March 2015
This file contains important information about NI-Industrial Communications for DeviceNet for Windows and LabVIEW Real-Time environment, including new features and changes, the installation and upgrade issues, compatibility issues, and a partial list of bug fixes.
Caution The NI-Industrial Communications for DeviceNet 2.3 software or later requires the NI 9882 module with the updated firmware. When you upgrade your software to the 2.3 version or later, check the software version of the media that shipped with your NI 9882 module. If the version is not 2.3 or later, or you are not sure of the version number, National Instruments recommends that you update the firmware. Otherwise, when you use NI-Industrial Communications for DeviceNet 2.3 or later, firmware images corrupt or get mismatched. Ensure that you have appropriate hardware and software installed and complete one of the following tasks to update the firmware.
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Product Security and Critical Updates
Automating the Installation of NI Products
Compatibility with NI-DNET 1.x
How to Use NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.x
NI Software Support for Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003
The NI-Industrial Communications for DeviceNet software provides the DeviceNet driver and VIs for you to configure and control DeviceNet devices on a DeviceNet network and to communicate with FPGA targets.
You must install and run the NI-Industrial Communications for DeviceNet software on the following operating systems:
Notes The following list describes restrictions for using NI-Industrial Communications for DeviceNet on Windows:
Refer to KB 6CCA8MEG, Supported Hardware and Software for NI-Industrial Communications for DeviceNet, for a complete list of NI hardware and software supported by each version of the NI-Industrial Communications for DeviceNet.
The maximum number of devices you can connect to a DeviceNet interface depends on the electrical characteristics of the devices on the network. If all of the devices on the network meet the DeviceNet specifications, you may connect 64 devices to the network.
Caution The NI-Industrial Communications for DeviceNet software does not support the previous generation of the DeviceNet hardware products such as PCI-DNET, PCMCIA-DNET, and PXI-8461/D. Those products require an NI-DNET 1.x driver.
Before installing the NI-Industrial Communications for DeviceNet software, log on as Administrator or as a user with Administrator privileges. The NI-Industrial Communications for DeviceNet software setup program must have Administrator privileges because the program modifies the configuration registry of your system. Complete the following steps to install the NI-Industrial Communications for DeviceNet software:
Complete the following steps to install the NI-Industrial Communications for DeviceNet software on a real-time target in Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX):
Visit ni.com/security to view and subscribe to receive security notifications about National Instruments products. Visit ni.com/critical-updates for information about critical updates from National Instruments.
The NI-Industrial Communications for DeviceNet versions are now aligned with the versions of major NI application software products. This alignment gives you information about the year the driver was released and the most recent software version the driver was designed to work with. Driver versions now start with a two-digit year indicator: <ProductName><Year-BasedVersion>. For example, NI-Industrial Communications for DeviceNet 14.5 is the version released with LabVIEW 2014 SP1. The last version released under the old numbering scheme is NI-Industrial Communications for DeviceNet 2.3. The first version released under the new numbering scheme is NI-Industrial Communications for DeviceNet 14.5.
The following table contains the ID and title of the issue fixed in the NI-Industrial Communications for DeviceNet 14.5. This table is not an exhaustive list of issues fixed in this version of NI-Industrial Communications for DeviceNet.
| ID | Fixed Issue |
|---|---|
| 504396 | The maximum IO length for Poll, COS and Cyclic should be 255 instead of 240 |
The following table contains the ID and title of the issue fixed in the NI-Industrial Communications for DeviceNet 2.1. This table is not an exhaustive list of issues fixed in this version of NI-Industrial Communications for DeviceNet.
| ID | Fixed Issue |
|---|---|
| 198387 | Explicit messaging function block help does not explain how to write attributes |
| 185016 | PCI/PXI 8532 boards manual lacks hardware specifications section |
The following table contains the ID and title of the issue fixed in the NI-Industrial Communications for DeviceNet 2.0.2. This table is not an exhaustive list of issues fixed in this version of NI-Industrial Communications for DeviceNet.
| ID | Fixed Issue |
|---|---|
| 288931 | DeviceNet deployment executable fails to execute on a machine without LabVIEW |
Refer to the NI-Industrial Communications for DeviceNet Help, accessible by selecting Help»NI-Industrial Communications for DeviceNet in LabVIEW, for information about using the NI-Industrial Communications for DeviceNet software.
