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manu.NET

Complete installer for Labview RT Targets ...

Status: In Development

It should be nice to add a new "Build specification" in Labview RT which could generated something like a RT Target installer.

 

This installer could contain ...

 

  • The application to download
  • The drivers required
  • Additionnal custom files and directories
  • The default setting of the target ( Like the MAX target configuration)

 

When the installer is executed, it should be nice to show all the available targets ( Like in Max ).

The user should have to select the destination Target in this list.

Then it should be nice to show the target configuration (like in Max), initialized with the setting contained in the installer.

 

An installation could be like this ...

 

  1. Launching the installer
  2. The installer lists all available (and compatible) targets
  3. The user has to choose a target
  4. After target selection, the installer should view the target configuration ( as defined in the Labview project Build specification properties )
  5. The user could then modify some parameters (like IP address)
  6. After validating the configuration, the installer should
  7. Install the drivers ... and perhaps the OS itself (as required by the project)
  8. Modify the target parameters 
  9. Install the application
  10. Set Time/hour according to host target
  11. Download custom files and directories ..
  12. ...
  13. And restart the target

This feature could be an easy way to deploy RT application without having a Labview RT installed on the host computer.

A RT application could be installed completely by a final customer of the application, without having to install the Target, drivers ...

This could also be nice to clone many times a RT application.

 

 

 

 

 

Manu.net
15 Comments
Mike_King
Member

We run hundreds of installs and have had to build our own deployment tools similar to this but they still require an OS on RT to start for the deployment tools to then download and update files or to run an image to RT programatically.  Something that is built into a simple deployment with full features of install files, locations, source file settings the same as any PC app, is needed for RT so an end user can have a complete installer for setting up their system.  

 

We don't install MAX for customers as it is confusing and not used by clients ever, only limited technicians.  The installer should also have the option to backup the current system first (we have had to built tools for this and restore as well) but they custom to our systems and should be part of any good installer so it could roll back.

S1ack
Member
For those who are interest the LabVIEW 2011 beta 2 has been posted and includes support for deploying LabVIEW RT 2011 startup applications from MAX or the NI System Configuration API.  You can find out more inforamtion about the beta at the link below.

 

http://forums.ni.com/t5/LabVIEW/Announcing-the-LabVIEW-2011-Platform-beta/td-p/1436162

 

 I clicked that link - and I see what appears to be the original Labview 2011 beta announcement. Nothing about beta 2.

 

I only recently installed MAX - and poked around thinking I might have some such RT deployment feature (as mentioned in the post I referenced). But I cannot see it....

 

In any case this feature is highly desired in my application.....Which will have a remotely accessibly Window PC at each installation, and a cRIO RT target on the same local subnet. I'd like to transfer any and all RT Target updates to that remote PC and....

1) run it as an executable in windows and it does everything

2) run an application installed on that remote pc, select the image, and it does everything.

 

Would prefer not to install LV Realtime Engine on the remote PC, and the remote PC may be winning WIN Embedded 2009, or Win embedded 7.

 

The options I have read about so far 1) RTAD (seems to want me to install NI-RIO 4.0 on the remote PC - which is a little limited in drive space as it's a CF card.) and 2) 'Real-Time Target System Replication' seems to require Labview development (the install instructions list the Labview install directory. [I'd be happy to get this working on a remote PC that does have the LV RT Engine installed but so far that eludes me]).

 

Time to call Austin.

 

Deborah_B
Active Participant
Status changed to: In Development
 
Deborah Burke
NI Hardware and Drivers Product Manager
Certified LabVIEW Architect
Mads
Active Participant

As I have mentioned in the "Offline distribution" thread,  we would like to have 3 distribution vectors supported by such installers, in prioritized order; Network, serial and USB.

We have our own Deployment Tool today, which is loosely based on the RAD tool, so that covers distribution over Ethernet, but in other cases the device is put subsea with nothing but a serial link, and then we currently have to use our own transfer protocol and a  the RT-application has a built in image-loader...(we use this not to load complete installations (OS and app), but also to apply smaller patches). 

 

Not having to install a distribution tool would be very nice (have that functionality covered by the installer instead), *and* ideally also have that installer be able to support serial links as well as Ethernet, would be optimal. The fact that for serial transfers we now have to rely on a running RT application is particularly risky...The installer should be able to communicate even with a "blank" unit (boot loader only).

 

i.ayestaran
Member

Any news on this? How is it 'in development' since 2015?

As a cRIO/PXI developer for third party users, it is really anoying not to have a good offline distributed/deployment tool for updating clients systems...

 

SystemLink is not the answer, since:

I (as LabVIEW programmer) do not own the NI systems. The systems belong to the client. This means that for each client I have, I (in reality he) should buy a SystemLink server license, and a node license for each NI equipment.

We update those systems very rarelly (when a bug is found), it is not really an evolving software and we don't need to remotely monitorize the system, so the interest of having such a SystemLink server its not that big. Moreover, NI licenses are usually not cheap, so it becomes very difficult to convince the client to pay for something he will use once every two years.

 

- As far as I know, VXWorks systems are not supported.

 

- Some clients may only have one cRIO. Sometimes is simply a cRIO with a screen, not connected to a network. It is unfeasible to buy a PC just to host the SystemLink server, including the licenses. Even more, since we would need internet access, we would eventually need to install a VPN server too.

 

Honestly, I think systemLink is great...... if you code LabVIEW for your own company and you have a considerable amount of cRIOs. Then it becomes a great monitoring tool. But this is often not the case.