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LabVIEW Real-Time Module 8.6 Readme

Primary Software: LabVIEW Modules>>Real-Time Module
Primary Software Version: 5.0
Primary Software Fixed Version: N/A
Secondary Software: N/A

Problem: I do not have the LabVIEW Real-Time Module 8.6 installed. Can I still access the readme file?

Solution:

The LabVIEW Real-Time Module 8.6 readme file is attached below, and also installs with the module.

Installation
Licensing
Supported Platforms
Upgrade and Compatibility Issues
Known Issues
Bug Fixes
Documentation Correction

Installation

You must install LabVIEW 8.6 before you install the LabVIEW Real-Time Module 8.6.

Refer to the LabVIEW Real-Time Module Release and Upgrade Notes for more information about upgrade and compatibility issues, a list of new features, and installation instructions. The LabVIEW Real-Time Module Release and Upgrade Notes is included as a printed booklet with the kit. You also can access the LabVIEW Real-Time Module Release and Upgrade Notes by selecting Help»Search the LabVIEW Help in LabVIEW and navigating to the Real-Time Module»Real-Time Module Related Documentation topic on the Contents tab.

Licensing

The LabVIEW Real-Time Module relies on licensing activation. You must activate a valid LabVIEW Real-Time Module license before you can run the LabVIEW Real-Time Module. To activate the LabVIEW Real-Time Module, use the serial number you received as part of your installation package.

Refer to the Activation Instructions for National Instruments Software for more information about licensing activation.

Supported Platforms

The Real-Time Module supports Windows 2000/XP and Windows Vista (32-bit and 64-bit). The Real-Time Module does not support Windows NT/Me/9x.

Upgrade and Compatibility Issues

You might encounter the following compatibility issues when upgrading to the LabVIEW 8.6 Real-Time Module.

Upgrading from version 8.5.x

  • The Real-Time Module no longer includes updated versions of the PXI and Desktop PC Floppy Disk Utilities. You can still use Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX) to create previous versions of the RT floppy disks, which will continue to work with newer versions of the Real-Time Module. However, older versions of the RT floppy disks do not support device drivers added to subsequent versions of the Real-Time Module. If you need to use the latest device drivers, you must use MAX to create an RT 8.6 USB Utility drive.
  • The Real-Time Module no longer supports FP-20x0 and cFP-20x0 targets. You can still use FP-20x0 and cFP-20x0 targets with LabVIEW, but you cannot install the Real-Time Module 8.6 on FP-20x0 and cFP-20x0 targets.

Upgrading from version 8.2.1 and earlier

  • On ETS RT targets, the timing behavior of the Wait (ms) function has changed. The Wait (ms) function uses the millisecond timer of the operating system to determine how long to wait. In the LabVIEW 8.2.1 Real-Time Module and earlier, the ETS RTOS counts the next tick of the millisecond timer as millisecond number 1 when counting the number of milliseconds to wait, so the actual amount of wait time is less than the amount you wire to the milliseconds to wait input, by no more than one millisecond. In the LabVIEW 8.6 Real-Time Module, the Wait (ms) function counts the next tick of the millisecond timer as millisecond number 0 when counting the number of milliseconds to wait, so the actual amount of wait time is more than the amount you wire to the milliseconds to wait input, by no more than one millisecond.

    If you have an application that relies on precise millisecond timing, test the application carefully to ensure the correct behavior. You might need to reduce the value of milliseconds to wait by 1 to maintain the same behavior as the LabVIEW Real-Time Module 8.2.1 and earlier. If you need wait resolution more precise than one millisecond, use the Wait Express VI on the Real-Time Timing VIs palette and configure the Counter Units to µSec.
  • Timed Loop error conditions that generated error -820 in the Real-Time Module 8.2.1 and earlier now generate error -818.
  • Executables built with the Real-Time Module now use a .rtexe extension, which is changed from the .exe extension used in versions prior to 8.0. Although the extension change was cosmetic, you might notice different behavior associated with the extension change. In the Real-Time Module 8.0 and earlier, you can run an executable built with the Real-Time Module on Windows, and then use FTP to transfer the executable to an RT target and run it when you boot the RT target. In the Real-Time Module 8.2.x and later, you cannot run an RT executable (.rtexe) on Windows.

    If you want to run an RT executable on Windows and on the RT target, you must create and build two build specifications (one for Windows and one for RT targets) and drag the necessary VIs for the build specification to each target in the project.

