Can multiple LabVIEW programs simultaneously access the same NI-DAQmx hardware?

Question

I am developing a test station system that, in essence, runs several
seperate LabVIEW programs simultaneously on the same computer, each
controlling a different set of I/O channels on one shared set of NI
DAQ hardware (analog and digital I/O PCI boards with external signal
conditioning).
I have already gotten a system like this running almost flawlessly
using LabVIEW 6.1, NI-DAQmx 7.1 with traditional channels, and older
E-series DAQ hardware. So long as two programs do not try to write to
the same output channel simultaneously, everything works exactly as
expected--I can even read from the same (named) channel simultaneously
from more than one program. The only issue I have had is that if
one
of the compiled applications is closed (not just stopped, but closed)
while others are still running, Windows XP (SP1) will bluescreen on a
driver error. This is undesireable, but acceptable (though if there's
a fix/workaround, I'd love to hear it).
I am now building a similar system using mostly the same software
(with an upgrade to LabVIEW 7.1), and I've noticed that the new
M-series DAQ hardware seems to offer much more bang for the buck than
old E-series hardware and its kin.
My question is this: It appears that I/O on M-series hardware must be
performed with new mx channels, with traditional channels not being an
option. I am therefore wondering if I will be able to do this kind of
multiple simultaneous access with mx channels, or if I must purchase
the classic hardware and use traditional channels for this somewhat
unorthodox application.
(Incidentally, the multiple simultaneous program thing is a
requirement for this system, as it is the only clean way to run
multiple
identical copies of the same complete program that only
operate on different I/O channels, and re-doing the program from
scratch is not an option.)

Answer 1

Dear Anonymous,
Thank you for contacting National Instruments.
To address your question, I don't know if multiple simultaneous access with mx channels is possible, but I do not see why it wouldn't be. The best way to find out would be to test it. I don't have your program or hardware, so I'm pointing you to some Compatibility VIs. These are VIs that look exactly like Traditional DAQ VIs except that underneath they call the DAQmx driver instead of the Traditional DAQ driver. If your device works when you substitute these Compatibility VIs in for the Traditional DAQ VIs, then you'll know the M Series boards will work for you.
Here is the link for information about the Compatibility VIs:
http://digital.ni.com/softlib.nsf/954feaeea92d90918625674b00658b
83/9d67f671bcc6850586256e630059308b?OpenDocument
Let me know if you have any further questions or if this does not resolve your issue.
Thanks again and have a great day!
Chad AE
Applications Engineer - National Instruments