NI-Sync 21.0 Readme

July 2021

This file contains installation instructions and compatibility information for NI-Sync 21.0.

You can find more release information on ni.com.

  • NI-Sync Release Notes: Known issues, bugs fixed since the last release, and other notes about this release
  • NI-Sync Manuals: New features, behavior changes, and other documentation

If you plan to use LabVIEW NXG, refer to LabVIEW NXG Support and Considerations.


Overview

Supported Operating Systems

Application Software Support

Installation Instructions

Product Security and Critical Updates

New Features

Supported Hardware

Accessing the Help

Finding Examples

LabVIEW NXG Support and Considerations

Automating the Installation of NI Products

Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10

Unsupported Windows Operating Systems

NI Software Drops Support for Phar Lap ETS Real-Time Operating System in 2022

Legal Information


Overview

NI-Sync provides support for customers using NI timing and synchronization hardware modules.

Supported Operating Systems

NI-Sync 21.0 supports the following operating systems:

  • Windows 10
  • Windows Server 2019
  • Windows Server 2016
  • NI Real-Time Phar Lap ETS
  • Linux Real-Time (RT)1, 2, 3

1 Certain features are unavailable on Linux RT targets. Refer to NI-Sync Limitations on Linux Desktop and NI Linux Real-Time for more information about target support and functionality.

2 IEEE 1588-2008 protocol instances on ARM-based targets running NI Linux Real-Time are configured to be "slave only" by default. For more information about this issue, refer to Why Doesn't My ARM-Based Linux Real-Time Target Act as a 1588 Master?.

3 Monitoring and configuring of time-based synchronization on embedded Phar Lap targets is not supported in the NI-Sync API. Use the NI-TimeSync property node installed with NI-Sync for time-based synchronization on these targets.

Note  Refer to Unsupported Windows Operating Systems for more information about support for Microsoft Windows OSes.

Note  NI-Sync 21.0 will not install or run on an unsupported OS. You cannot deploy or distribute applications that use NI-Sync 21.0 to an unsupported OS. Additionally, after installing NI-Sync 21.0, you cannot use any installers built on this computer with any version of LabVIEW, LabWindows™/CVI™, NI TestStand™, or Measurement Studio on an unsupported OS.

Application Software Support

NI-Sync 21.0 supports the following application software versions, including service packs.

Application Software Versions Supported by NI-Sync
LabVIEW 2018 SP1, 2019 SP1, 2020 SP1, 2021
LabVIEW Real-Time Module 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021
LabWindows/CVI 2017, 2019, 2020
LabVIEW NXG 5.0, 5.1

Installation Instructions

Download the NI-Sync 21.0 installer from ni.com/downloads. NI software includes NI Package Manager to handle the installation. Refer to the NI Package Manager Manual for more information about installing, removing, and upgrading NI software using NI Package Manager.

Product Security and Critical Updates

Visit ni.com/security to view and subscribe to receive security notifications about NI products. For information about critical updates from NI, refer to Available Critical and Security Updates for NI Software.

New Features

The NI-Sync 21.0 release adds the following features:

  • Support for LabVIEW 2021.
  • Improved support for the PXIe-6674T on Linux Real-Time.
  • Support for GPS Mobile Mode for the PXI-6683 and PXI-6683H on Linux Real-Time.
  • Support for Pulse Per Second (PPS) Time Synchronization for the PXI-6683 and PXI-6683H on Linux Real-Time.
  • Improved support for System Configuration and NI-Sync properties on Linux RT.
  • Support for MAX test panels for the PXIe-6674T on Linux RT.
  • Partial support for MAX test panels for the PXI-6683 and PXI-6683H on Linux RT.

Supported Hardware

NI-Sync 21.0 supports the following devices:

Signal-Based Modules

  • PXI-6651
  • PXI-6652
  • PXI-6653
  • PXIe-6672
  • PXIe-6674
  • PXIe-6674T

Time-Based Modules

  • PCI-1588
  • PXI-6682
  • PXI-6682H
  • PXI-6683
  • PXI-6683H

Controller Support for Time-Based Synchronization

The following embedded controller types support time-based synchronization with NI-Sync 21.0:

  • PXI(e)4
  • CompactRIO
  • CompactDAQ
  • Industrial Controller (IC)
  • Compact Vision Systems

4 Time-based synchronization is fully supported on Phar Lap PXI(e) controllers. Time-based synchronization is supported on NI Linux Real-Time PXIe controllers only if the system includes a PXI-6683 Series timing and synchronization module.

