List of drivers and versions contained in "FieldPoint 5.0.1"

[BartyM]

Can any one tell me which drivers (and their versions) are in the FieldPoint 5.0.1 release?

I'm having a configuration managment issue and need to know where some "odd" versions came from.

A compatability matrix would also be great..

I can find this information in the knowledgebase for FP5.0 and FP4.1... It was very useful...

Barty

[Chris_Cilino]

BartyM,

FieldPoint 5.0.1 is the driver itself. It consists of all software necessary to controll the various FieldPoint and Compact FieldPoint modules. It isn't modular, so you can't get only parts and pieces of 5.0.1.

What odd versions are you referring to? Also, can you provide a link to the knowledgebases you mentioned?

Chris C

[BartyM]

Hi Chris,

Referenced Knowledgebase articles below...

1) Software Installation Compatibility for FieldPoint Real-Time Controllers -

http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/websearch/B730A501736C999486256E59005A5BD7?OpenDocument

2) What Versions of Software Drivers Can be Installed With My FieldPoint CD? -

http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/29E41C43BD20C42586256FC8006C75B7

The problem I currently fighting is one of configuration management. I have over 80 cFP controllers deployed in all parts of the US (and soon to be Japan). We have been deploying these units for about 3 years now. As a result, the list and version numbers of the "features and components" on each of the cFP Controllers are not the same on all of the units.

For example -The cFP controller I'm currently working with has the Component named "FieldPoint Drivers 5.0.2" installed (as reported by MAX/Remote Systems/Software/AddRemove). But this same software reports that this version currently does not exist on my laptop, but versions 4.1.7 and 4.1.6 are availible.

I obviously don't want to go backward on the version, but I have no way of "pulling" this newer Component version off the cFP Controller to be installed on all of my other cFP Controllers. So the question is where did this odd 5.0.2 driver come from? Best I can tell it didn't come from me... The factory? Where/How would I get it, so I could test and deploy it across the other units?

More recently, I installed FP5.0.1 and found that "FieldPoint Driver 5.1.2" was now installed my laptop - Before I would start upgrading all of the cFP units, I would want to make sure that my current LabVIEW application works with this new driver, so we would go through a test phase... Once completed - then deploy...

To make this more confusing, we are about to jump from LV7.1 to LV8.0 (and LV8.2 after that later this year), where the "Components" now have different version numbers and compatability issues - ie: LV8 requires "Components" of certain miminum level...

Question: Are the Fieldpoint "Features / Components" backward compatable? Will FieldPoint Driver 5.1.2 work with both LV8 and LV7.1? A compatability table or matrix showing the released Components (like found in the knowledgebase article mentioned above) would clearly answer that question.

Enough history and background - back to my original question - What "features and componets" (and their version numbers) are released in FP501? What are they compatible with (LV7.1, LV80, etc)? Is there a way I can find this myself or do I have to bother you guys everytime a new FP release gets issued?

It keeps me awake at night thinking that I have a golden opportunity to really screw this up...

Ultimately, I'm trying to get a point where if I ever have to answer a question "Where did the "Features and Componets" on this cFP Controller came from and how does a new person to the group get them installed on their laptop?" - I will be able to do so. Hopefully, I will be able to say just to to the NI site and download FP501 (as an example)... And here is the matrix / table of what versions you need need for LV7.1, LV8.0 and LV8.2 , etc...

Thanks for your help - I hope I've made my problem/concern clear -

[TommyTestBoy]

Barty,

Yes, your problem is clear.  Obviously, these Knowledge Base articles are a bit out of date and do not describe the versions of RT drivers available for LabVIEW 8.0 and 8.20, and also does not tell you what components are compatible with what.  We are working on updating these documents now.  Hopefully I can answer your questions regarding driver compatibility here in this post:

1) No, the FieldPoint versions are not always backwards compatible with older versions of LabVIEW.  For example, the version of the FieldPoint RT driver you mentioned, 5.1.2, is compatible with LabVIEW 8.0 RT.  It is not compatible with LabVIEW 7.1 RT.  The older versions of the FieldPoint RT driver (like 4.1.6 and 4.1.7) are not compatible with LabVIEW 8.0 or 8.2.

2) FP 5.0.1 installs support for LV RT 7.1, RT 8.0, and RT 8.2.  In general, you should keep the following versions of the FieldPoint RT driver with the corresponding LVRT version:

The FieldPoint driver compatible with LVRT 7.1 is FP Control Environment 5.0.2, and FP VI Manager 3.0.0.
The FieldPoint driver compatible with LVRT 8.0 is FP Control Environment 5.1.2, and FP VI Manager 4.0.0
The FieldPoint driver compatible with LVRT 8.2 is FP Control Environment 5.2.0, and FP VI Manager 4.1.0

3) FieldPoint controllers are shipped with the latest release of all the RT drivers preinstalled - I imagine this is why the controller has FieldPoint 5.0.2 installed on the controller but it is not available on your laptop.  Either that or the RT software was installed onto the system from a different computer than your laptop.  If you want to get the 5.0.2 version of the FieldPoint driver on your laptop so you can deploy this newer driver to your LVRT 7.1 systems, then you should be able to get that by installing the "Real-Time and Embedded>>LabVIEW Real-Time 7.1 Support>>FieldPoint 4.2" component from the FP 5.0.1 CD.

Does this answer your questions?

-Tommy