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VI Server Config in LV 8.0

Greetings All,
 
I've recently installed LV 8.0, and have been starting the process of porting a distributed application (with an RT component) into a LV 8.0 project. So far, it hasn't been too promising. One of the main stumbling blocks appears to be figuring out the new way to configure VI Server over TCP using multiple application instances. In fact, I can't even get the "Real-Time System Manager" to work with the simplest of tests:
 
To illustrate the difficulty, try this:
 
1) Open a new project.
 
2) Add the PXI RT target to the project.
 
3) Add a new test VI (under the PXI target), and set it up to do something trivial. (Add some numbers, display a while loop counter, etc.)
 
4) Deploy and run the test VI on the PXI
 
5) Open the "Real-Time System Manager"
 
Even after configuring VI server for both the project and the PXI, I get the following error message:
 
"Real Time System Manager Error:
Can not connect to [Remote_PXI].
Please ensure that VI Server is enabled and this machine is allowed to connect" 
 
It must have something to do with this new "multiple application instances" business in LV 8.0, but I really don't know what it is. I have used VI Server over TCP for several years and have never had any problems connecting remote PCs. And in fact, the same VI server config settings (for PC and PXI) that worked for LV 7.1 appear to be inncorrect for 8.0. I have set the parameters in the "master" options dialog, as well as in the project dialogs -- for both the PXI target, and the Desktop PC. (Default port 3363, TCP enabled for all clients and users.)
 
Can anyone shed some light on this? If there was any option to bypass the LV project when working with the PXI in LV 8.0, I would be trying that next. However, since the NI engineers have eliminated this option from LV 8.0, my previous experience in this area appears to be completely obsolete. It looks like I'm completely stopped in my tracks until this difficulty is sorted out.
 
Thanks in advance for any advice you can provide,
 
-- D.
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Okay, I've made a very small bit of headway with this -- I'm now able to run the RT System Manager -- Yeah! 😄
 
Apparently, the key is this: You need to pop-up on the PXI item in the project window, and select the "Deploy..." item. (Obscure or what...?) I wish this important detail was more clearly specified in the documentation...
 
Anyway, now that I've got that going, the next problem is opening a connection to a remote VI across the network. The code I was using without problem under LV 7.1 doesn't work, and the Open Application Reference function is returning an error - #66, indicating (I presume) that the connection was closed on the PC side.
 
Maybe there is still somethig wrong with my VI Server configuration...
 
All I want to know is if there is a simple -- and complete(!) list of instructions with regard to setting up a TCP VI server connection under LV 8.0 . There are a bunch of hyper-text linked snippets in the Help files, but this material is so heavily cross-referenced and uber-concise, its somewhat user-unfriendly and inefficient. If the answers are in there, after about 1.5 hours, I still haven't found them!
 
ANyway, thanks again to anyone who can help.
 
-- D.
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DAQ Dude,

I know you've said you've been looking through the help, but have you checked this?  The TCP/IP must be enabled as it is not by default. 

Complete the following steps to configure the VI Server.

  1. Select Tools»Options to display the Options dialog box.
  2. (Optional) The default VI Server configuration is suitable for most applications. Select VI Server: Configuration from the Category list if you need to change this default configuration. The default configuration allows ActiveX to call LabVIEW, but does not allow TCP/IP as a protocol. To use TCP/IP with other LabVIEW applications, place a checkmark in the TCP/IP checkbox and configure the VI Server: Machine Access settings.
  3. If you want to control browser access to the VIs or specify which VIs remote applications can control, configure the VI Server: Machine Access and Exported VIs options.
  4. Click the OK button to close the Options dialog box and save the changes.

Note  If a target in a LabVIEW project supports the VI Server, you can configure the VI Server for the target using the Properties dialog box for the target. For example, use the My Computer Properties dialog box to configure the VI Server for the My Computer target.

 

Error 66 is "LabVIEW:  The network connection was closed by the peer," as you suggest, but can be seen by improper VI server configuration settings as well. 

