June 2015
This file contains important information about the NI-Industrial Communications for EtherCAT software, including installation instructions, new features, and known issues.
Product Security and Critical Updates
Automating the Installation of NI Products
How to Use NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.x
NI Software Support for Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003
The NI-Industrial Communications for EtherCAT software provides an EtherCAT master driver to support the real-time EtherCAT network operations. Use the software with the LabVIEW Real-Time Module to configure the EtherCAT network and map the EtherCAT device signals to the LabVIEW I/O variables.
NI-Industrial Communications for EtherCAT 15.0 supports the following operating systems.
Note NI-Industrial Communications for EtherCAT supports only R2 editions of Windows Server.
To install the NI-Industrial Communications for EtherCAT software, install the following prerequisite software.
Refer to the LabVIEW Readme for additional system requirements and supported operating systems for LabVIEW.
Notes
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Before installing the NI-Industrial Communications for EtherCAT software, log on as Administrator or as a user with Administrator privileges. The NI-Industrial Communications for EtherCAT software setup program must have Administrator privileges because the program modifies the configuration registry of your system. Complete the following steps to install the NI-Industrial Communications for EtherCAT software on the host computer.
Note After installing the NI-Industrial Communications for EtherCAT software on the host computer, if you want to use the software on a real-time controller, refer to NI-Industrial Communications for EtherCAT® Installation Guide to learn how to install the NI-Industrial Communications for EtherCAT software on the real-time controller. This manual is available in PDF-format in the NI-Industrial Communications for EtherCAT media or in printed-format shipped with the media.
Visit ni.com/security to view and subscribe to receive security notifications about National Instruments products. Visit ni.com/critical-updates for information about critical updates from National Instruments.
Refer to Supported Hardware for NI-Industrial Communications for EtherCAT for the latest information about the hardware that the NI-Industrial Communications for EtherCAT software supports.
NI-Industrial Communications for EtherCAT 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: <ProductName><Year-BasedVersion>. For example, NI-Industrial Communications for EtherCAT 15.0 is the version released with LabVIEW 2015. The last version released under the old numbering scheme is NI-Industrial Communications for EtherCAT 2.7. The first version released under the new numbering scheme is NI-Industrial Communications for EtherCAT 14.0.
You can access the software and documentation known issues list online. Refer to the National Instruments website for an up-to-date list of known issues in the NI-Industrial Communications for EtherCAT software.
Refer to the NI-Industrial Communications for EtherCAT® Help, available by selecting Help»NI-Industrial Communications for EtherCAT from LabVIEW, for information about the NI-Industrial Communications for EtherCAT software.
LabVIEW examples for the NI-Industrial Communications for EtherCAT software are in the labview\examples\indcomecat folder. You can modify an example VI to fit an application or copy an example and paste the example to a VI you create.
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. However, starting with the August 2012 releases (products using NI Installers version 3.1 or later), you may need to perform additional steps before or during a silent installation of NI software.
If the NI product you are installing uses Microsoft .NET 4.0, 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 4.0 separately before you install NI software.
For more information about automating the installation of NI products, refer to the following KnowledgeBase articles:
When you install National Instruments software on Microsoft Windows 8.x, 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.
NI Launcher helps you find and launch installed NI products. It provides you with a method of finding NI products similar to the Start menu in previous versions of Microsoft Windows. To use NI Launcher, click the NI Launcher tile in the Apps view. NI Launcher launches the desktop and opens a menu containing a list of NI products. Click any NI product to launch it.
Note NI MAX does not appear as a desktop shortcut when installed on Microsoft Windows 8.x. You can launch NI MAX either from the Apps view or from within NI Launcher.
For convenience, you can pin your most-used NI applications, such as MAX, to either the Start screen or the Taskbar on the desktop, as necessary:
| Current Application | Icon Location | Pin to Action |
|---|---|---|
| Windows 8.x Desktop | Desktop Taskbar | Right-click application and select Pin to Taskbar |
| Windows 8.x Desktop | Start screen | Right-click application and select Pin to Start |
| Windows 8.x Start screen | Desktop Taskbar | Right-click application and select Pin to taskbar from the menu bar on the bottom of the screen |
If you want to find a particular application or related files, such as documentation files, from the Start screen, you can access all installed files from the Apps view. To get to the Apps view, right-click anywhere on the Start screen and select All apps (Windows 8.0) or click the down arrow on the bottom left of the screen (Windows 8.1).
For more information about NI support for Windows 8.x, visit ni.com/windows8.
NI-Industrial Communications for EtherCAT will drop support for Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 as of July 1, 2016. Versions of NI-Industrial Communications for EtherCAT that ship after July 1, 2016 will not install or run on Windows Vista, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003. For detailed information about NI application software product life cycles, visit ni.com/info and enter one of the following Info Codes:
| Product | Info Code |
|---|---|
| LabVIEW | lifecycle |
| LabWindows™/CVI™ | cvi_lifecycle |
| Measurement Studio | mstudiolifecycle |
| TestStand | tslcp |
| DIAdem | ddlcp |
| SignalExpress | selcp |
| VeriStand | nivslifecycle |
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Copyright © 1998, 1999, 2000 Thai Open Source Software Center Ltd and Clark Cooper. Copyright © 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 Expat maintainers.
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