Firmware Information for NI CompactDAQ Network Chassis

Overview

NI CompactDAQ (cDAQ) ethernet and wireless chassis deliver the expandability and long-distance convenience of network communications to the versatility of the CompactDAQ platform. Use this page to find and install the latest firmware for your cDAQ-9181, cDAQ-9184, cDAQ-9185, cDAQ-9188, cDAQ-9188XT, cDAQ-9189 or cDAQ-9191.

Contents

Introduction

Network CompactDAQ chassis uses an onboard processor and firmware to facilitate Ethernet network and wireless communication. From time to time, this firmware may be updated to improve performance or correct issues with previous firmware versions. Although firmware will be backward-compatible in many cases (newer firmware can be used with older NI-DAQmx versions), it is possible that you may need to upgrade your firmware version in order to use your CompactDAQ chassis with newer versions of NI-DAQmx.

NOTE: As of DAQmx 19.1, CompactDAQ 9189/5 firmware is distributed with the DAQmx driver and is no longer available as a stand-alone download. CompactDAQ firmware is not installed with the NI-DAQmx driver by default and must be selected for installation.

The latest version of CompactDAQ firmware for each device is listed in Table 1.

Current CompactDAQ Ethernet and Wireless Firmware

Chassis

Firmware Version

Compatible NI-DAQmx Versions

cDAQ-9181

1.7.1

NI-DAQmx 9.3.0 or Later

cDAQ-9184
(EOL 12/30/21, Replacement Model: cDAQ-9185)

1.7.1

NI-DAQmx 9.6.0 or Later

cDAQ-9188
(EOL 12/30/21, Replacement Model: cDAQ-9189)

1.7.1

NI-DAQmx 9.2.0 or Later

cDAQ-9188XT
(EOL 12/30/21, Replacement Model: cDAQ-9189)

1.7.1

NI-DAQmx 9.8.0 or Later

cDAQ-9185/9189

19.1.0*

NI-DAQmx 17.1.0 or Later

cDAQ-9191
(EOL 12/30/21)

1.7.1

NI-DAQmx 9.4.0 or Later

*This firmware is distributed with the DAQmx driver of the same version or later.

Determining Your Firmware Version

 

To determine what version of firmware is on your CompactDAQ Ethernet or wireless chassis, complete the following steps.

Note: Both of these methods require Microsoft Silverlight installation.

 

Using NI Network Browser (does not require NI-DAQmx to be installed)

  1. Launch NI Network Browser (available for download here).
  2. Locate your CompactDAQ chassis and click on its IP address.
  3. The firmware version is visible on the home tab
    Note: If you know your chassis IP address or host name, you can access the web configuration by directly typing the address or name into your web browser. The NI Network Browser only searches for chassis on your local subnet.

 

Using Measurement & Automation Explorer (requires NI-DAQmx)

  1. Launch Measurement & Automation Explorer (NI MAX).
  2. Expand Devices and Interfaces and locate your device under Network Devices.
  3. Select the device and view the Firmware tab.
  4. Locate the current firmware version.

 

Upgrading Your Firmware Version

 

If you need to upgrade the firmware on your chassis, you should complete the following steps. You must keep the chassis plugged in and powered on throughout the firmware upgrade process. Failure to do so may corrupt the firmware on your device. If this occurs, you can restore your device using the instructions in this article.

 

Note: Both of the methods require Microsoft Silverlight installation.

Note: If you are using a cDAQ-9188 with version 1.0.0 firmware, you must be certain that you are using the cDAQ-9188 firmware when upgrading. Using firmware intended for another chassis renders your chassis unable to function and you will need to use the Network cDAQ Recovery Utility to restore the device.

 

Using NI Network Browser

  1. Acquire the firmware
    • cDAQ-9185/9 with DAQmx 19.1 or later: install the firmware with the DAQmx installation by selecting NI-DAQmx cDAQ Firmware in the list of installable software.
    • NI-DAQmx 19.0 and earlier: Download the appropriate firmware from the link in Table 1.
  2. Extract the .cfg firmware file from the downloaded .zip archive, if required.
  3. Launch NI Network Browser (available for download here).
  4. Locate your CompactDAQ chassis and click on its IP address.
  5. Select Update Firmware.
  6. Browse to the firmware file acquired in step 1 and click Open.
    Note: If you know your chassis IP address or host name, you can access the web configuration by directly typing the address or name into your web browser. The NI Network Browser only searches for chassis on your local subnet.

 

Using Measurement & Automation Explorer (requires NI-DAQmx)

  1. Acquire the firmware
    • If using a cDAQ-9185/9 with DAQmx 19.1 or later, install the firmware with the DAQmx installation by selecting NI-DAQmx cDAQ Firmware in the list of installable software.
    • If using any other chassis or a DAQmx version older than 19.1, download the appropriate firmware from the link in Table 1.
  2. Extract the .cfg firmware file from the downloaded .zip archive, if required.
  3. Launch NI MAX.
  4. Expand Devices and Interfaces and locate your device under Network Devices.
  5. Select the device and view the Settings tab.
  6. Select Update Firmware.
  7. Browse to the firmware file acquired in step 1 and click Open.
    • For cDAQ-9185/9 firmware installed with the DAQmx driver, the correct folder will be displayed automatically

 

Firmware Changelog

A list of bug fixes and updates for selected firmware revisions are provided in the tables below

cDAQ Firmware VersionChanges Introduced
1.6
  • Updated configuration stack to be contemporary with LabVIEW Real-Time 2014
    • Enabled updating firmware via NI System Configuration API
    • Updated Web Interface
    • Improved network performance with NI devices
1.7
  • Implemented security updates for open-source components
  • cDAQ-9191: Modified wireless power level to meet EU regulations
1.7.1
  • cDAQ-9191: Implemented security updates for open-source components

 

cDAQ 9185/9189 Firmware VersionChanges Introduced
20.0
19.1
  • Open-source dependency updates
18.6
  • Added support for FieldDAQ targets: FD-11605
  • Performance improvements
18.1
  • Fixed issue which caused task in NI MAX to hang indefinitely when using NI 9401 module in cDAQ 9185/9 chassis with no signals attached to it
  • Upgraded firmware to be current with LabVIEW 2018
  • Added support for NI-Sync API access
  • Added support for IEEE 1588-2008 synchronization
  • Added support for FieldDAQ targets: FD-11614, FD-11634
17.6.1
  • Mitigated issue in which sync loss can occur with cDAQ 9189/5 targets under heavy load
17.6
  • Added support for FieldDAQ targets: FD-11603, FD-11613, FD-11637
  • Fixed issue which prevented user from changing static IP address of cDAQ 9185/9 target from NI MAX and Web Interface
17.1.1
  • Fixed issue to enable the use of XNET modules with cDAQ 9185/9 when cDAQ devices are directly connected to a controller running Linux RT
  • Fixed 40 millisecond delay which would occur when attempting to execute a software-timed DAQmx read while a hardware-timed task was running on the same ethernet cDAQ target
17.1
  • Initial firmware release