LabVIEW 2023 Q1 FPGA Module Readme

January 2023

This file contains installation instructions and compatibility information for LabVIEW 2023 Q1 FPGA Module.

You can find more release information on ni.com.

• LabVIEW FPGA Module Release Notes: Known issues, bugs fixed since the last release, and other notes about this release
• LabVIEW FPGA Module Documentation: New features, behavior changes, and other documentation

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System Requirements

Installation Instructions

Product Security and Critical Updates

FPGA Module (64-Bit)

Upgrade and Compatibility Issues

Accessing the Documentation

Finding Examples

Automating the Installation of NI Products

Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 11

Unsupported Windows Operating Systems

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System Requirements

FPGA Module System Requirements

The development computer is a PC or NI PXI/PXI Express system on which you install LabVIEW and the FPGA Module. You can also install the Xilinx compilation tools on your development computer to compile LabVIEW FPGA VIs locally. However, if the FPGA design or target requires more than 2 GB of memory, NI recommends you install the Xilinx compilation tools on a separate computer. This computer is referred to as the remote compile worker.

Visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code XilinxCompileTools for more information about the NI hardware supported by each Xilinx compilation tool.

The development computer must meet the following system requirements:

• LabVIEW 2023 Q1 Full or Professional Development Systems
• 1.2 GHz Pentium processor or equivalent
• 3 GB of additional disk space
• Memory¹:
  • At least 3 GB of RAM for Virtex-5 and earlier FPGA targets
  • At least 4 GB of RAM for Virtex-6 and later FPGA targets
• One of the following operating systems:
  • Windows 11
  • Windows 10
  • Windows Server 2022
  • Windows Server 2019
  • Windows Server 2016
• NI FPGA device
• Device driver software—To program most devices with the LabVIEW FPGA Module, install the device driver software. Refer to the hardware documentation for requirements for a specific device.

¹ Memory requirements vary according to both the FPGA target and the FPGA VI you create for that target.

Refer to the LabVIEW Readme for additional system requirements and supported operating systems for LabVIEW.

FPGA Compile Farm Server System Requirements

If you install the FPGA Compile Farm Server on a separate computer, you can configure that computer to be a remote compile farm server. If you install the Xilinx compilation tools on a separate computer, you can configure that computer to be a remote compile worker.

Refer to the Setting Up a Remote Compile Farm Server or Compile Worker section of this document for information about setting up and using a local or remote compile farm server or compile worker. Visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code XilinxCompileTools for more information about the NI hardware supported by each Xilinx compilation tool.

You can use either a Windows or Linux computer as a compile worker. Refer to the Xilinx Compilation Tools Readme for information about the minimum system requirements.

The remote compile farm server must meet the following minimum system requirements:

• 35 MB of disk space
• 1 GB RAM
• One of the following operating systems:
  • Windows 11
  • Windows 10
  • Windows Server 2022
  • Windows Server 2019
  • Windows Server 2016
• Web browser that supports Microsoft Silverlight for accessing compile job queues via the NI Web-based Configuration & Monitoring Service FPGA Compile Farm Console

Installation Instructions

This section provides information about installing the FPGA Module and related components.

Note  If you are upgrading from a previous version of LabVIEW, you must install the LabVIEW 2023 Q1 FPGA Module before mass-compiling existing FPGA VIs. Otherwise, some FPGA-specific VIs might have mutation issues.

Installing the FPGA Module on a Development Computer

Download the FPGA Module installer from ni.com/downloads. NI software includes NI Package Manager to handle the installation. Refer to the NI Package Manager Manual for more information about installing, removing, and upgrading NI software using NI Package Manager.

To install LabVIEW and the FPGA Module using the LabVIEW Platform media, complete the following steps:

1. Log in as an administrator or as a user with administrative privileges.
2. Insert the LabVIEW Platform media. To request additional LabVIEW Platform media, refer to the NI website. If you purchased this product with an NI Software Suite or NI Product Bundle, use the installation media that shipped with your purchases to install this product.
3. Follow the instructions on the screen to install and activate the following software in this order:
   • LabVIEW
   • FPGA Module
   • (Optional) LabVIEW Real-Time Module—Use the LabVIEW Real-Time Module to program the real-time OS on NI PXI, NI PXI Express, NI CompactRIO, and NI Single-Board RIO devices. You have a temporary license for this product.
   • Xilinx Compilation Tools—Install these compilation tools on the development computer if you want to compile your LabVIEW FPGA VIs locally. You must install these tools on your development computer if you plan to use the Configure Component-Level IP wizard, configure the IP Integration Node, incorporate Xilinx IP, or use third-party simulation. Refer to your hardware documentation for information about the FPGA chip in your device and install the appropriate set of tools. Visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code XilinxCompileTools for more information about the NI hardware supported by each Xilinx compilation tool.
     • Xilinx Compilation Tools for Windows—Install these compilation tools if you will compile your FPGA VIs on a Windows computer. The recommended compilation tool for Windows is Vivado 2021.1. ISE Compilation tools are NOT supported on Windows 10.

     Note  To configure the IP Integration Node, or use the Configure Component-Level IP wizard on Virtex-II devices, you also must install the Xilinx Compilation Tool for ISE 14.7. Xilinx IP and simulation exports are not supported on Virtex-II FPGA devices.

