2017 LabVIEW and 2009 Real time Target

[apatel225]

I currently have an old Labview 2009 RT project.  It's been deployed on a cRIO-9104 FPGA. 

The development computer used to create the computer is long gone.  The only computers left are LV 2017 machines. 

I can open the 2009 project, however the RT Target has a yellow "caution sign" which I assume is because the Real-Time module and FPGA module are not installed on the computer.  I can see through MAX that the cRIO-9104 has NI-RIO 3.4.0 installed on it. 

I need to make changes to the deployed program, but obviously the version issues are causing me some headaches. 

Do I need to install NI-RIO 3.4.0 or can I install the latest Real-Time and FPGA modules?  We've obviously purchased the modules in the past in order to create the currently deployed project, but can I simply install the new version since we've paid for the older one?

What should I do??

Hope someone can help!  Thanks!

[tyk007]

As a mature product I would expect that you would be able to deploy a 2017 upgrade of the system although you'll need to check compatibility of the modules in the cRIO to meet the 2017 toolset. You also need to have paid for the 2017 Real-time and FPGA modules; you don't get 'free' updates to numbered versions unless you have an enterprise agreement, subscription etc.

Or, since you have said that you purchased 2009 variants in the past, you could re-install a 'new' machine with the older version of components and make your changes there.

Either way repeat after me "virtualize, virtualize, virtualize" and save yourself this head-ache in the future.

[apatel225]

Thanks!  I'm not familiar with virtualization; can you elaborate a little?

[tyk007]

Virtualizing is basically a way of running a full OS and applications in a 'container' on your PC called a "Virtual Machine" aka VM. This can let you run older applications on older OS or try things out without impacting your main OS or installations. It is becoming increasingly common to develop in this way.

The VM needs disk space to store the virtual disk that your environment needs, just like any machine. This however also lets you copy VMs or take backups. Some tools even have snapshot capability to let you easily rollback to earlier times. However the more VMs you have, the more disk space you need.

To virtualize your environment and create a VM you need three things:

• A virtualization manager (VmWare or VirtualBox are the most common) to manage your VM and provide the hardware abstraction. VirtualBox is free but provides less advanced features. I would suggest starting with this due to the price tag.
• An OS and license. For 2009 I would expect that you would probably develop on an older Windows OS such as Windows Vista or XP but check the OS compatibility of 2009 to be sure.
• Your development tool installations. Since you have paid for the tools and modules you should have access to installations and be able to register them.

 Another option is simply to have another physical machine lying around that basically provide the same benefit. With VmWare it is also possible to create a virtual machine from a physical one.