User`s guide

1 Getting Started
1-8
Hardware Environment
The hardware environment consists of a PC-compatible computer and I/O
boards.
This section includes the following topics:
• “PC-Compatible Computer” on page 1-8
• “Input/Output Driver Support” on page 1-8
PC-Compatible Computer
You can use any PC-compatible computer that runs Windows NT 4.0, Windows
2000, or Windows XP.
Your computer can be a desktop, laptop, or notebook PC.
Input/Output Driver Support
The Real-Time Windows Target uses standard and inexpensive I/O boards for
PC-compatible computers. When running your models in real time, the
Real-Time Windows Target captures the sampled data from one or more input
channels, uses the data as inputs to your block diagram model, immediately
processes the data, and sends it back to the outside world through an output
channel on your I/O board.
I/O boards — The Real-Time Windows Target supports a wide range of I/O
boards. The list of supported I/O boards includes ISA, PCI, and PCMCIA
boards. This includes analog-to-digital (A/D), digital-to-analog (D/A), digital
inputs, digital outputs, and encoder inputs. In total, over 200 I/O boards are
currently supported.
For a list of supported boards, see Appendix A, “Supported I/O Boards
Reference.”
Note Some of the functions on a board might not be supported by the
Real-Time Windows Target. Check the MathWorks Web site for an updated
list of supported boards and functions at
http://www.mathworks.com/products/supportedio.html?prodCode=WT.