Test fixture upgrade

[DaveJessee]

I have to upgrade an ancient test (2012) fixture and am trying to estimate the effort required.

The existing system has LabVIEW 8 running on XP using PCI DIO96, MIO-16e (6070E) and a PCI GPIB cards. 

I want to upgrade to the latest LabVIEW with Windows 11  and use a PCIe 6509,PCIe-6321 and a GPIB-USB-HS

I am not using precise timing or high speed A/D conversions. I am already using DAQmx to communicate with the hardware.

My search so far suggests that I should be able to make this work with very little code pain.

Does anyone have insights? Is this going to be painless or not so much?

[crossrulz]

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@DaveJessee wrote:

Does anyone have insights? Is this going to be painless or not so much?

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Painless? No.

The fact that you are already using DAQmx is a HUGE deal. That will save you A LOT of effort.

LabVIEW-wise, I can't think of any major changes that would negatively affect you.

Your biggest issue may be remapping your DAQmx tasks to use the new cards.

One other thing to beware of is you are doing a massive computer upgrade. I have seen hidden race conditions suddenly become major issues just from a PC upgrade.

Just make sure you have everything in a Source Code Control (git or svn) and make regular commits as you go through the issues that come up.

[elset191]

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@crossrulz wrote:

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@DaveJessee wrote:

Does anyone have insights? Is this going to be painless or not so much?

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...

One other thing to beware of is you are doing a massive computer upgrade. I have seen hidden race conditions suddenly become major issues just from a PC upgrade.

...

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I've also been bit by race conditions being exposed from upgrading LabVIEW versions.  

[santo_13]

What kind of tests does the fixture execute? because, there's definitely change in hardware specs, which may lead to better or worse measurements, causing your tests pass/fail.

[DaveJessee]

Thanks for your response.

This gives me a bit of confidence in estimating the project. I forgot about the race conditions. The code is full of delays to talk to test equipment so race conditions are a real possibility. I think (hope) that all internal race conditions have otherwise been addressed but it will be good to have in the forefront of my mind when I get going with the upgrade.