardware-timed data streams in total. Channels from one module can’t be split across tasks, so plan slot assignments around your tasks. Over the four-slot chassis, the cDAQ-9178 adds two BNC terminals (PFI 0 and PFI 1) for external triggers, sample clocks and counter inputs or outputs, so you can trigger from or export a clock to other equipment without giving up a slot to a digital module. The synchronization guide covers sharing clocks and triggers with other hardware. The four counters are 32-bit. It runs from a 9 to 30 V input with an included 12 V supply (regional cord sold separately) and connects over USB 2.0 Hi-Speed. The list price at the time of writing is $2,444.