PXI Platform Services 20.0 Readme

November 2020

This file contains important information about PXI Platform Services, including installation instructions, new features, and a partial list of bugs fixed for PXI Platform Services 20.0.

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

LabVIEW NXG Support and Considerations

Automating the Installation of NI Products

Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10

Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.1

PXI Platform Services Drops Support for Windows 7 (32- and 64-Bit), Windows Server 2008 R2, and All 32-Bit Windows Operating Systems in 2021

Legal Information


Overview

PXI Platform Services provides support for customers using NI PXI and PXI Express chassis and controllers.

If you are using PXI Platform Services 20.0 to upgrade a Windows system that serves as a host for one or more LabVIEW Real-Time Module targets, it is highly recommended that you also update your targets to leverage new features and improved performance.

Note  You cannot use PXI Platform Services 20.0 to configure a LabVIEW RT target with a version of PXI Platform Services earlier than 2.0.

Supported Operating Systems

PXI Platform Services 20.0 supports the following operating systems:

  • Windows 10/8.11/7 SP12
  • Windows Server 2016
  • Windows Server 2012 R21
  • Windows Server 2008 R2 SP12

1 NI software installs VC2015 Runtime and .NET 4.6.2. Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 require Microsoft updates to support these items. Refer to Microsoft KB2919442 and KB2919355 for more information about how to install these updates.

2 NI software is signed with a SHA-256 certificate. Windows 7 SP1, Windows Embedded Standard 7 SP1, and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 require Microsoft updates to support SHA-256. Refer to Microsoft KB3033929 for more information about how to install this security update.

For the most up-to-date information on compatibility with PXI Platform Services, visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code pxipsos.

Note  Some hardware may not support all operating systems listed above. Consult your hardware documentation for more information.

Note  Refer to PXI Platform Services Drops Support for Windows 7 (32- and 64-Bit), Windows Server 2008 R2, and All 32-Bit Windows Operating Systems in 2021 for information about future OS support.

Note  In 2016 PXI Platform Services dropped support for Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and installations of Windows 7 without any service packs. PXI Platform Services 20.0 will not install or run on an unsupported OS. You cannot deploy or distribute applications that use PXI Platform Services 20.0 to an unsupported OS. Additionally, after installing PXI Platform Services 20.0, 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.

For more information about the changes to our OS support for 2016, visit ni.com/r/OSSupport2016.

Note  Support for Windows 32-bit operating systems may require disabling physical address extension (PAE). To learn how this might affect your system and what actions you might need to take, visit ni.com/r/PAESupport.

Application Software Support

PXI Platform Services 20.0 supports the following application software versions, including service packs.

Application SoftwareVersions Supported by PXI Platform Services
LabVIEW2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
LabVIEW NXG5.0
LabWindows™/CVI™2013 and later

Installation Instructions

NI installs PXI Platform Services using NI Package Manager. If you do not already have NI software installed, PXI Platform Services installs NI Package Manager to handle the installation of your NI software. Visit ni.com/r/NIPMDownload to download NI Package Manager. Refer to the NI Package Manager Manual for more information about installing, removing, and upgrading NI software using NI Package Manager.

Note  If Windows Update is enabled, the installation process might hang if Windows Update interferes with the installation of Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Run-Time. Visit ni.com/r/exjq43 for more information and steps to resolve this issue.

Product Security and Critical Updates

Visit ni.com/security to view and subscribe to receive security notifications about NI products. Visit ni.com/critical-updates for information about critical updates from NI.

New Features in Version 20.0

LabVIEW Support

Added support for LabVIEW 2020 and LabVIEW NXG 5.0.

New Hardware Support

Added support for new PXI hardware.

Updates to Measurement & Automation Explorer and the NI System Configuration API

PXI Platform Services has updated support for PXI Systems in NI Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX) and the NI System Configuration API for LabVIEW, .NET, and C/C++. The following changes were made:

  • PXIe-1095, PXIe-1092, PXIe-1088, and PXIe-1084 users can now configure the front panel LEDs on their chassis to blink on demand. You can use this feature to assist with chassis identification in a large system or to indicate when a system is in use. You can configure the setting for supported chassis in MAX and through the NI System Configuration API.
  • For PXI Express chassis with the Timing and Synchronization Upgrade, the connection status of the High-Density cables is now displayed in MAX and is available through the NI System Configuration API.
  • For modules that support cooling profiles, module-specific cooling status is now reported in MAX and is available through the NI System Configuration API. For details about cooling profiles, refer to the documentation or API behavior for your specific modules.
  • Chassis identification and renumbering in MAX has been moved to the Settings tab.