    Executables built for VxWorks targets do not run on Windows or on Phar Lap ETS targets.
  • The Real-Time FIFO VIs have been replaced with the Real-Time FIFO Functions. These functions perform faster and contain additional functionality. For compatibility with upgrading applications, the previous Real-Time FIFO VIs still load from an existing LabVIEW block diagram, but they are no longer available on the Real-Time palette.
  • The Real-Time Module 8.0 returns error code –2222 to indicate that a shared variable with the Enable Real-Time FIFO option selected has no value. The Real-Time Module no longer returns error code –2222 but instead returns error code –1950679034 (0x8BBB0006) to indicate the same problem. This error code is consistent with shared variables that have the Real-Time FIFO disabled.
  • You must enable the W2 hardware jumper to upgrade the RT Engine of an NI PXI-8145RT controller from version 7.1.1 and earlier. Refer to the PXI-8140RT Series User Manual for information about the settings and options for the onboard jumpers and switches.
  • The Real-Time Module no longer supports the NI PCI-7041.

Known Issues

The Real-Time Module 8.6 includes the following known issues at the time of release. Refer to the National Instruments Web site for a complete, up-to-date listing of known issues in the Real-Time Module 8.6.

RT 8.6 Known Issues

The following known issues are specific to the Real-Time Module 8.6.

All Target Platforms

  • The Real-Time Module 8.6 includes version 8.5 of the Getting Started with the LabVIEW Real-Time Module manual. National Instruments did not update the getting started manual because the information and procedures described in the manual still apply to version 8.6 of the Real-Time Module.
  • If you create a VI under My Computer in the Project Explorer window, and the VI includes one or more Report Generation VIs as subVIs, then you copy the VI to an RT target, LabVIEW loads the Report Generation subVIs from the wrong location. However, the Report Generation VIs load normally if you first create or save the VI under an RT target in the Project Explorer window and then place the Report Generation VIs as subVIs from the palette.
  • If you deploy I/O variables to an RT target and then uninstall the associated I/O driver(s) from the target, the I/O variable initialization fails and you cannot successfully redeploy or undeploy the target. If you plan to use the I/O variables, you must reinstall the associated I/O driver(s). Otherwise, you should uninstall the NI Scan Engine from the target, delete all files from the target ni-rt/config directory and reboot the target.
  • If you boot an RT target with an unformatted hard drive, the target is unable to obtain a link-local IP address.
  • You cannot make multiple calls to the Force Variable VI in parallel.
  • When you deploy an I/O module or I/O variable in a LabVIEW project, LabVIEW automatically deploys the entire chassis containing the I/O module or I/O variable. You cannot deploy an I/O module or I/O variable without deploying the parent chassis.
  • There is no indication in the Project Explorer window as to whether a target with the NI Scan Engine has active faults or is in Fault mode.
  • If you format a Compact Vision System or PXI-8106 RT target with the Reliance file system and then attempt to install a pre-8.6 version of the LabVIEW Real-Time software to the target, the target may enter a perpetual reboot cycle. To use a pre-8.6 version of the LabVIEW Real-Time software on a Compact Vision System or PXI 8106 RT target, you must format the target with the FAT file system.
  • Installing any NI Scan Engine I/O component on a target can cause jitter on time-critical tasks that are not synchronized to the NI Scan Engine. You should install the NI Scan Engine on an RT target only if you plan to use the NI Scan Engine to communicate with I/O channels through I/O variables.
  • You could corrupt the NI Scan Engine configuration if you manually edit the files in the ni-rt/config directory on an RT target with the NI Scan Engine installed. If you encounter this issue, delete all files from the target ni-rt/config directory, reboot the target, and redeploy the target.
  • The Wait Until Next ms Multiple function contains a race condition that can cause the function to return after an amount of time that does not align with the specified multiple. If you encounter this issue, you can use the Wait Express VI on the Real-Time Timing VIs palette and configure the Counter Units to µSec.
  • You cannot install Windows on a hard disk or partition formatted by a Real-Time module format disk or RT Desktop USB Utility drive. You must reformat the hard disk or partition for Windows before installing Windows.
  • If you highlight multiple function blocks on the block diagram and select Create SubVI, the function blocks remain under the original VI in the Project Explorer window rather than appearing under the new subVI, even if you subsequently delete the function blocks from the subVI.
  • You cannot use the following combinations of characters when renaming an I/O module item in a LabVIEW project. You cannot begin the name with a single quote character or with the prefix "NI_". The name cannot contain a backslash or forward slash character. Also, the name cannot be any of the following: "System", "__HIDDEN_NI_FAKE_PROCESS__", "lv", or "fp". If you deploy an I/O moduole that does not follow these naming conventions, you may encounter Invalid Argument errors and the NI Scan Engine configuration on the RT target might become corrupted. If you encounter this issue, delete all files from the target ni-rt/config directory, reboot the target, and redeploy the target.