Accessing the Help

Refer to NI-Sync Help, accessible from Help»LabVIEW Help..., for information about using NI-Sync with LabVIEW.

Finding Examples

Select Help»Find Examples from LabVIEW to launch the NI Example Finder. LabVIEW examples for NI-Sync are located in the \examples\instr\niSync directory. 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.

  • For signal-based examples that use clocks and triggers directly, open the NI Example Finder and navigate to Hardware Input and Output»Timing and Synchronization»Signal-Based.
  • For time-based examples that use time references such as IEEE 1588-2008 or GPS as a basis for synchronization, open the NI Example Finder and navigate to Hardware Input and Output»Timing and Synchronization»Time-Based.

LabVIEW NXG Support and Considerations

The following sections detail considerations for using LabVIEW NXG with NI-Sync 21.0.

LabVIEW NXG Operating Systems and System Requirements

Software support for LabVIEW NXG differs in the following ways:

  • System requirements—Only 64-bit (x64) processors are supported.
  • Operating system—Only 64-bit operating systems are supported.

LabVIEW NXG Help

View context help in LabVIEW by pressing <Ctrl-H> and hovering over an object.

Search for items using the search bar in the upper right corner of the LabVIEW window. You can also view context help for the search results.

Additional documentation is available online at ni.com/manuals.

LabVIEW NXG Examples

Launch LabVIEW and click the Learning tab.

LabVIEW lessons are located in the Lessons tab, and LabVIEW Examples are located in the Examples tab. Follow the instructions in the lessons and examples.

Automating the Installation of NI Products

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.

If the NI product you are installing uses Microsoft .NET 4.6.2, 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 4.6.2 separately before you install NI software.

For more information about automating the installation of NI products, refer to Automating an Installer in the NI Package Manager manual.

Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10

Microsoft Windows 10 is the latest version of the Windows operating system and features significant changes compared to previous versions. Windows 10 introduces several new capabilities and also combines features from both Windows 7 and Windows 8. For more information about NI support for Windows 10, refer to NI Product Compatibility for Microsoft Windows 10.

Unsupported Windows Operating Systems

NI-Sync no longer supports Windows Vista/XP/7/8.x, Windows Server 2003/2008/2012, or any 32-bit Windows operating system. Versions of this product that ship after May 1, 2021, may not install or execute correctly on these operating systems. For detailed information about NI operating system support, visit ni.com/r/win32bitsupport.

NI Software Drops Support for Phar Lap ETS Real-Time Operating System in 2022.

NI Software will drop support for Phar Lap ETS Real-Time Operating System starting in 2022. Versions of this product that ship after May 1, 2022, may not install or execute correctly on this operating system. For high-level information on the support roadmap for Phar Lap and its replacement, NI Linux Real-Time, visit ni.com/r/xf35k1. To find out what hardware is supported on PXI controllers running NI Linux Real-Time, visit ni.com/r/b7g5wi.


Legal Information

Copyright

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Under the copyright laws, this publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storing in an information retrieval system, or translating, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of National Instruments Corporation.

NI respects the intellectual property of others, and we ask our users to do the same. NI software is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Where NI software may be used to reproduce software or other materials belonging to others, you may use NI software only to reproduce materials that you may reproduce in accordance with the terms of any applicable license or other legal restriction.

End-User License Agreements and Third-Party Legal Notices

You can find end-user license agreements (EULAs) and third-party legal notices in the following locations after installation:

  • Notices are located in the <National Instruments>\_Legal Information and <National Instruments> directories.
  • EULAs are located in the <National Instruments>\Shared\MDF\Legal\license directory.
  • Review <National Instruments>\_Legal Information.txt for information on including legal information in installers built with NI products.

U.S. Government Restricted Rights

If you are an agency, department, or other entity of the United States Government ("Government"), the use, duplication, reproduction, release, modification, disclosure or transfer of the technical data included in this manual is governed by the Restricted Rights provisions under Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.227-14 for civilian agencies and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement Section 252.227-7014 and 252.227-7015 for military agencies.

IVI Foundation Copyright Notice

Content from the IVI specifications reproduced with permission from the IVI Foundation.

The IVI Foundation and its member companies make no warranty of any kind with regard to this material, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The IVI Foundation and its member companies shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this material.

Trademarks

Refer to the NI Trademarks and Logo Guidelines at ni.com/trademarks for information on NI trademarks. Other product and company names mentioned herein are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.

Patents

For patents covering the NI products/technology, refer to the appropriate location: Help»Patents in your software, the patents.txt file on your media, or the NI Patent Notice at ni.com/patents.

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