LabVIEW Real-Time Application Deployment

[engineer987]

Switching to NI System Configuration 5.3.3 resolved the issue.  Perhaps the RAD team could update the install instructions (at http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/epd/p/id/5986) with explicit version numbers for the supporting software?  I found that Labview Runtime 2012 makes RAD fail (too new), as does NI Sys Config 5.1 (too old).  Having explicit version numbers on the page could save developers quite a bit of troubleshooting time.

[Burt_S]

While the RAD has grown significantly in scope over the years, it is still meant as a starting point or example for developing a deployment solution tailored to your application's specific requirements.  The EXE is posted for convenience, but the tool is really meant to be built from the supplied source code.  Unfortunately we don't have a dedicated RAD development team, which is why the code is posted on a DevZone and not shipped with the product.  That said, I try to update the tool as much as possible time-permitting.

In the 'Download' section of the documentation, LabVIEW 2010 SP1 and System Configuration 5.3.3 or higher are specifically called out as requirements.  The posted EXE was built in LabVIEW 2010, and we will always recommend using the most recent versions of drivers unless noted otherwise.  If there are sections of the documentation that were misleading in this regard, please share those with me.

I am glad to hear that things are working for you now.  If you have additional questions or feedback while using the tool, please post them here.

[JimMacD]

Burt,

I'm assuming you are with NI (please correct me if I am wrong). What would it take for NI to make developing a version of RAD to ship with the Real-Time add-on? If you look at other products the the cRIO is competing with directly (i.e. Allen Bradley PLCs/PACs), there are tool sets included to do simple backup/restore features (ex: RSLinx Classic Backup Restore Utility).

-JimM

[Burt_S]

Hello Jim,

Sorry for the late reply and thank you for posting.  This is something we have been considering for a while.  You won't see anything like this in our 2013 release, but this could change in the future.  If possible, I'd love to get some of your feedback on exactly how you would like to see the RAD ship as part of NI's released software. 

Are there benefits that you would hope to get out of this tool shipping with the product other than the convenience of having it installed automatically?

Also how would you prefer the tool to be packaged?  Would you want to be able to launch the tool from the LabVIEW Project, from MAX, from your Start bar, or somewhere else?  Would you want it to install with LabVIEW Real-Time, would you prefer downloading it as a separate tool, or would you want both options?

Any other thoughts you have on this subject would be great to hear.  I can't make any promises that we will be able to release this at all, let alone the way you would prefer, but any feedback like this that we can gather will be very helpful in the decisions that we make.

[JimMacD]

Burt,

If the RAD tool shipped with the normal NI released software, the biggest message it would communicate is that NI is standing behind the product and is committed to supporting it and their customers who use it. My understanding of the product right now is that it was designed by NI internally, and is offered as a "starting point" for more complex backup and restore utilities that are specific to the end user/company/OEM. I can see why this would be a good thing for some users, but not for others. For example, I am a single developer trying to support automation for my company, and simply do not have the time to modify and tweak an application to do a basic backup/restore of the cRIO. I just need a product that works and saves me time and effort.

As far as packaging the application, I think having it launch from MAX (once clicked on the target) would make the most sense, as that's where you would download drivers and configuration anyway. The application could still be installed as a .exe as well if that simplifies things (it gives you the option too of just installing the utility without MAX for a simple backup and deploy computer).

It makes sense to me to have it install when the Real-Time module is installed. For the reasons mentioned in the previous paragraph, you should be able to install it optionally without the real-time module. The utility could be offered as a separate download too, if that would be allowed due to licenses, etc...

Ultimately, my main point is that I'm looking for a simple backup/restore utility that is supported and maintained by NI, just like other vendors who supply PLCs and automation software. That being said, I have been using the RAD tool for about a year and it does work for me except for some of the bugs people have mentioned here (i.e. issues when there is a password on the cRIO target).

Thank you for the opportunity to communicate.

-Jim

[NI-hilator]

Apologies for posting this as a reply but I could not find a way to post a new question/thread.

I have Labview 2013 and I am trying to implement the Real-Time Control on CompactRIO (RIO Scan Interface) Has anyone actually gotten this to work? Is this the appropriate forum/thread to post question regarding this?  If not, could somone point me to an alternate forum?

Thanks in advance!

[JoshuaP]

I would suggest posting to one of the LV forums like FPGA.  

http://forums.ni.com/t5/forums/searchpage/tab/message?submitted=true&type=message&q=fpga&page_size=5...

Just sign in and then click the post button.

[JoshuaP]

Does anyone use RAD's feature to "Configure Bitfiles for FPGA Flash Deployment" to flash a FPGA bitfile along with the image? 

Note, I'm assuming most people just include their FPGA bitfile with their RT application and don't require that it be flashed to the FPGA.

We are considering dropping support for the ability to flash the bitfile for some of the older cRIO controllers, but we don't know how many customers it would impact.  This would enable NI to transition more of the RAD to using the officially supported NI System Configuration API and remove some of the unsupported FPGA replication VIs. In addition, this would allow us to get one step closer to officially supporting RAD and shipping it with MAX and LVRT.

If you use this feature please let me know which cRIO controllers you are currently using.

Thanks,

Josh Prewitt

Software Group Manager

National Instruments

[T._P_Titherington]

Hi, I have an issue with RAD. At the moment I have it installed on a pc without LabVIEW 2012, but it does have the runtime engine, Max, and the NI-RIO drive. It is RAD v. 3.0.2. The problem i'm having is when i go to deploy a cRIO-9074 image, I get the following error. After the deployment process has occurred, it will say image has been deployed and then immediately after the following message shows up. Its saying some remote files are not installed.

I have noticed that the RIO remains in Install mode and I have to do a manual reset on the cRIO. I'm trying to look at the source code for the RAD but I can't properly view it because i'm missing a few files. Specifically the FTP Get File.vi through to FTP Close Session.vi in the vi.lib and the Tools_KeyedArray.ctl through to CRI Get Remote cRIO Backplane Info.vi.

I'm not sure if its to do with the RAD installed on the laptop or whats going on with it.

If someone can shed some light that would be very helpful.

[T._P_Titherington]

Hi, I have an issue with RAD. At the moment I have it installed on a pc without LabVIEW 2012, but it does have the runtime engine, Max, and the NI-RIO drive. It is RAD v. 3.0.2. The problem i'm having is when i go to deploy a cRIO-9074 image, I get the following error. After the deployment process has occurred, it will say image has been deployed and then immediately after the following message shows up. Its saying some remote files are not installed.

I have noticed that the RIO remains in Install mode and I have to do a manual reset on the cRIO. I'm trying to look at the source code for the RAD but I can't properly view it because i'm missing a few files. Specifically the FTP Get File.vi through to FTP Close Session.vi in the vi.lib and the Tools_KeyedArray.ctl through to CRI Get Remote cRIO Backplane Info.vi.

I'm not sure if its to do with the RAD installed on the laptop or whats going on with it.

If someone can shed some light that would be very helpful.

[JoshuaP]

I would highly suggest upgrading to RAD 5.5.2 and NI System Configuration 5.5.1 or higher.  We fixed a lot of issues that may cause that error in our last release.

http://www.ni.com/example/30986/en/