Deploying and Running an Application on a Real-Time Controller

After testing your real-time application design using interactive execution, run the application on a real-time controller by building the application as a startup application and deploying it from SystemDesigner.

Before you build and deploy your real-time application, test the design using interactive execution to ensure that it runs as you expect. Refer to Testing a Real-Time VI Using Interactive Execution for help testing your design using interactive execution.

To complete this task, you need to establish a network connection to a real-time controller and place the controller on the Design diagram of SystemDesigner.

1. Navigate to the Design diagram of SystemDesigner.
2. Select the application targeted to the real-time controller and, on the Item tab, enable Set as startup. Setting an application as startup configures it to execute automatically whenever the real-time controller boots.
3. Right-click the application you added to the controller and select Run.
   

   Note

   If another application is already running on the real-time controller, SystemDesigner prompts you to replace the already running application with the new one. Because only one application can run on a real-time controller at a time, you must replace the running application in order to run the new one.

4. When prompted, click Deploy and Restart. SystemDesigner builds the application and deploys it to the physical real-time controller. The controller restarts and executes the built application.

The application continues to run for the lifetime of the controller unless the code runs to termination or one of the following conditions is met:

• You run a VI interactively while the application is running and choose to abort the running application. If you choose to abort, you must repeat the steps listed above to continue running the application.
• You deploy a new startup application to the real-time controller and choose to replace the running application with the new one.
• You disable Set as startup in SystemDesigner for the application running on the real-time controller and re-deploy it. This tactic is the only way to stop the application from running without running a new application or VI on the target.