Known Issues Found After Release

  • The function block terminal variables associated with the Collected Data output terminal do not work properly. If you need to access Collected Data terminal as a variable, you can wire the output to a Shared Variable node.
  • In Windows Vista, when you open a VI that uses function blocks and was saved in Windows XP, the function block icons on the block diagram appear abnormal. You can restore the icons by toggling the icon style of each function block instance between Compact View and Full View.

ETS

  • RT targets with the NI RT Extensions for SMP installed might experience 100 Mbps level performance with gigabit Ethernet adaptors.
  • The NI RT Extensions for SMP (multi-core support) installer component is now included as a separate top-level component in the Measurement & Automation Explorer LabVIEW Real-Time Software Wizard and is no longer included as a subcomponent of the Real-Time Module. The NI RT Extensions for SMP is no longer selected by default for multi-core RT targets. To install mult-core support for version 8.6 of the Real-Time Module, you must select to install the NI RT Extensions for SMP component along with or after installing LabVIEW Real-Time 8.6 software on the target.
  • If you have both version 8.6 and version 8.5.x of the Real-Time Module installed on a host computer and you attempt to install LabVIEW Real- Time 8.5.x software on an RT target using the Measurement & Automation Explorer LabVIEW Real-Time Software Wizard, a glitch causes the wizard to revert the selected version of the Real-Time Module to 8.6. If you encounter this glitch, you can work around it by selecting a different software component in the wizard, then reselecting the LabVIEW Real-Time component and reseting the version to 8.5.x.
  • You cannot use the BIOS safemode of a PXI RT target to format an unformatted hard drive. Instead, you can use an RT Desktop PC Utility USB drive or a PXI Format Hard Drive Disk to format the drive.

Known Issues Found After Release

  • The vesa.dll file used by some IMAQ Vision targets hangs on reboot if the target was FAT formatted with an RT 8.2.1 format disk. If you encounter this issue, reformat the target hard drive using an 8.6 RT Desktop PC Utility USB drive.
  • The Points per waveform control on the RT FIFO page of the Shared Variable Properties dialog box always reverts to a value of 1 so you cannot set this parameter from the Shared Variable Properties dialog box. Instead, you must use a text editor to edit the .lvlib file of the library containing the variable.

RT 8.5.1 Known Issues

The following issues from the Real-Time Module 8.5.1 Readme still apply to the Real-Time Module 8.6.

All Target Platforms

  • When booting an RT Desktop PC target from a USB drive, certain BIOSes hang at the message "Waiting for USB to initialize..." To resolve this issue, remove the USB drive, wait a few seconds, and reinsert the USB drive.
  • If you modify and redeploy a VI, probes can stop receiving updates. After modifying a VI, you should close and recreate probes.
  • If you format an RT target using a utility USB drive, you cannot subsequently format the target using a floppy drive.
  • USB hard drives are not supported on RT targets. If you need to transfer files over USB, use a USB thumb drive.
  • The disk footprint and the memory footprint of the Real-Time Module have increased by over 10% since version 8.2.1.
  • When you create or add a VI under a specific target in the Project Explorer window, not all VIs and functions that appear on the palette are necessarily supported on that target.
  • Indicators that are attached to local variables do not update properly through remote front panel.
  • Graphs and charts in subVIs do not display properly through remote front panel.
  • The Strings[] property node does not supply a value until you make a remote front panel connection to the application.
  • You cannot run LabVIEW Real-Time targets from secondary or removable hard drives.
  • Queues allocated in RT VIs take up 150% of expected memory.
  • RT targets can hang requiring reboot if you attempt to concurrently add files and transfer directory listings via FTP.

ETS

  • On RT PXI 8106 and 8196 targets, performing a TCP/IP write with a string larger than 64kB can consume CPU resources for several minutes.
  • ETS targets can hang if a DHCP server forces an infinite lease time.
  • Some USB thumb drives do not work on ETS targets. The following USB thumb drives are known to work properly on ETS targets: Memorex 1GB USB 2.0 TravelDrive, SanDisk Cruzer 128MB (non-U3), NexDisk USB 32MB (PSD-32N).
  • ETS targets fail to boot if over 4GB of RAM is installed.
  • Desktop PCs that use processors without 64-bit writable RDTSC registers are not compatible with the NI RT Extensions for SMP. You can safely use an affected system as an RT target in single-core mode if you do not install the NI RT Extensions for SMP on the target. To use an RT Desktop PC as a multi-core RT target, the PC must use CPUs with 64-bit writable RDTSC registers.
  • Desktop PCs that use AMD family 0Fh CPUs, distinguished by an integrated memory controller, typically ship with energy-saving features enabled in the BIOS. These energy-saving features can cause instability when the PC is used as an RT Desktop target with the NI RT Extensions for SMP installed. To use an affected PC as an RT Desktop PC target, you must either use the target in single-core mode or disable the energy-saving features in the BIOS. If the BIOS does not allow you to disable the energy saving features, you can safely use an affected system as an RT target in single-core mode by not installing or uninstalling the NI RT Extensions for SMP on the target.
  • The maximum number of files you can open on an ETS RT target simultaneously is 256.