Select Help»Find Examples from LabVIEW to launch the NI Example Finder.
LabVIEW examples for the NI-Industrial Communications for DeviceNet software are in the labview\examples\NI-Industrial Communications for DeviceNet folder. You can modify an example VI to fit an application, or you can copy and paste from one or more examples into a VI that you create.
NI-Industrial Communications for DeviceNet 2.1 or later is not an update for NI-DNET 1.x and the two products can be installed on the same system side by side. DeviceNet 2.1 or later provides NI-DNET 1.x compatible VIs, so the application using NI-DNET 1.x VIs can work with DeviceNet 2.1 or later on PCI-8532, PXI-8532 and NI 9882 with very limited code change.
You can automate the installation of most NI products using command-line arguments to suppress some or all of the installer user interface and dialog boxes. However, starting with the August 2012 releases (products using NI Installers version 3.1 or later), you may need to perform additional steps before or during a silent installation of NI software.
If the NI product you are installing uses Microsoft .NET 4.0, the .NET installer may run before any NI software installs and may require a reboot before the installation of NI software begins. To avoid a .NET reboot, install .NET 4.0 separately before you install NI software.
For more information about automating the installation of NI products, refer to the following KnowledgeBase articles:
When you install National Instruments software on Microsoft Windows 8.x, you will notice a few additional tiles in the Apps view, including shortcuts to NI application software products such as NI LabVIEW, Measurement & Automation Explorer (NI MAX), and NI Launcher.
NI Launcher helps you find and launch installed NI products. It provides you with a method of finding NI products similar to the Start menu in previous versions of Microsoft Windows. To use NI Launcher, click the NI Launcher tile in the Apps view. NI Launcher launches the desktop and opens a menu containing a list of NI products. Click any NI product to launch it.
Note NI MAX does not appear as a desktop shortcut when installed on Microsoft Windows 8.x. You can launch NI MAX either from the Apps view or from within NI Launcher.
For convenience, you can pin your most-used NI applications, such as MAX, to either the Start screen or the Taskbar on the desktop, as necessary:
| Current Application | Icon Location | Pin to Action |
|---|---|---|
| Windows 8.x Desktop | Desktop Taskbar | Right-click application and select Pin to Taskbar |
| Windows 8.x Desktop | Start screen | Right-click application and select Pin to Start |
| Windows 8.x Start screen | Desktop Taskbar | Right-click application and select Pin to taskbar from the menu bar on the bottom of the screen |
If you want to find a particular application or related files, such as documentation files, from the Start screen, you can access all installed files from the Apps view. To get to the Apps view, right-click anywhere on the Start screen and select All apps (Windows 8.0) or click the down arrow on the bottom left of the screen (Windows 8.1).
For more information about NI support for Windows 8.x, visit ni.com/windows8.
NI-Industrial Communications for DeviceNet will drop support for Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 as of July 1, 2016. Versions of NI-Industrial Communications for DeviceNet that ship after July 1, 2016 will not install or run on Windows Vista, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003. For detailed information about NI application software product life cycles, visit ni.com/info and enter one of the following Info Codes:
| Product | Info Code |
|---|---|
| LabVIEW | lifecycle |
| LabWindows™/CVI™ | cvi_lifecycle |
| Measurement Studio | mstudiolifecycle |
| TestStand | tslcp |
| DIAdem | ddlcp |
| SignalExpress | selcp |
| VeriStand | nivslifecycle |
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For patents covering the National Instruments products/technology, refer to the appropriate location: Help»Patents in your software, the patents.txt file on your media, or the National Instruments Patent Notice at ni.com/patents.
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