EPICS Create Client

[SteveKinder]

I am trying to use the LabVIEW EPICS Client VIs to link existing LabVIEW VIs to an external EPICS soft IOC on the same system. I get "Unable to find the specified record name on the EPICS Client I/O server". I can successfully use caget on the command line to see the PV I am using to test the LabVIEW VIs. I suspect things are failing because I don't know the meaning of, or how to specify, the "EPICS Client URL in" for the "Create EPICS Client VI". I have tried things like \\localhost\process\EPICS_Client but I don't really understand what this is supposed to mean. Can anyone enlighten/help me please? Or perhaps offer a working example that doesn't rely upon the EPICS Server VIs which I do not have?

Regards

Steve

[Oli.P]

Hi Steve,

Usually the EPICS URL is of the form \\Host_Server\Process\Variable.  So for example: a cRIO EPICS server set up on IP 192.168.0.1 with a process containing a set of variables in a process called RTSource, the URL would be: \\192.168.0.1\RTSource\Variable1.

Have you tried also specifying the ni.var.psp shared variable engine path?  i.e. ni.var.psp://192.168.0.1/RTSource/Variable1

If you open up Distributed System Manager, you will be able to browse to a networked EPICS server and view a variable.  Paths are also listed for each variable too.  (See attached image)

EPICS used to be a separate add-on for LabVIEW (until 2011), until it was merged with the DSC and RT modules.  You could try using this older method to get EPICS working, but this is no longer a supported.  You will probably need to bind to variables using an alternative method if not using the DSC/RT modules.  I can't really recommend the above method, as it is not an official support document (it is a DevZone article), but wanted to point out that it apparently can be done.  The DSC/RT modules contain an extra set of VIs (the one's you were referring to) which enable more features and certainly be easier to use.

I'm afraid I can't offer further support on the older connection method, but I am aware that it has been used since LabVIEW 8.6.  I can't comment on the success of the method as it is a DevZone article and I personally have not ever needed to use it.  Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find any examples of EPICS connection outside of the Example Finder in LabVIEW that show how to use these alternative methods.

Other forum go-ers may be able to comment on the success of the above DevZone method.

I hope that is of some help,

Best Regards,