Using Multiple MERLIC RTE Instances

A MERLIC license allows using two MERLIC instances at the same time. This also applies to MERLIC RTE. Therefore, you can start up to two instances of MERLIC RTE at the same time.

When starting two instances of MERLIC RTE with the default configuration, MERLIC automatically takes care of which ports are used. If the default ports are already in use by the first MERLIC RTE instance, MERLIC will use random ports for the second instance. These ports will be adopted for the respective plug-in host processes. If you want to know which ports were used, you can look them up in the respective MERLIC RTE log file.

You can add and run plug-ins with each of the two MERLIC RTE instances without interfering with each other. However, the two MERLIC RTE instances and the associated plug-ins will compete for the same hardware resources. Therefore, we recommend using different INI files for the two MERLIC RTE instances. This enables using separate configurations for the Image Source Manager (ISM) and the plug-ins.

For example, you can use the default "MERLIC5.ini" file for the first instance and another INI file for the second instance. You can also set up multiple INI files for different configuration setups.

If you are using a Hilscher card for the process integration, it is not possible to connect more than one MERLIC RTE instance to one and the same Hilscher card. Therefore, you have to use a different Hilscher card if you want to establish a connection with a second instance of MERLIC RTE.

Creating Additional INI Files

You can use the default INI configuration file as basis for a new one:

  1. Copy the default INI file "MERLIC5.ini". On Windows systems, the file is located in the directory "%APPDATA%\MVTec". On Linux system, the default INI file is expected in the directory "~/.config/MVTec/".
  2. Adjust the configuration as required in the new INI file.
  3. Save the new INI file at the desired location.

You can create as many INI files with different configuration settings as you like. Keep in mind that you have to specify the path to the INI file when starting MERLIC RTE with the new INI file.

Starting MERLIC RTE with a Specific INI File

If you want to start a MERLIC RTE instance with the configuration of a specific INI file, you can start MERLIC RTE via the command line with the command line option "--ini".

  1. Open a command prompt and change to the "bin\x64-win64" directory within the MERLIC installation path, for example, "%PROGRAMFILES%\MVTec\MERLIC-5.7\bin\x64-win64".
  2. Enter the following command to start MERLIC RTE with a specific INI file:
    Copy
    merlic_rte.exe --ini <PATH_TO_INI>\<FILE>.ini

    You can specify the full or relative path to the INI file.

Keep in mind that only two instances of MERLIC can be used at the same time. For example, if MERLIC Creator is still running, one MERLIC instance is already in use. If you want to run two instances of MERLIC RTE, you have to close MERLIC Creator before starting the second instance of MERLIC RTE.