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Switch Executive v2.1
Thank you for using National Instruments Switch Executive.
This file contains important information regarding NI Switch Executive, which is organized in the following sections:
Notes Specific to Release
Installed Software Components and Locations
System Requirements
Uninstalling NI Switch Executive
Examples
Using NI Switch Executive
Known Issues
Changes/Fixes to NI Switch Executive
Notes Specific to Release
Please take note of the following before installing the NI Switch Executive 2.1:
NI Switch Executive 2.1 properly upgrades any existing configurations created with previous versions, however configurations created with 2.0 do not work with previous versions of the software. If you are installing on top of a previous version and you want to be able to use your existing configurations in that previous version, you should first export your configurations to file to save them. After the 2.1 installation is complete, you cannot revert your configurations to a previous version.
Licensing: When the application is installed, it defaults to use an evaluation license of the software. To enable a fully functional license, complete the following steps:
Launch the NI License Manager at Start» Program Files»National Instruments.
Click Activate License. The License Wizard launches.
Leave the dialog with its default selection of "I have not yet activated this product on this computer." Click Next.
Select "SwitchExecutive Application Development Environment 2.1" product and click Next.
Enter your serial number. Click Next.
There are several different options for licensing. Auto is the preferred option. Select an option and click Next.
Complete the wizard by entering the appropriate information for your chosen licensing method and click Next. Click Finish. If using the Auto mode, your license should now be activated. For other modes you may need to perform additional steps explained by the License Wizard.
Installed Software Components and Locations
The following components are installed for NI Switch Executive 2.1:
NOTE: NI Switch Executive requires Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or later.
System Requirements
NI Switch Executive supports Windows XP/2000. It is recommended that you have the most recent service pack for your operating system installed.
Development - Minimum Requirements
Processor
Pentium III/Celeron 600 MHz or equivalent
RAM
128 MB
Screen Resolution
800 × 600 pixels
Operating System
Windows XP/2000 or later
Development - Recommended Configuration
Processor
Pentium 4 or equivalent
RAM
256 MB
Screen Resolution
1024 x 768 pixels
Operating System
Windows XP/2000 or later
Deployment - Minimum Requirements
Processor
Pentium 200 MHz or equivalent
RAM
64 MB
Screen Resolution
800 x 600 pixels or no screen
Operating System
Windows XP/2000 or later
Deployment - Recommended Configuration
Processor
Pentium III/Celeron 600 MHz or equivalent
RAM
256 MB
Screen Resolution
1024 x 768 pixels or no screen
Operating System
Windows XP/2000 or later
Uninstalling NI Switch Executive
NI Switch Executive is installed along with several required subcomponents. The National Instruments Software entry in the Add/Remove Programs utility of the Control Panel shows NI Switch Executive as well as each subcomponent.
NI Measurement & Automation Explorer 3.1.1
NI-VISA 3.2
NI Spy 2.2
NI LabVIEW Run-Time Engine 7.1
IVI Compliance Package 2.2.0
v2.1
The v2.1 installer of NI Switch Executive automatically handles any subcomponent removal.
For Windows XP/2000, complete the following:
Open the Control Panel from the Start»Settings»Control Panel Menu and select Add\Remove Programs.
Select National Instruments Software and click Change.
Select NI Switch Executive from the list provided and click Uninstall.
v1.0
You do not need to uninstall NI Switch Executive 1.0 before installing 2.1. The 2.1 installer automatically upgrades all subcomponents and places them in the National Instruments Software entry in the Add/Remove Programs utility.
NOTE: NI Switch Executive 2.1 uses a later version of the LabVIEW Runtime Engine than NI Switch Executive 1.0. However, 2.0 does not uninstall the LabVIEW 6.0.2 Runtime Engine installed by 1.0. You can uninstall the LabVIEW 6.0.2 Runtime Engine after upgrading to 2.1 if other applications do not require that version of the runtime engine.
Examples
Examples for NI Switch Executive are available in the following locations:
LabVIEW
\Examples\SwitchExecutive\
TestStand
\Examples\Switching\
LabWindows/CVI
\Samples\SwitchExecutive\
C/C++
\Examples\C\
Visual Basic
\Examples\VisualBasic\
Using NI Switch Executive
You can find documentation for NI Switch Executive at Start» Programs»National Instruments»Switch Executive»Documentation. The NI Switch Executive Help explains how to use NI Switch Executive in depth. The National Instruments Switch Executive Getting Started explains how to install and set up the hardware and software, and covers the basics of using NI Switch Executive. The National Instruments Switch Executive Quick Reference Guide is a quick reference guide for functions and VIs related to NI Switch Executive.
Viewing these documents requires Adobe Acrobat Reader available at http://www.adobe.com.
Known Issues
The following are known issues for NI Switch Executive v2.0.1.
Reverting to NI Switch Executive 1.0 after Installing NI Switch Executive 2.0.1
This downgrade is not recommended. The 2.0.1 release resolves several issues in 1.0 that can prevent your application from working with other NI products. Dependencies on subcomponents, such as the IVI Compliance Package (ICP) 2.2.0, fail if you downgrade to 1.0.
