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.
Product Security and Critical Updates
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 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.
PXI Platform Services 20.0 supports the following operating systems:
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.
PXI Platform Services 20.0 supports the following application software versions, including service packs.
| Application Software | Versions Supported by PXI Platform Services |
|---|---|
| LabVIEW | 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 |
| LabVIEW NXG | 5.0 |
| LabWindows™/CVI™ | 2013 and later |
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.
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.
Added support for LabVIEW 2020 and LabVIEW NXG 5.0.
Added support for new PXI hardware.
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:
PXI Platform Services will no longer provide support for the following hardware:
Added support for LabVIEW NXG 4.0.
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.
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.
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.
PXI chassis and controller-specific attributes are now available via the NI System Configuration API for .NET.
Added support for updating the PCIe-8398 firmware via MAX and the NI System Configuration API.
Update support for some PXI hardware.
Added support for LabVIEW 2019.
Added support for 32-bit NI Package Manager and deprecated the previous install process.
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".
PXI Platform Services will no longer provide support for the following hardware:
Added support for LabVIEW NXG 3.0.
Added support for new PXI hardware.
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".
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.
The load time for Measurement & Automation Explorer has been improved for some systems.
PXI chassis and controller-specific attributes are now available via the NI System Configuration API for LabVIEW, CVI, and C.
Added support for new PXI hardware.
| ID | Fixed Issue |
|---|---|
| 471060 | In some instances, the Create New Chassis Wizard does not show any buses on a LabVIEW RT system. |
| 555192 | Performance improvements in Measurement & Automation Explorer. |
| 651359 | Previously, 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. |
| ID | Fixed Issue |
|---|---|
| 676932 | In 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. |
| 677140 | Programmatic routes may not find an available PXI_Trig line if one or more PXI_Trig lines on the relevant bus are reserved in MAX. |
| 678002 | When 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. |
Added support for new PXI hardware.
Added support for LabVIEW NXG 2.0.
Added support for new PXI hardware.
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".
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.
Added support for new PXI hardware.
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.
Added support for new PXI hardware.
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.
| ID | Fixed Issue |
|---|---|
| 589386 | Fixed issue where the Cable Location attribute may not refresh properly. |
| 565983 | Improved error messages for failed BIOS updates to PXI embedded controllers. |
| 590724 | Fixed an issue preventing a user from deleting a manually added PXI chassis while National Instruments is not the active PXI Resource Manager. |
Added support for new PXI hardware.
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.
Added support for new PXI hardware.
374646: There was a short delay in MAX when viewing details for a chassis with a built-in Ethernet port.
Added support for new PXI hardware.
Added support for new PXI Express 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.
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.
Hardware revision and PXI_CLK10 source information is now available for PXI chassis in MAX.
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.
378807, 440251, 507983, 520787, 520922: In some cases, there could be stability issues with PXI hardware in MAX.
363174: MXI-4 and PXI-8360 devices were shown twice in Devices and Interfaces in MAX.
Added support for new PXI Express hardware.
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.
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.
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.
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.
441696: When using a PXI Express Chassis and controller under a heavy load, the chassis could sometimes fail to auto-identify in MAX.
Added support for new PXI Express hardware.
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:
The PXI Express chassis description files now list the PXI specification compliance version. For more information on PXI specifications, go to pxisa.org.
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.
PXI Platform Services 4.0 fixes the following issues in MAX:
Added support for new PXI Express hardware.
Added support for new PXI and PXI Express hardware.
PXI Platform Services will no longer provide support for the following hardware:
Minor updates to improve the Windows 8 user experience.
PXI Platform Services 3.2.1 added support for the PXI-8250 module via the NI System Configuration API.
PXI Platform Services 3.2 adds support for Windows 8 (32-bit and 64-bit).
The following are known issues with Windows 8:
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.
Added support for monitoring NI PXI Express chassis via NI System Configuration API.
Support for LabVIEW 8.6 and LabVIEW 2009 is discontinued in this release.
Added support for new PXI and PXI Express hardware.
Added support for new PXI and PXI Express hardware.
Added support for new PXI and PXI Express hardware.
313181 Fatal exception, Code:0xC0000005 error, detected when restarting RT side of a Hypervisor system.
PXI Platform Services has updated the user interface for PXI Systems in Measurement & Automation Explorer. The following changes were made:
Support for LabVIEW 8.5 is discontinued in this release.
PXI Platform Services 2.5.6 adds support for PXI Express systems on NI Real-Time Hypervisor.
Support for LabVIEW 8.2 is discontinued in this release.
PXI Platform Services 2.5.4 removes support for Windows 2000.
PXI Platform Services 2.5.4 adds support for Windows Server 2003 R2 (32-bit only) and Windows Server 2008 R2.
PXI Platform Services 2.5.3 adds support for Windows 7 x86 (32-bit) and Windows 7 x64 (64-bit).
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.
The following sections detail considerations for using LabVIEW NXG 5.0 with PXI Platform Services 20.0.
Software support for LabVIEW NXG differs in the following ways:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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