 

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Hi Alex,
 
Thanks for the feedback. Unfortunately, I've already tried all of this. As you probably recall, it was also necessary to set the TCP/IP checkmark in previous versions of LabVIEW, and the app works fine in LV 7.1.  But thanks for the suggestion. Now I'm beginning to wonder if there is something out of place in my OS network configuration -- although, I'm still confused as to why this worked fine in 7.1, but not on 8.0.
 
At the moment, I've found another alternative using the new network variable, so I'm experimenting in that direction. I would still be interested in hearing some different points of vew on this, if anyone has something else to add.
 
The next question is this: Is it possible to configure a LabVIEW project for 3 nodes, defined as: 2 Windows PCs and an RT PXI Chassis? I haven't investigated this too much yet, but so far, if it's possible, the steps involved are not readily apparent. (I can't seem to add the 2nd WinPC as a remote target, for example.) Any suggestions here would also be appreciated.
 
Thanks again!
 
Best Regards,
 
D.
 
 
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DAQ Dude,

I would start a new thread for the second question since it won't get proper attention with the title of this thread.  However, see the screenshot attached to get you started.  You must add the other PC at the same level as your PC, that is by right clicking on the project and not "My Computer."

 

 

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Hi Alex,
 
I'm not sure I understand the attached image -- did you mean I must use the registsry VIs to add the other PC to the project file? Surely there is an easy way to do this!
 
I've tried adding the the other Windows PC at the project level by right-clicking as you have suggested, however, it only seems to let me add FP modules or RT modules. Other Windows-based LV installations are not included in the options, and there appears to be no way to make them appear in the list. (Although, I admit, I haven't been exhaustive in my attempts.) Perhaps it's a licensing issue...(?) I have only one LV license, although my single app is distributed across 2 PCs and a PXI chassis, all of which will ultimately be compiled for the LV run-time engine. Perhaps I need 2 LV licenses to see the PC in the list...(?) Just a thought.
 
Either way, I still don't understand the significance of attached picture  -- is the Registry somehow involved here?
 
Thanks again Alex for taking the time to reply. I'll post this on another list. As for the VI Server thing, I discovered something else about this today. The problem I'm having appears to be related to RT. I am able to open and run a remote VI (on the PXI) by reference from the Desktop PC. However, if I reverse the file locations and try to launch the same remote VI from the PXI, it doesn't fly. In fact, any attempts to run a VI by reference from the PXI result in the same error 66. This all worked flawlessly under 7.1, but for some reason, it just doesn't work under 8.0.
 
Has anyone else been able to open a reference to a host PC VI from a remote PXI (RT) application instance in a LV 8.0 project? I'd like to think that I'm doing something wrong here, but it's looking more and more like a bug...
 
Anyway, thanks again Alex.
 
-- D 
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Alex,
 
OK, I spent another moment looking at the Add Devices and Targets dialog and found the option at the bottom of the Add existing devices page that permits you to add a target by IP address. This appears to have done the trick.
 
 
Thanks for the tip -- it made me take a second look! 🙂
 
As for the PXI/RT VI server thing, if you have any other suggestions, I'm all ears!
 
Cheers (and thanks again),
 
-- D
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Oh I'm sorry, I attached an image for something else.  Sounds like you got that part figured out, but here it is anyway. 
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Alex,
 
Well this new image is actually VERY interesting, as it reveals a very important missing element on my PC:
 
I don't seem to have the Networked Computer/Device option (see attached).
 
(Some simple tests "seemed" to be working when I specified an IP address for the PC, but after a few attempts LabVIEW crashed and I have had no luck since.)
 
However, I think there is a clue in here that my configuration is a bit wonky. Did you take any special steps to get "Networked Computer/Device" to appear in the list, or is this an automatic by-product of the LabVIEW software installation? Or perhaps there is something in MAX I missed...(?)
 
Anyway, thanks again for the clue.
 
-- D
 
 
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