cDAQ-9191 Discovery Problem in MAX

[Dr_M]

I have a new cDAQ-9191 with 9208 module that I have connected to my PC with an Ethernet cable.  I am using MAX 15.0.0f0 and DAQmx 15.1.1 in Windows 7 Pro SP1 64-bit.  The cDAQ-9191 appears under Devices and Interfaces > Network Devices.  It has no IP address and its status is "Disconnected".  There is no network adapter found.  There is no Firmware button, and Add Device just returns an error message.  See the two pictures attached for details of the 9191 properties.  I have tried resetting MAX configuration, rebooting the 9191, swapping several cables, rebooting the PC, turning off all other PC networks, turning off the firewall, but without success.  I have searched the forum but no one else has reported a solution to a similar problem.  The PC LAN port has a static address, and I have previously used the port to connect to other devices.  Since this is obviously not a normal state for this 9191 I am totally stuck without any idea how to proceed.  Is it a hardware fault?

Also, on my main PC (MAX 15.0.0f0, DAQmx 15.1.1, IMAQdx 15.0, Win 10 Pro 64-bit), MAX can't find any network devices.  I have tried with an Axis IP camera and the 9191, which both appear on the other PC.  I can't find a solution to this either but it is a real pain the MAX does not work properly when needed.

[_kb · Accepted solution]

Hi Dr_M,

If your LAN port has a static IP address, it must be running a DHCP server that can assign the 9191 an address on the same subnet.  If no DHCP server is detected, the 9191 will default to a link local IP address.  Most likely, you've encountered the latter case, and the static IP address you've assigned to your LAN port is not within the link local range.  That means that your computer and your cDAQ are on different subnets, so MAX cannot communicate with the 9191.

You can change the IP address of your LAN port to one within the link local range (169.254.x.x, subnet mask 255.255.0.0), or you can configure your LAN port to obtain an IP address automatically.

Once you can access the 9191 in MAX, you can adjust IP settings back to your preference, as long as the chassis and computer end up on the same subnet.

[Dr_M]

Thanks Kyle,

I knew the 9191 was going to default to a link local address but this is the first NI device that I have not been able to find from my usual static IP address.  It all seems to work fine now.

[Dr_M]

Moving on now, I have come up against the next issue with remote Ethernet DAQ:  I have a PC with multiple Ethernet ports (2 wired and 1 wireless).  Establishing a wireless connection to the cDAQ-9191 is extremely unreliable.  I have been trying to use the self-test function to check the device is there, and then I create a task.  Most of the time it times out with error code -201250.  I know the 9191 is on and it has a wireless signal.  Even in MAX it takes a long time to display the network settings.  Is there a way to make the timeout longer, or do I have to keep trying with the Self Test until I get no error?

I get the impression from other forum posts that Ethernet DAQ gets confused by multiple Ethernet connections and can be forced by Windows to use the wrong one.  In my case I can't turn off other Ethernet ports because I need all 3.  Is there a trick in Windows to ensure that Ethernet DAQ traffic will use the correct network connection?

[Dr_M]

...and it gets worse.  I have now started getting the Windows 10 blue screen of death with SYSTEM SERVICE EXCEPTION (nicsrk.dll) when trying to do a self-test or create a task for the 9191 - not all the time but twice is enough.  I have had to disable all 9191 related DAQ code in my diagrams until something is fixed.

I have searched ALL NI forums for "nicsrk.dll" but no result.  Is this the first time this has ever happened?

For something that should be so simple, trying to use the cDAQ-9191 is turning out to be an absolute nightmare.  Why can't it be as easy as USB cDAQ?  Come on NI sort it out !!!!!!