Deprecated Hardware Support

PXI Platform Services will no longer provide support for the following hardware:

  • PXIe-8105
  • PXIe-8106

New Features in Version 19.5

LabVIEW NXG 4.0

Added support for LabVIEW NXG 4.0.

Improvements to Chassis Fan Acoustics

Some PXIe-1095, PXIe-1092, PXIe-1088, and PXIe-1084 users can now configure a 38 W cooling profile in MAX where the 58 W cooling profile otherwise would be automatically selected. This may be disallowed depending on which modules are present, and in some cases when it is allowed, it may reduce module capabilities or performance. Additionally, some modules in the PXIe-1095 and PXIe-1092 that previously required the 58 W cooling profile may now automatically configure to use the 38 W cooling profile. For details, check documentation or API behavior for your specific modules.

Chassis Renumber

The NI System Configuration API now supports changing the chassis number.

Note  Renumbering via the API clears static routes and reservations in the MAX Trigger Pane. This is a known issue that will be resolved in a future release.

Updated Support for Routing with Third-Party Modules

PXI Trigger Bus terminals for third-party PXI modules are now available as a route source or destination for APIs that support module-to-module routing, such as NI-DAQmx. Terminals of the form “/PXIxSloty/PXI_Trign” are shown in LabVIEW Trigger Resource IO Controls, and you can use them with routing APIs just as PXI_Trig terminals on NI modules. This is now the recommended way to configure triggers with third-party modules, and you should use it in place of the PXI Chassis Trigger pane in MAX.

.NET Support for PXI Chassis and Controllers

PXI chassis and controller-specific attributes are now available via the NI System Configuration API for .NET.

Firmware Update for PCIe-8398

Added support for updating the PCIe-8398 firmware via MAX and the NI System Configuration API.

New Features in Version 19.1

Updated Hardware Support

Update support for some PXI hardware.

New Features in Version 19.0

LabVIEW 2019

Added support for LabVIEW 2019.

NI Package Manager

Added support for 32-bit NI Package Manager and deprecated the previous install process.

Support Added for Trigger Routing to Embedded Controller SMB on Real-Time Systems

Extended support for routing between the SMB trigger connector on the front of most PXI embedded controllers and the PXI_Trig bus on the chassis backplane to include Real-Time systems. Routes can be performed using most NI routing APIs that accept string-based terminal names, such as NI-DAQmx. Users can reference the SMB connector with the terminal name /[hostname]/TRIG_SMB".

Deprecated Hardware Support

PXI Platform Services will no longer provide support for the following hardware:

  • PXI-8105
  • PXI-8106
  • PXI-8140
  • PXI-8183
  • PXI-8184
  • PXI-8185
  • PXI-8186
  • PXI-8187
  • PXI-8195
  • PXI-8196

New Features in Version 18.5

LabVIEW NXG 3.0

Added support for LabVIEW NXG 3.0.

New Features in Version 18.1

New Hardware Support

Added support for new PXI hardware.

Change to Chassis Alias

The format of the alias for all PXI Chassis in Measurement & Automation Explorer and the NI System Configuration API has changed. Previously the alias of PXI Chassis 1 would be "Chassis 1". Starting with PXI Platform Services 18.1, the alias will be "PXIChassis1".

PXIe-1095, PXIe-1084 Firmware

Starting with version 18.1, PXI Platform Services will now include firmware files for the PXIe-1095 and PXIe-1084 chassis. The included firmware version will be the latest available at the time software ships. This version will be offered to the user when updating firmware for these chassis via Measurement & Automation Explorer.

Measurement & Automation Explorer Load Time

The load time for Measurement & Automation Explorer has been improved for some systems.

New Features in Version 18.0

LabVIEW, CVI, and C API Support for PXI Chassis and Controllers

PXI chassis and controller-specific attributes are now available via the NI System Configuration API for LabVIEW, CVI, and C.

