When to Upgrade VISA?

[amadeolr]

Imagine the scenario where you are designing a tester to replace an older one. Both the old and new testers use a NI PCI MXI-2 card to interface to VXI instruments. One of the more finicky cards in the VXI chassis is a Teradyne M9 Digital Test Instrument. The old tester used NI VISA v3.0.1. In the new tester would you upgrade the VISA software to the latest version available? Or would it make more sense to use the same version of VISA to avoid any risk of inducing problems since the older VISA software worked? Thoughts?

[Chris_R.]

Hi amadeolr,

It is almost always recommended that you upgrade NI-VISA when possible provided that your system is compatible with what is installed with NI-VISA, mainly Measurement and Automation Explorer (MAX).  You can install the latest version and in the event that it doesn't work, you can uninstall it and MAX and install the older version.  It is rare that a newer version of NI-VISA causes systems not to work unless you are using old and/or obsolete hardware.

Let me know if you have any questions!