VxWorks

  • Reading a shared variable that contains no data can cause slowdowns on VxWorks targets.
  • VxWorks targets do not comply with the latest rules for Daylight Savings Time. As a result, VxWorks targets may report incorrect time from early March through early April and from late October through early November. The actual start and end dates of Daylight Savings Time differ from year to year, and not all regions participate in Daylight Savings Time. Refer to the official Daylight Savings Time regulations in your region for more information about the specific start and end dates of Daylight Savings Time each year.

    To prevent time fluctuations on the target, consider disabling Daylight Savings Time in the BIOS. If you need to compensate for Daylight Savings Time on the target, you can use the Set Date and Time VI to update the time at the beginning and end of Daylight Savings Time.
  • The SMTP Email Send Message VI does not work on VxWorks targets.
  • On VxWorks targets, using the Semaphore VIs and the Rendezvous VIs in the same application can cause errors and undefined behavior. You might also encounter errors if the application uses vi.lib\Platform\_goopsup.llb\GOOP Object Repository.vi in addition to the Semaphore VIs or the Rendezvous VIs.
  • The RT Ping Controllers VI does not return the IP or MAC address on cRIO 9012 targets.
  • On cRIO 901x targets, DNS lookup has a long timeout on private networks with no DNS server. If the network has no DNS server, there is no need to perform a DNS lookup.

RT 8.2.1 Known Issues

The following issues from the Real-Time Module 8.2.1 Readme still apply to the Real-Time Module 8.6.

All Target Platforms

  • In Windows Vista, you cannot use the RT Disk Utilities in NI Measurement & Automation Explorer to create bootable floppy disks. However, if you have Administrator status in Vista, you can create a Desktop PC Utility USB drive by selecting Tools»RT Disk Utilities»Create Desktop PC Utility USB Drive in MAX.
  • If you read paths from a file or convert paths from strings and if you use different delimiters for file paths, the paths do not match in comparison operations even though the paths are functionally equivalent but with different delimiters. Review all paths and verify that all use the correct delimiter. Do not use UNC paths.

Bug Fixes

The Real-Time Module 8.6 includes the following bug fixes.

ID Fixed Issue
114748 Reading from Network Published Shared Variables in RT on a quad core machine causes a system crash
107524 Capitalization of drive letter in RTEXE causes failed RTEXE startup and disk corruption
105088 Add support for the PCIe-8231 (Intel 82572) under RT
105089 Add support for the PXIe-8234 (Intel 82571) under RT
104908 VxWorks doesn't support subnet broadcasting
101496 RT FIFOs on Shared Variables do not work when several values are written before readings
73000 Need DLL checker for 8.5.x
70893 Shared Variable read of string constantly increases memory on RT target
64766 RT Set Date and Time on VxWorks does not properly set UTC seconds
59142 Shared Variable constantly increases memory on RT target
55660 LabVIEW Timed Loops Crash on Dual Quad Core System
52703 FPGA I/O broken when dragging cRIO target from existing project to new project
43390 RT Application Made in LV 8.2.1 Will Not Build in 8.5

Documentation Correction

The Unsupported LabVIEW Features (VxWorks) topic in the LabVIEW 8.6 Real-Time Help states that USB is not supported through VISA. However, NI-VISA 4.4 adds USB VISA support for VxWorks.

Copyright

© 2005–2008 National Instruments Corporation. All rights reserved.

Under the copyright laws, this publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storing in an information retrieval system, or translating, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of National Instruments Corporation.

Trademarks

National Instruments, NI, ni.com, LabVIEW, and LabVIEW Real-Time Module are trademarks of National Instruments Corporation. Refer to the Terms of Use section on ni.com/legal for more information about National Instruments trademarks.

Patents

For patents covering the National Instruments products, refer to the appropriate location: Help»Patents in your software, the patents.txt file on your CD, or ni.com/patents.



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Report Date: 06/03/2008
Last Updated: 09/09/2008
Document ID: 4M2H23LC

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