New Hardware Support

Added support for new PXI hardware.

Fixed Issues

IDFixed Issue
471060In some instances, the Create New Chassis Wizard does not show any buses on a LabVIEW RT system.
555192Performance improvements in Measurement & Automation Explorer.
651359Previously, reading the upper critical value for a PXIe-1085 temperature sensor that does not support this attribute would return the value 200. Now it will return a sentinel value of NaN.

New Features in Version 17.5.1

Fixed Issues

IDFixed Issue
676932In some instances, upgrading the version of PXI Platform Services on a system that includes a PXI-1044 or PXI-1045 can fail on the first installation attempt.
677140Programmatic routes may not find an available PXI_Trig line if one or more PXI_Trig lines on the relevant bus are reserved in MAX.
678002When using PXI Platform Services 17.3 or 17.5, if a PXI_Trig route or reservation attempted in MAX fails as a result of a conflicting reservation executed by NI-DAQmx, NI-VISA, or another mechanism, the user may not be aware that the operation failed.

New Features in Version 17.5

New Hardware Support

Added support for new PXI hardware.

LabVIEW NXG 2.0

Added support for LabVIEW NXG 2.0.

New Features in Version 17.3

New Hardware Support

Added support for new PXI hardware.

Support Added for Trigger Routing to Embedded Controller SMB on Windows

For Windows systems, PXI Platform Services 17.3 enables routing between the SMB trigger connector on the front of most PXI Embedded Controllers and the PXI_Trig bus on the chassis backplane. Routes can be performed using most NI routing APIs that accept string-based terminal names, such as NI-DAQmx. Users can reference the SMB connector with the terminal name /[hostname]/TRIG_SMB".

Geographic Addressing Added for Embedded Controller GPIB Interfaces

The GPIB interfaces included with most PXI embedded controllers will now appear in Slot 1 in the visuals in MAX, along with the embedded controller. The NI System Configuration API will also report these GPIB interfaces in Slot 1 of the appropriate chassis.

New Features in Version 17.2

New Hardware Support

Added support for new PXI hardware.

Support Removed for NI System Monitor API

PXI Platform Services no longer includes support for the NI System Monitor API. Applications that use the NI System Monitor API should be migrated to the System Configuration API. For help migrating an existing NI System Monitor application to the System Configuration API, visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code SysMonMigrate.

New Features in Version 17.0

New Hardware Support

Added support for new PXI hardware.

Removal of Slot 1 from PXI Chassis with Integrated MXI

The PXI-1033 and PXI-1073 will no longer show slot 1 with a controller in MAX, and Slot 1 will not be reported in the NI System Configuration API. These have been removed since there is no such physical slot.

Fixed Issues

IDFixed Issue
589386Fixed issue where the Cable Location attribute may not refresh properly.
565983Improved error messages for failed BIOS updates to PXI embedded controllers.
590724Fixed an issue preventing a user from deleting a manually added PXI chassis while National Instruments is not the active PXI Resource Manager.

New Features in Version 16.0

New Hardware Support

Added support for new PXI hardware.

Fan control via NI System Configuration API

PXI Platform Services 16.0 now installs a header file defining the attributes required to set a safe user fan speed through the NI System Configuration C API on supported PXI Express chassis. For more details, visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code pxisafeautofancontrol.

New Features in Version 15.1

New Hardware Support

Added support for new PXI hardware.

Fixed Issue: MAX Delay for Network-Capable Chassis

374646: There was a short delay in MAX when viewing details for a chassis with a built-in Ethernet port.

New Features in Version 15.0.2

New Hardware Support

Added support for new PXI hardware.

New Features in Version 15.0.1

New Hardware Support

Added support for new PXI Express hardware.

New Features in Version 15.0

Self-Test for PXI Platform Hardware

Self-test is available for PXI chassis and embedded and remote controllers; this feature can be accessed through MAX and NI System Configuration API. Self-test verifies basic hardware functionality.

Geographic Aliases

PXI controllers, MXI modules, and the PXI-8250 now provide an alias that conveys information about their location in a system (for example, PXI2Slot1). You can see this alias in the Devices and Interfaces section in MAX.

