You can directly call VIs on remote computers, including computers that run the LabVIEW development system or a LabVIEW executable and PXI controllers that run the LabVIEW Real-Time Module.

Note TestStand does not support automatically downloading VIs to systems that run the Real-Time Module. To use the Real-Time Module, you must call a VI on the local system and the local VI must then call the VI on the Real-Time Module, or you must manually download the VI to the Real-Time module and call the VI by remote path or by name if the VI is already in memory.

Because TestStand uses the LabVIEW VI Server to run VIs remotely, the remote computers can use any operating system LabVIEW supports, including Linux and OS X.

Complete the following steps to call a VI remotely:

  1. Configure the TestStand step to specify that the call occurs on a remote computer.
  2. Configure the remote computer to allow TestStand to call VIs located on the computer.
  3. Configure the computer running TestStand to have network access to the remote computer running the LabVIEW VI Server.

Using LabVIEW Class Data Type Parameters in Remote VI Calls

TestStand supports remote VI calls that use LabVIEW class data type parameters only when you preload the LabVIEW class definition in the same version of the LabVIEW Run-Time Engine as the LabVIEW version of the VI on the local computer. Otherwise, LabVIEW fails to interpret the returned LabVIEW class data because it is not loaded into LabVIEW.

Complete the following steps for every step you configure to make a remote VI call that uses LabVIEW class data type parameters to work around this issue.

  1. Create another sequence in the same sequence file.
  2. Copy all the steps and required variables into the new sequence.
  3. For each step in the new sequence, click the Advanced Settings button on the LabVIEW Module tab of the Step Settings pane to launch the LabVIEW Advanced Settings window.
  4. Disable the Run VI on a Remote Computer option and enable the Always Run VI in LabVIEW Run-Time Engine option.
Note TestStand preloads the steps in this sequence when it executes the entry point of the current process model.

Calling Class Member VIs on Remote Machines

TestStand does not support remote Class Member calls.