NI LabVIEW

What is LabVIEW^TM?

NI LabVIEW is a graphical programming environment used by millions of engineers and scientists to develop sophisticated measurement, test, and control systems using intuitive graphical icons and wires that resemble a flowchart. LabVIEW offers unrivaled integration with thousands of hardware devices and provides hundreds of built-in libraries for advanced analysis and data visualization – all for creating virtual instrumentation. The LabVIEW platform is scalable across multiple targets and operating systems, and, since its introduction in 1986, it has become an industry leader.

Can I use LabVIEW^TM?

Yes, the University has a campus licence.

The new campus licence has now been agreed and is being funded at School and faculty level.

There will be an annual review of use to continue to determine how funding should be spread across the University, with the departments using the licence approached to fund the campus licence based on the number of active installs/standalone licences issued that they have. If this fails to generate the required funds to cover the renewal then the licence will lapse and the installed licences will need to be removed. By using this licence you are agreeing to this restriction and understand that there are commitments in the future.

The more people who use LabVIEW, the more chance of getting the University to fund it centrally.

As an NI LabVIEW user, it is advisable to subscribe to the University LabVIEW mailing list. You can subscribe at https://sympa.bris.ac.uk/sympa/d_read/bris-ni-licence-users/. The site also contains a copy of the installation instructions given below.

How can I get LabVIEW^TM?

The National Instruments (NI) licence server is available. The installation packs and .iso files are now available from

           \\ads.bris.ac.uk\filestore\ISOS\Labview\

If you cannot connect using this address try going straight to the first install folder at:

\\ads.bris.ac.uk\filestore\ISOS\Labview\LabVIEW Spring 2012 Disk 1\Computer based\

This is the preferred method of connecting, but if you are connecting from a Linux/Mac computer use this path, note that this is liable to change and it should be considered to be at risk of change without any notification.

           smb://isys-wss4.cse.bris.ac.uk/isos/Labview

This location(s) will only ever hold the latest version of Labview, currently
  

All the folders, now contain copies of the DVD's NOT ISO files of the DVD's, as such it's recommended that a mapped drive is created to install from. If you have problems with file creation when installing, try mapping to the individual directories rather than to the top level directory. It is important to use the correct setup.exe :

\\ads.bris.ac.uk\filestore\ISOS\Labview\LabVIEW Spring 2011 Disk 1\Computer based\setup.exe

This will configure the PC to use the central UoB NI licence server and install all the requested parts of LabVIEW.

NOTE: When running the installer, de-select the 'Select and activate products based on my serial numbers' check box at the beginning of the installation.

If the installer asks for Disk 2, select ASLFL11CORE2.

Q. What happens if the client PC looses connection to the licence server whilst using LabVIEW?

A. NI have done a very nice job here. If the client can't contact the licence server, LabVIEW will carry on working until LabVIEW is closed by the user. If LabVIEW is launched again and can't connect  to the licence server it will move into a 14 day full feature evaluation state. Once LabVIEW can re-establish contact with the licence server at application start time it will re-set this evaluation period back to 14 days.

Old Licences:

If you already have a licence for an older version of LabVIEW that was bought outright then you will still have the rights to use that licence but only for the version you bought unless you have been paying for the software maintenance since then. Older versions are available for download from NI but I am not sure which ones.

Auditing:

To generate meaningful auditing of the licence we are using a central licence server that the client machines will connect too at the moment the application launches, any machine on the main academic network will be able to connect to this licence server. It will also be accessible remotely using VPN.

Adding LabView modules:

If you need to add more modules to an existing installation of LabView use the setup.exe file described above, it may also be possible to add the relevant licence information using the NI Licence Manger utility.

Downtime:

The licence server will have a period each month when it should be considered to be at risk, currently this is the 15th of each month this may mean that the server will be updated or rebooted,  these outages will be notified in advance but will only happen on this day (unless there is an emergency).

If you do have any problems or questions please reply to the list, bris-ni-licence-users@sympa.bristol.ac.uk.

Disconnected or Standalone licences for machines not on the network

Machines that are disconnected from the network have a 14 day 'evaluation' period during which LabVIEW continues to run without needing to contact the licence server. Once you reconnect to the network and the LabVIEW contacts the licence server, this 'evaluation' period is reset. If it does not, please email the name of your machine as it appears on your host network to Neil.Laws@bristol.ac.uk.

Machines that are never on the network will also be able to use the licence by applying for a standalone computer license, these will be valid for one year. The installation will still need to be performed using the installation method described above.

To obtain a disconnected licence please email bris-ni-licence-admins@sympa.bristol.ac.uk with the details below (Items 1 & 2 can be obtained by running the NI License Manager utility located in the National Instruments folder, this is installed as part of the main installation).

1. Name of the computer
2. Computer ID
3. Your name
4. Your email address
5. Your department
6. Your faculty
7. Any PI / group leader that may be relevant

Once a licence file (.lic) has been sent back to you, use the NI License Manager utility again to install the file, Options > Install license file."

Installation help

If you do have any problems or questions please reply to the list, bris-ni-licence-users@sympa.bristol.ac.uk

Some general advice:

1. You will need to drill down in the initial product list to select the language variant of LabVIEW that you want.
2. The product list will not initially tell you which DVDs are required to support all of the request parts of LabVIEW but it will tell you in the later screens.
3. At the end of the installation a small untitled dialogue window may appear, it has no message in it just Yes or No buttons. This is actually a reboot prompt!
4. If the client PC looses connection to the licence server whilst using LabVIEW, then LabVIEW will carry on working until LabVIEW is closed by the user. If LabVIEW is launched again and can't connect  to the licence server it will move into a 14 day full feature evaluation state. Once LabVIEW can re-establish contact with the licence server at application start time it will re-set this evaluation period back to 14 days.

LabVIEW^TM Training Days

Periodic training days will be hosted at the Centre for NSQI, check our events page for any in the near future.

More comprehensive training for all levels of experience is available direct from National Instruments. They are currently offering deals for PhD students, dramatically dropping the price of the core training to £200. Contact Ben Lavasani (ben.lavasani@ni.com) for more information.

LabVIEW^TM Users' Group

A LabVIEW user group is being set up for users in the Bristol & Bath area. The meetings are for experienced users to share and discuss problems, development ideas and new applications. There will be a presentation from a member and then plenty of discussion time.

The first meeting was held in the Centre for NSQI on the 23^rd September. The timetable is available (Word, 28.5 kB) as is the Powerpoint slideshow (.ppsx, 4.2MB) given by Ben.