Connect/Disconnect Operation (Switch Executive Mode)

In Switch Executive mode, the Connect/Disconnect operation configures the routes for the virtual device name the step specifies.

The Connect/Disconnect operation contains the following options:

• Action —Specifies whether to connect or disconnect the specified routes, or disconnect all previously connected routes. This operation returns as soon as the instrument is ready for another operation, which may be before or after the switches involved settle. Use the Wait for Debounce option when you want to wait until all switches have debounced.

  Supported Value	Description
  Connect (0)	Creates the paths for the specified routes in the Route(s) to Connect control.
  Disconnect (1)	Destroys the paths the specified routes in the Route(s) to Disconnect control defines.
  Disconnect All (2)	Disconnects all previously created paths.
  Connect/Disconnect (3)	Creates the paths for the routes specified in the Route(s) to Connect control, and destroys the paths for the routes specified in the Route(s) to Disconnect control. Use the Operation Order control to specify whether the Disconnect operation occurs before or after the Connect operation.

• Route(s) to Connect —The routes you are connecting. The expression must be a valid route specification string as the NI Switch Executive configuration for the virtual device name being used defines. The string can be a combination of route group alias names, route names, and physical route paths. You can use the Switch Find Route expression function to dynamically determine a physical route path at run time.
• Route(s) to Disconnect —The routes you are disconnecting. The expression must be a valid route specification string as the NI Switch Executive configuration for the virtual device name being used defines. The string can be a combination of route group alias names, route names, and physical route paths. You can use the Switch Find Route expression function to dynamically determine a physical route path at run time.
• Multiconnect Mode —The behavior when more than one connection operation occurs on a specific route.

  Supported Value	Description
  No Multi-connect (0)	A route can only connect once. Any attempt to reconnect an already connected route results in an error.
  Multi-connect Routes (1)	A route can connect multiple times. The route must contain the same endpoints and path. NI Switch Executive automatically reference counts the routes. If you issue multiple Connect operations for a specific route, the route is not physically disconnected until an equal number of Disconnect operations occur. You can either issue the Disconnect operation manually or use a lifetime setting for the route. The Disconnect All operation disconnects a route even if the route reference count is greater than one.
  Use Default Setting for Routes (-1)	A route defaults to the multiconnect mode as predefined for each route in NI Switch Executive.

• Operation Order —Specifies whether the Disconnect operation occurs before or after the Connect operation.

  Supported Value	Description
  Disconnect before Connect (1)	Disconnect the specified routes before connecting any routes. This is the typical mode of operation.
  Connect before Disconnect (2)	Connect the specified routes before disconnecting any routes. Use Connect Before Disconnect when you are switching current and want to ensure that a load is always connected to the source.

• Connection Lifetime — The lifetime TestStand applies to the routes specified for the connect or connect/disconnect actions. You can specify whether you want the route to exist until manually disconnected later or until the step, sequence, thread, or execution completes. When you use the multiconnect route mode, a route can exist longer if another step specifies its own lifetime for the same route. Selecting a lifetime other than manual guarantees that the route stays connected as long as the step, sequence, thread, or execution in which you connect is executing. If you manually disconnect a route previously connected using a non-manual lifetime setting, TestStand releases the reference to the route for the last step that performed a connect action for the route.
• Wait for Debounce —When you enable this option, the Action operation waits for all switches to debounce before returning to TestStand. The Wait for Debounce option occurs after both the Connect and Disconnect operations are complete.