If the downgrade to 1.0 is unavoidable, you must uninstall NI Switch Executive 2.0.1 and the ICP 2.2.0 in this order. Refer to Uninstalling NI Switch Executive, then complete the following steps to remove ICP 2.2.0.
Select National Instruments Software and click Change.
Select IVI Compliance Package 2.2.0 and click Uninstall.
Visit www.ivifoundation.org to download the IVI Foundation IVI Shared Component Cleanup Utility.
Run the IVI Foundation IVI Shared Component Cleanup Utility.
NOTE: After uninstalling ICP, IVI Shared Components remain on the system. To remove the remaining components, you must run the IVI Foundation IVI Shared Component Cleanup Utility mentioned in the steps above. These components are not uninstalled by the Windows uninstallation utility.
NOTE: If ICP was installed as a requirement for a distribution other than NI Switch Executive 2.0.1, you cannot uninstall the ICP without uninstalling the dependent product.
Once NI Switch Executive 2.0.1 and ICP 2.2.0 have been removed, you can run the NI Switch Executive 1.0 installer. Be aware that 1.0 may not work properly with other NI products.
"DLL Not Found" - Microsoft Visual Basic
When using Microsoft Visual Basic, you may get a "DLL Not Found" error when trying to run your program in the IDE. This problem only occurs in the Visual Basic IDE and only occurs when another process (such as Measurement and Automation Explorer (MAX), for instance) has loaded nise.dll. Workaround 1: Close any other processes that are using nise.dll. This is most commonly MAX. Workaround 2: You should not see this problem if running a compiled Visual Basic executable.
NI Switch Executive & SCXI-1127
If you are using the SCXI-1127 in multiplexer mode configured under Traditional NI-DAQ Devices in MAX, there are a few anomalies exposed by NI Switch Executive.
NOTE: These anomalies do not exist with the SCXI-1127 configured under NI-DAQmx Devices in MAX. If the SCXI-1127 is using a multiplexer topology, NI recommends configuring it under NI-DAQmx Devices in MAX.
First, the SCXI-1127 supports different wire modes (1, 2, or 4-wires). Through NI Switch Executive, however, you may only use it with 2-wire channels. Second, the list of channels retrieved from the instrument driver includes all of the channel names as though it was configured as a 1-wire switch. Because of this, half of the channels may appear valid in NI Switch Executive but actually are not. Consult the NI Switches Help file for a list of valid 2-wire channels.
Changing IVI Configurations After Creating an NI Switch Executive Virtual Device
The IVI configuration of an IVI switch is read at the time that the switch is added to the NI Switch Executive virtual device. If changes are made to the IVI configuration, such as creating virtual channels, changing default setup to make some channels come up as source or configuration channels, or to change the topology, those changes are not automatically reflected in NI Switch Executive. For NI Switch Executive to recognize the change, you must remove the IVI switch from the NI Switch Executive virtual device and then re-add it. The preferred manner for modifying source and configuration channel attributes is by using the Channels panel of NI Switch Executive in Measurement & Automation Explorer. Using the Channels panel instead of altering the IVI configuration helps you avoid removing and adding an IVI switch to reflect your changes.
Changes/Fixes to NI Switch ExecutiveNISE 2.1 from NISE 2.0.1 NISE 2.0.1 from NISE 2.0
When specifying multiple routes in a single call to niSE Connect, NISE 2.0 used the same reserved for routing channel to complete every route which resulted in a connection error. For example, if you tried to connect column 1 to column 2, and column 3 to column 4 with the following route specification string "dev1/c1->dev1/c2 & dev1/c3->dev1/c4", the NISE 2.0 routing engine attempted to use the same reserved for routing row to complete both routes. As a result, NISE would return an error when trying to connect the second route. This behavior has been modified to search for an alternative reserved for routing channel when finding paths for concurrent connection requests.
When upgrading from NISE 1.x to 2.0 or importing a 1.x configuration into NISE 2.0, some routes became invalid. This occurred if the IVI instrument driver for a switch device from your configuration defined some of its channels as IVI Configuration channels. In these cases, NISE 2.0 attempted to convert these IVI configuration channels to NISE reserved for routing channels without rerouting previously configured stored routes. If the stored routes were using an IVI configuration channel as a part of the path, NISE 2.0 reported errors when attempting to connect these routes. NISE 2.0.1 will preserve the IVI configuration channels when upgrading or importing 1.x configurations without breaking existing routes.
If you have already imported your 1.x configuration into NISE 2.0, and your stored routes use IVI configuration channels, you can manually reroute all of the affected routes or upgrade to 2.0.1 and re-import the 1.x configuration.
When using a deployment license, executables using NISE configurations unexpectedly timed-out after 10 minutes--behavior of an evaluation license. In NISE 2.0.1, activated deployment licenses now take precedence over any evaluation licenses present on the system.
Fixed an issue where NI Switch Executive can close without warning when using the Volume Licensing Manager (VLM) and the VLM server is unavailable for 12 or more consecutive minutes.