Correspondence Between NI Linux Real-Time System Images and Operating System Versions

Issue Details

When I execute the command cat /etc/os-release on my NI Linux Real-Time (RT) controller, I get the Operating System (OS) identification data accordingly as shown in the image below:

However, I noticed that the VERSION field, doesn't indicate the NI Linux RT System Image version that is installed on the target. Instead, it displays a generic number. 

Is it possible to determine which OS version corresponds to each NI Linux RT Base System Image version?

Solution

The OS version provided by the cat /etc/os-release command is directly linked to the NI Linux RT Base System Image version that is installed on the controller. 

To define which NI Linux RT Base System Image provides which OS version, you can directly refer to the NI Linux Real-Time GitHub. This website lists the different OS releases (versions) associated with a specific branch as shown in the image below:

The second element of the branch indicates the NI Linux RT Base System Image version that corresponds to that specific OS version.

For additional details, you can also review VeriStand and NI Linux Real-Time Base System Image Compatibility. This article includes a table showing version mappings and the Base System Image naming convention used in NI Measurement & Automation Explorer (MAX).