Dual Real-Time targets?

[Bob_Schor]

I'm developing some Real-Time data acquisition/control projects using an NI PXI controller and LabVIEW RT.  I've been developing in LabVIEW 8.6 (and the PXI has been "built" with this software).  I would like to be able to also port a few of my applications to LabVIEW 2009, both to "try out" the new capabilities and to evaluate the benefits of the newer version.  However, I am not ready to migrate all of the labs yet, until I've done more testing.

On my host PC, it is fairly easy to have LabVIEW 8.6 peacefully coexist with LabVIEW 2009.  I'm looking for suggestions on how to achieve a similar "harmony" on my PXI system.  I cannot do this by swapping controllers (one running LabVIEW 8.6, the other running LabVIEW 2009), as I only have one available for development.  Neither do I want to be constantly "rebuilding" the software on my controller.

What techniques work well in this situation?  My controller was built as a "pure-RT" controller, that is, without a copy of Windows, so it boots right into the RT OS.

Bob Schor

[Will_S.]

Hi Bob,

On a single partition, you can currently only have one bootable Real-Time OS. The Real-Time OS will also assume it is the only OS, such that the first partition will always boot (there is no system choice provided by the RTOS). So in order to have LVRT 8.6 and LVRT 2009 on the same PXI controller with a choice between them, you would essentially need to make a triple-boot computer: Windows, LVRT 8.6, and LVRT 2009. Windows would give you a BIOS, allowing you to select a boot disk (in your case choosing between Windows, 8.6 and 2009).

This would require 3 partitions, one for each OS. Also, you would need to create images of LVRT 8.6 and LVRT 2009 and apply them to individual partitions. You wouldn't be able to use a standard LVRT installer because they all pick the first partition and overwrite it.

 This is an unsupported feature of the PXI controllers and LabVIEW Real-Time, but could allow you to have both RTOSes functioning on the same controller. Below is a knowledgebase that details a dual-boot configuration:

https://knowledge.ni.com/KnowledgeArticleDetails?id=kA00Z0000019MHaSAM&l=en-US

Regards,

[Caseyw]

Hi Bob,

I agree with Will that it is not currently possible to run multiple instances of LabVIEW Real-Time (targets) on a single computer. NI does have a product called the Real-Time Hypervisor that enables running Windows XP and LabVIEW Real-Time simultaneously, but not two instances of LabVIEW Real-Time.

If you wanted to go with a dual-boot system with two copies of LabVIEW Real-Time, as Will mentioned this is not a simple task but is possible. You would have to create multiple partitions, install LabVIEW Real-Time via the USB utility on each partition, and then install a boot loader utility such as GRUB to give you an option of which OS to boot into when you start your computer.

Overall, I would't recommend this dual-boot option; it involves making changes to your master boot record and as Will mentioned is not supported by NI. 

Regards,

Casey Weltzin

Product Manager, LabVIEW Real-Time 

National Instruments

[Bob_Schor]

Dear Will and Casey,

     I recall mentioning the possibility of using Boot/Partition Magic to do this "trick" two years ago, when I had an older PXI controller that had Windows installed on the main partition, with the Real Time OS installed "beside it".  This needed a floppy (??? you remember floppies, don't you?) to boot into RealTime.  My current controller has only the RTOS, hence my question.  I'm probably going to "bite the bullet" and do the multi-partition solution, since I really do want to (easily) switch between 8.6 and 2009.

BS

[Will_S.]

Hi Bob,

The following resources should help you get started:

http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/F46C72D0D751ED838625727C00775BD6 
http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/D986EAAF401F660386256CF300696716?OpenDocument 

https://knowledge.ni.com/KnowledgeArticleDetails?id=kA00Z0000019MHaSAM&l=en-US
http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/652BF52EA9D53813862572EB005B0F60?OpenDocument 

https://knowledge.ni.com/KnowledgeArticleDetails?id=kA00Z000000P6auSAC&l=en-US
http://digital.ni.com/public.nsf/allkb/A3D82B95BE9D3F628625761F0073A822?OpenDocument 

[Caseyw]

Hi Bob,

I don't have experience with the multi-RT boot option (this isn't a supported setup), but I think you should be able to get it to work with some experimentation. Rather than using a floppy disk, you can use Measurement and Automation Explorer to create a bootable USB utility that has the RT startup files on it. Booting from the USB drive will give you the option to install LabVIEW Real-Time on your hard drive. 

This may be a challenge: to install different versions of LabVIEW Real-Time on different partitions will be difficult, as the USB utility by default installs LabVIEW Real-Time to the first available FAT32 or Reliance partition.

After you are successful installing LabVIEW Real-Time on both partitions (if possible), a variety of boot managers should work. I have worked in the past with WinGRUB, but certainly other possibilities such as BootMagic may be worth trying. Keep in mind that you will either need a bootable partition manager solution, or you will need to install Windows on a third partition just to set up the boot manager.

Once again, this setup isn't something that we support at NI, and so therefore it may take some of your time to experiment with the non-standard setup. While our Applications Engineers may not be able to give specific advice on this system, I look forward to hearing about your experimentation and results!

Regards,

Casey Weltzin

Product Manager, LabVIEW Real-Time

National Instruments