New Chassis Attributes in MAX

Hardware revision and PXI_CLK10 source information is now available for PXI chassis in MAX.

Patch for PXIe-1085/PXIe-1078 Chassis

PXI Platform Services 15.0 includes the PXIe-1085/PXIe-1078 patch that was released for PXI Platform Services 3.2.2 through 14.1. Visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code pxipspatch_2015_en for more details about this patch.

Fixed Issues: Improved MAX Stability

378807, 440251, 507983, 520787, 520922: In some cases, there could be stability issues with PXI hardware in MAX.

Fixed Issue: Duplicate Devices in MAX

363174: MXI-4 and PXI-8360 devices were shown twice in Devices and Interfaces in MAX.

New Features in Version 14.1

New Hardware Support

Added support for new PXI Express hardware.

Fixed Issue: Could not create chassis item in Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX)

505008: When using the LabVIEW Real-Time Module with some older NI PXI controllers that are unable to automatically identify, the chassis could not be created in MAX.

New Features in Version 14.0

Driver Version Naming Changes

PXI Platform Services versions are now aligned with the versions of major NI application software products. This alignment gives you information about the year the driver was released and the most recent software version the driver was designed to work with. Driver versions now start with a two-digit year indicator: PXI Platform Services 14.0. For example, PXI Platform Services 14.0 is the version released with LabVIEW 2014. The last version released under the old numbering scheme is PXI Platform Services 4.0.1. The first version released under the new numbering scheme is PXI Platform Services 14.0.

Runtime Installer

Starting with version 14.0, PXI Platform Services is available as a runtime installer. PXI Platform Services Runtime is a minimal installer which does not include configuration through Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX). When building an installer using NI application development environments (ADEs) such as LabVIEW, you will now have the option of including this subset of PXI Platform Services in your distribution.

System Monitor

Support for System Monitor is deprecated in PXI Platform Services and will be removed in a future release. Monitoring capabilities are available through the NI System Configuration API. Customers using System Monitor should migrate their applications to NI System Configuration API.

Fixed issue: Chassis not automatically identified in MAX

441696: When using a PXI Express Chassis and controller under a heavy load, the chassis could sometimes fail to auto-identify in MAX.

New Features in Version 4.0.1

New Hardware Support

Added support for new PXI Express hardware.

New Features in Version 4.0

PXI Specification Updates

PXI Platform Services 4.0 adds support for the new PXI-9 specification, revision 1.0. This version also includes updates to meet the requirements of the following PXISA specification versions:

  • PXI-2 Software Specification, revision 2.4
  • PXI-4 Module Description, revision 1.1
  • PXI-6 PXI Express Software Specification, revision 1.2

The PXI Express chassis description files now list the PXI specification compliance version. For more information on PXI specifications, go to pxisa.org.

PXI Platform Services on Real-Time Systems

When deploying software to your Real-Time system, PXI Platform Services is now visible in the Add/Remove Software tree in Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX). If you have more than one version of PXI Platform Services 4.0 or later installed on your host, you may select which version of PXI Platform Services will be deployed to the target. For more information about deploying software to Real-Time targets, see the MAX Help, available on the Help menu in MAX.

Fixed Issues in Measurement & Automation Explorer

PXI Platform Services 4.0 fixes the following issues in MAX:

  • 37850: In some instances, NI PXI-8360 and PXI-MXI-4 devices may not be visible in MAX.
  • 393204: In some cases, there could be stability issues with PXI hardware in MAX.

New Features in Version 3.2.3

New Hardware Support

Added support for new PXI Express hardware.

New Features in Version 3.2.2

New Hardware Support

Added support for new PXI and PXI Express hardware.

Removed Hardware Support

PXI Platform Services will no longer provide support for the following hardware:

  • PXI-1002 chassis
  • PXI-1006 chassis
  • PXI-1010 chassis
  • PXI-1011 chassis
  • PXI-1020 chassis
  • PXI-1025 chassis
  • PXI-8150 controller
  • PXI-8150B controller
  • PXI-8170 controller
  • PXI-8174 controller
  • PXI-8175 controller
  • PXI-8176 controller
  • PXIe-8103 controller

New Features in Version 3.2.1

Windows 8 Fixes

Minor updates to improve the Windows 8 user experience.

