NI Software Platform Bundle (SPB) Spring 2021 Readme

August 2021

This file contains installation instructions and compatibility information for NI SPB.

You can find more release information on ni.com.

• Software Platform Bundle Release Notes: Known issues, bugs fixed since the last release, and other notes about this release

Installation Instructions

Products Included in the NI SPB

Product Security and Critical Updates

Automating the Installation of NI Products

Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10

Unsupported Windows Operating Systems

LabVIEW MathScript Module for macOS or Linux with the NI Academic Site License (ASL)

Legal Information

Installation Instructions

Installing and Activating the NI SPB

NI installs the NI SPB using NI Package Manager. If you do not already have NI software installed, the NI SPB 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.

Notes

• 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.
• Use the serial number that is included with your software to activate the NI SPB. For more information on the NI SPB activation, refer to NI Software Activation.

You can also install products using the NI SPB USB drive. The NI SPB USB drive includes the majority of the NI software portfolio for building any application. Develop applications in multiple environments, including LabVIEW Professional, LabWindows™/CVI™, NI TestStand™, and Measurement Studio™. The NI SPB contains all of the products included in the NI Alliance Partner Software (APS) and the NI Academic Site License (ASL). The products that you can activate are determined by the type of license you purchased, and you can download additional products that you are entitled to from ni.com.

Complete the following steps to install products using the NI SPB media:

1. Insert the NI SPB media.
2. Select the products you want to install.
   • You can use the media to install and activate any options you purchased. For a full list of products included with your purchase, visit ni.com/info and enter the following Info Code for the products you purchased.
     • For NI APS (SRL), enter the Info Code alliancesoftware.
     • For NI ASL, enter the Info Code ASLsoftware.
     • For other suites, refer to Compare NI Software Suites.
   • (Optional) If you want to evaluate any of the products included in the NI SPB before purchasing them, you can install and try them at no cost. Refer to the product documentation for the length of the evaluation period.
3. Begin installation and follow the on-screen instructions.
4. Activate licenses when prompted.

Save the media to modify or repair your installation or to distribute NI software with your custom-built installers.

NI Academic Site License (ASL) Users

All NI ASL software installs using NI SPB. You have full access to any software included in your purchased license.

For more information on activating and using ASL, refer to the following links.

• Academic Site License—ASL product page.
• Software Included in NI Academic Site License—Describes all software included with the LabVIEW or Multisim ASL options.
• ni.com ASL Search—Access NI ASL documentation.
• Academic Site License Administrator Resources—Contains information on available support resources for software administrators.

Installing LabVIEW Add-Ons

Installing modules and toolkits from the NI SPB media ensures compatibility. Some versions of LabVIEW toolkits that are not found on the NI SPB media may not work with the version of LabVIEW included in this release. Installing an incompatible toolkit might cause some features in the toolkit or LabVIEW to behave incorrectly.

Products Included in the NI SPB

The following products are included on the NI SPB media. Refer to the readme of each product for information including system requirements, installation, activation, known issues, and bug fixes.

Note  Some drivers included with previous versions of SPB are not included with this release. Visit ni.com/downloads for the latest driver versions.

Application Software

Add-Ons

Driver Software

Note  The LabVIEW Professional Development System installs the LabVIEW Database Connectivity Toolkit and the LabVIEW Report Generation Toolkit. You can locate the readmes for these products in the labview\readme directory.

To compare the products included in NI Software Suites, including the NI SPB, refer to Compare NI Software Suites.

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.

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 SPB 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 https://www.ni.com/r/win32bitsupport.

LabVIEW MathScript Module for macOS or Linux with the NI ASL

If you are an NI ASL user and want to request a version of the LabVIEW MathScript Module that runs on macOS or Linux, visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code ASLMathScript.

Legal Information

Copyright

© 1996–2021 National Instruments Corporation. All rights reserved.

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.

Members of the NI Alliance Partner Program are business entities independent from NI and have no agency, partnership, or joint-venture relationship with NI.

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.

377942E-01