Instability issues with LabVIEW 2010 SP1 and EVS-1463RT

[ChrisFarmerWIS]

Hi,

I am currently developing a real-time vision application to be deployed on five EVS1463RT units.  My development PC setup is as follows:

• LabVIEW 2010 SP1
• LabVIEW 2010 Real-Time SP1
• Vision Development 2010 SP1
• Windows XP SP3 32-bit
• GigE ethernet connection (via 1 GB hub)

I am finding the EVS unit is quite susceptible to crashing when it gets interrogated (and can occur on any of the five EVS targets).  I know there is more optimisation still to be done in my application, however I am a bit surprised by the instability (from a development and debugging perspective). Below is a description of some of the experiences I've had this past few months:

1) Probes Unreliable - Whilst trying to probe real-time code (running as LabVIEW - not an executable), some probes never update, despite it being quite clear that the code is being executed (ie. the indicator is updating - just not the probe).

2) Operate --> Debug Application or Shared Library...: On occasion, I have used this tool to debug an executable. You never quite know if this is going to work or not.  Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. When I try to use it, it gets half way through deploying and then LabVIEW freezes (which has to be killed via Task Manager).  The RT unit reboots itself (and claims restarted due to system error on the output terminal).

3) Running as LabVIEW --> Similar as above. Open a Sub-VI or some random action, and the system freezes/stops/LabVIEW crashes - take your pick!

4) Connect --> When trying to connect to the EVS unit (through the LabVIEW project), this can be enough to crash the EVS.

5) Deploy --> Occasionally Trying to deploy a new executable, it gets half way through before the RT Disconnected message appears.  The RT system must be rebooted physically after this (ie a software reboot is not possible).

6) Generally the CPU of my application (from what I can see using Distributed System Manager) is pretty low - from 10 to 30 % on both CPUs most of the time, with 1.8 GB of memory free - so its not like the application is pushing the system to the limit. The network usage on the Task Manager rarely gets very high - about 10-12 % when the application is running and I have a debug panel open.

Any suggestions for improving the user experience would be greatly appreciated.

[Kevin_H.]

I'm fairly certain these things aren't expected behaviors. Does this happen on all of the 5 EVS units you have? What sort of VIs are you running? Have you tried removing the VIs you have saved on it and reformatting the EVS? That would be my first course of action.

[ChrisFarmerWIS]

It is happening on all EVS units.  It is all very random, so it is hard to lock down anything definite.  I have not reformatted any of the EVS units yet.

We are using Image acquisition and image analysis VIs, and IMAQ I/O VIs and shared variables

[Kevin_H.]

Try reformatting one of the EVS and let me know the result. Also, if you could narrow down a specific use case which might be recreatable we might be able to narrow down the problem. It's a little too general to do much diagnostics on right now. A simple but detailed setup example where an error is produced would be ideal, but we'll work with whatever information you can provide. Nothing you've listed so far has narrowed down too much for me that I can think of simple troubleshooting steps other than a reformat and test. I'm sorry you've having such strange performance issues!! Hope we can work it out.