NI PXI Chassis System Monitoring

PXI Platform Services 3.2.1 added support for the PXI-8250 module via the NI System Configuration API.

New Features in Version 3.2

Windows 8 Support

PXI Platform Services 3.2 adds support for Windows 8 (32-bit and 64-bit).

The following are known issues with Windows 8:

  • The fast startup capability introduced in Windows 8 may cause improper functioning of your hardware and device drivers. To properly initialize drivers, choose Restart or Shut Down when prompted at the end of the installation. To prevent future problems with installing or removing hardware, NI recommends disabling fast startup. Visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code Win8FastStartup for more information.
  • Upgrading from a Windows 7 (or older) system is not supported

NI PXI Express Remote Controller Firmware Updater

PXI Platform Services has enabled the ability to update NI PXI Express Remote Controller Firmware. For more information, refer to the documentation of the specific firmware.

New Features in Version 3.1

NI PXI Express Chassis Monitoring

Added support for monitoring NI PXI Express chassis via NI System Configuration API.

LabVIEW Support

Support for LabVIEW 8.6 and LabVIEW 2009 is discontinued in this release.

New Features in Version 3.0.4

New Hardware Support

Added support for new PXI and PXI Express hardware.

New Features in Version 3.0.3

New Hardware Support

Added support for new PXI and PXI Express hardware.

New Features in Version 3.0.2

New Hardware Support

Added support for new PXI and PXI Express hardware.

New Features in Version 3.0.1

Fixed Issue: Addressed failure with RT Reboot of Hypervisor System

313181 Fatal exception, Code:0xC0000005 error, detected when restarting RT side of a Hypervisor system.

New Features in Version 3.0

Updates to Measurement & Automation Explorer Graphical User Interface

PXI Platform Services has updated the user interface for PXI Systems in Measurement & Automation Explorer. The following changes were made:

  • Better error detection.
  • Improved performance.
  • Identify bus as a chassis function replaced with Create New Chassis Wizard.
  • Updated help.
  • Controllers and MXI Modules now appear inside Slot View and Devices and Interfaces.
  • Majority of National Instruments PXI embedded controllers are now automatically identified.
  • MXI connectivity information is provided through Devices and Interfaces.
  • Removed redundant PXI System tree under Devices and Interfaces.

LabVIEW Support

Support for LabVIEW 8.5 is discontinued in this release.

New Features in Version 2.5.6

New Software Support

PXI Platform Services 2.5.6 adds support for PXI Express systems on NI Real-Time Hypervisor.

LabVIEW 8.2 Support

Support for LabVIEW 8.2 is discontinued in this release.

New Features in Version 2.5.4

Windows 2000

PXI Platform Services 2.5.4 removes support for Windows 2000.

Windows Server Support

PXI Platform Services 2.5.4 adds support for Windows Server 2003 R2 (32-bit only) and Windows Server 2008 R2.

New Features in Version 2.5.3

Windows 7 Support

PXI Platform Services 2.5.3 adds support for Windows 7 x86 (32-bit) and Windows 7 x64 (64-bit).

Supported Hardware

PXI Platform Services supports PXI and PXI Express functionality. Visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code pxipshw for a complete list of hardware that is compatible with PXI Platform Services.

LabVIEW NXG Support and Considerations

The following sections detail considerations for using LabVIEW NXG 5.0 with PXI Platform Services 20.0.

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. Refer to the Supported Operating Systems section for more information.

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, visit ni.com/windows10.

Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.1

When you install NI software on Microsoft Windows 8.1, you will notice a few additional tiles in the Apps view, including shortcuts to NI application software products such as NI LabVIEW, Measurement & Automation Explorer (NI MAX), and NI Launcher. For more information about NI support for Windows 8.1, visit ni.com/windows8.

PXI Platform Services Drops Support for Windows 7 (32- and 64-Bit), Windows Server 2008 R2, and All 32-Bit Windows Operating Systems in 2021

PXI Platform Services will drop support for Windows 7 (32- and 64-bit), Windows Server 2008 R2, and all 32-bit Windows operating systems starting in 2021. 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.


Legal Information

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

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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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