   • (Optional) FPGA Compile Farm Server—Use the FPGA Compile Farm Server to distribute FPGA VI compile jobs across multiple remote computers.
   Note  Use the LabVIEW FPGA Compile Cloud Service to increase the development efficiency by offloading compile jobs to multiple computers in a cloud environment.
   • Device Driver—Device drivers contain driver software for most FPGA targets. Refer to your FPGA target hardware documentation for information about additional or different device drivers you need.

In addition to installing program files and documentation in the LabVIEW directory, the installer also puts files from Xilinx in the x:\NIFPGA directory, where x is the drive on which you installed LabVIEW. The FPGA Module uses these files to compile FPGA VIs into code that runs on an FPGA target.

Setting Up a Remote Compile Farm Server or Compile Worker

You can use the LabVIEW Platform media to install the FPGA Compile Farm Server to offload compiles to dedicated computer. You must install the FPGA Compile Farm Server separately on any remote machine that you want to use to manage your compilations. Also, you must install the Xilinx compilation tools on any machine that you want to use as a remote compile worker. Visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code XilinxCompileTools for more information about the NI hardware supported by each Xilinx compilation tool.

• Windows—Visit ni.com/info and enter the Info Code FPGAkb1rcs for information about setting up the FPGA compile farm server on a remote computer.
• Linux—Refer to the FPGA Module Xilinx Compilation Tools for Linux Readme for information about setting up a remote compile worker.

NI also offers the LabVIEW FPGA Compile Cloud Service to increase the development efficiency by offloading compile jobs to multiple computers in a cloud environment. Visit ni.com/trycompilecloud for information about the LabVIEW FPGA Compile Cloud.

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.

FPGA Module (64-Bit)

The FPGA Module (64-bit) provides access to more memory than the FPGA Module (32-bit) can provide. The FPGA Module (64-bit) is available in English only.

Supported Hardware

Visit FPGA Target Support for the LabVIEW FPGA Module 64-bit for information about the NI hardware devices supported by the FPGA Module.

You cannot use an unsupported device with the FPGA Module (64-bit) or run example VIs that require an unsupported device in the FPGA Module (64-bit). Refer to the specific hardware documentation for more information about compatibility with the FPGA Module (64-bit).

Upgrade and Compatibility Issues

If you upgrade from the LabVIEW 2019 FPGA Module or later to the LabVIEW 2023 Q1 FPGA Module, you might encounter the following compatibility issues:

Vivado Version Upgrade—The Vivado compilation tool version is upgraded from 2019.1 to 2021.1. The following are the changes and compatibility issues:

• UHD-SDI Audio is no longer supported on targets with Xilinx Kintex-7, Virtex-7, Zynq, and Zynq UltraScale+ series FPGA.
• DSP48 Macro has been renamed to DSP Macro.
• The following functions are no longer available on the Xilinx IP palette:
  • Color Correction Matrix
  • Color Filter Array Interpolation
  • Gamma Correction
  • Image Enhancement
  • RGB to YCrCb Color-Space Converter
  • Video On Screen Display
  • YCrCb to RGB Color-Space Converter

• If you open a VI saved in a previous version of LabVIEW that contains an IP Integration Node or Xilinx IP node, complete the following steps to regenerate or reconfigure files.

  IP Integration Node

  Xilinx IP Node

  Regenerate support files for the IP by selecting Tools»FPGA Module»Regenerate IP Integration Node Support Files from LabVIEW and following the on-screen instructions. Note  If LabVIEW fails to update all support files, re-add the IP Integration Node to the VI and generate the support files for the IP Integration Node. If the IP Integration Node contains Xilinx Vivado IP configuration (.xci) files, continue with the following steps: Regenerate the Xilinx Vivado IP configuration (.xci) files in the latest Xilinx compilation tools for Vivado. Re-add the configuration files to the IP Integration Node. Re-add the IP Integration Node to the VI. Generate the support files for the IP Integration Node.

  Regenerate support files for the Xilinx IP node by selecting Tools»FPGA Module»Regenerate IP Integration Node Support Files from LabVIEW and following the on-screen instructions. Verify the behavior of the Xilinx IP node. Reconfigure the Xilinx IP node if its behavior has changed.

  Upgrading the FPGA Module requires you to upgrade to a new version of the Xilinx compilation tools. This upgrade can change the timing or resource utilization characteristics of FPGA VIs you developed in previous versions or cause these VIs to fail to compile. NI recommends that you test all FPGA designs after upgrading.

Accessing the Documentation

Refer to the LabVIEW Help, accessible by selecting Help»LabVIEW Help from LabVIEW, for information about the FPGA Module.

Finding Examples

Select Help»Find Examples from LabVIEW to launch the NI Example Finder. You can modify an example VI to fit an application, or you can copy and paste from one or more examples into a VI that you create.

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 11

Microsoft Windows 11 is the latest version of the Windows operating system and features significant changes compared to previous versions. For more information about NI support for Windows 11, refer to NI Product Compatibility for Microsoft Windows 11.

Unsupported Windows Operating Systems

LabVIEW FPGA Module 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.