Consider the following guidelines for reducing the time required to create a deployment:

  • Divide the test system into multiple, smaller deployments to avoid rebuilding parts of the test system that have not changed. For example, if you include the TestStand Runtime and NI driver components in separate deployments, you do not have to redeploy those components until you install a new version of TestStand or a new version of the driver.
  • Use the Components to Include option in the Drivers and Components dialog box to exclude drivers and components the test system does not use, such as unused LabVIEW Run-Time Engines.
  • Enable the To minimize media prompts while building your installers, copy the selected installers and all future installers to this computer option in the Drivers and Components dialog box to copy all necessary components from a deployment to a permanent location on the local computer before the deployment utility creates the deployment and to copy all NI deployable installers to a permanent location on the local computer when you run the installers.
  • Ensure that you mass compile all the VIs in the version of LabVIEW the test system requires before you create a deployment. When you create a deployment, the TestStand Deployment Utility invokes LabVIEW to save copies of all VIs the test system uses. When saving a copy of a VI, LabVIEW automatically recompiles the VI in the following situations:
    • The compiled code of the VI is out of date
    • The compiled code of the VI is saved in a different version of LabVIEW
    • The VI is a source-only VI, which is a VI with separate compiled code, and has not been compiled on the development computer
    Because compiling VIs can require a significant amount of time, NI recommends that you compile all the VIs at once instead of recompiling the same set of VIs each time you create a deployment.
  • Ensure that you disable the Check for Broken VIs options in the LabVIEW VI Options dialog box to prevent the deployment utility from checking for broken VIs before and after creating the deployable image.
  • Use packed project libraries because the TestStand Deployment Utility can include a packed project library in the deployment without having to recompile any of the VIs the packed project library contains.
  • If you call VIs in the context of multiple LabVIEW projects, enable the Consolidate Files Shared By Projects option in the LabVIEW VI Options dialog box to deploy the VIs in a single, merged source distribution when possible instead of using a source distribution for each LabVIEW project. This consolidation increases build speed and decreases disk usage for multiple projects that share common subVIs by making a single source distribution for every project. This optimization is not always possible because two projects might compile the same source VI differently, which can result in slower build times.
  • If you are deploying VIs using a version of LabVIEW released after the current TestStand version, creating the first deployment takes longer because the deployment utility compiles all the files it requires in the newer version of LabVIEW. Creating subsequent deployments does not take as long.