daqmx driver deployment with .NET

[Ross_U]

I have a .NET application that uses daqmx to control hardware and would like to deploy the whole thing using a single set up.  So far I have determined that I want to add a line of the form

setup spec.ini /q /r

If I use the spec.ini file on the original daqmx driver guide as a template, it looks like I want to use

[Features]
daqmxcore.daqmxef=Local
NidnetDriver.DNT.DNT01042000=Local
MAXROOT.MAX00=Local

and set all the featues to Absent.

The next question is where to locate the driver files.  On the distribution cd, they are located in 3 subfolders under ../products/.  I'm guessing that the setup program is expecting this layout and they must stay in these relative locations.  There is also a subfolder called shared that I suspect I need.  Does anyone know if this is all I need or do I need something else?  Do they need to stay in these locations?

Finally there is the question of how to add the NI setup program  to the .NET set up project.  I thought I could add it as a custom action, but there doesn't seem to be any way to access the directory from which the installation was launched (i.e. the deployment cd) in a custom action.  How do I launch this?

Can anyone supply me with an example deployment project to work from?

I must confess a very strong frustration that there is zero useful information about this in the measurement studio .net documentation (which is, in general, grossly inadequate).  You would think there would be at least an example deployment project. 

[Justin_M]

Have you thought about using the built in quiet install with the DAQmx setup?  I know that's not exactly what you are trying to do, but I wanted to make sure you know it's an option.  You could always create a batch file to call the silent install of the DAQmx driver by command line, which would create a seamless transition for the user.  Take a look at the following link for more information:

Creating a Silent Customized Installer for NI-DAQmx

-Justin

[Ross_U]

Yes, I've seen the KB article.  It leaves two problems. 1) as noted in another question, the package as distributed by NI is way too big (about 600MB expanded) and leaves little to no room for other things that need to be distributed (like dotnetfx.exe).  It wouldbe nice to have some documentation on how to cut this down to what you actually need. 2) There isn't any documentation on what needs to be in the spec file.  What are the dependencies? How do choices interact?  I would really like to get this down to just the minimum I need to support my application.  As a further issue I'm not certain how I implement the silent install command line from within the .NET installer.  An example would be nice.

[Justin_M]

Hi Ross,

Yes, DAQmx is a pretty large distribution, and I am not sure at the moment if we have any documentation on how to cut down the size.  I'll have to look into it, and I'll let you know as soon as I find some more information.

Also, have you seen the deployment documentation on the Microsoft website?  The following link contains deployment steps and walkthroughs that may be helpful:

Visual Studio: Deploying Applications and Components

I'll keep you posted with my progress.

Justin

[Justin_M]

Ross,

I've looked into it, and we don't have a way to cut down the size of the DAQmx driver distribution at this time.  You must install the full package for the drivers to work.

Regards,

Justin M