Introduction

Before installation of VSM software components please refer to the Data and IT Specifications to assure to meet the specified system requirements.

You can buy servers specified as listed in the Specification directly from Lawo, or buy them through your local Dell supplier.


  • Lawo-supplied Servers - when you buy your server directly from Lawo it will be fully built, pre-configured and tested, and VSM will be licensed.

    A Windows Server OS license and product key must be provided.

  • Customer-supplied Servers - if you buy a Server from your direct supplier, then Lawo will provide a download link to an installation image. The image contains all officially supported drivers for the relevant platforms.

    It is mandatory to use the installation image or purchase a pre-configured Server directly from Lawo.

The steps described as in the following, must be executed per Server of a VSM System/ Cluster.

File Backup

It is strongly recommended to complete a backup of the running version before starting a software update. This ensures the availability of the current version in case of any possible issue in or after the update process.

Before updating vsmStudio in an existing install, some critical files must be saved to a backup location to allow a safe return to the previous version of vsmStudio. These files are usually located in the folder vsm\vsmStudio on the D: drive (1).

To create a backup of a current vsmStudio version, configuration and other related files, copy all existing folders and files from the installation folder to the backup drive:

  1. the folder Configurations (contains vsmStudio configuration files. Existing .bak and .vmcc files do not need to be stored but should be deleted from time to time due to the fact that they are created on a regular basis)
  2. the folder Firmware (contains panel and vsmGear firmware)
  3. the folder Mapping (contains protocol and configuration specific mapping tables)
  4. the folder nats (since Release 26.1.1, contains NATS Leafnode Server specific files)
  5. the folder Resources (contains configuration related images)
  6. the folder Storage (contains system data)
  7. the file vsmStudio.exe (optional Change Log for reference) or
  8. the Release package/.zip
  9. A Backup of LogFiles is optional


In addition, the backup of some local registry entries is required. For full backup, export and copy the respective vsmStudio registry folder including all subfolders from the Registry Editor. It is recommended to copy all folders and files to a dedicated folder on the backup partition and name it with the date of the day.

In a 64-bit OS environment, running vsmStudio 64-bit (available since release 2022-1) the path to the files is: "Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\VirtualStudioManager\vsmStudio" (1). On older Systems with 64-bit OS environment but running vsmStudio 32-bit (prior to release 2022-1) the path to the files was: "Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\WOW6432Node\VirtualStudioManager\vsmStudio" (2).


Installation and Update

Before running an update, close the vsmStudio application.

Latest released vsmStudio software is available for registered users via the LAWO Downloadcenter.

Copy the downloaded .zip (1) to the desired vsmv\vsmStudio folder on the respective Server drive. Default path is D:\vsm\vsmStudio (2).


The vsmStudio software package/ .zip (1) contains the vsmStudio.exe (2) with respective Change Log document (3). With Release 26.1.1 we introduced a new way to interface with a Lawo HOME system, via a local NATS Leafnode Server. Required files are part of the "nats" folder (4). Please also refer to the respective documentation here.


Extract the files from .zip (1) into the same folder. If previous versions of the same files already exist in the folder (2,3,4), the system will prompt to verify whether these files should be replaced. Confirm to replace the respective files. All other folders, shown below, are created automatically by the system, once the application is started the first time.

vsmStudio releases prior to version B2351-release contained a separate .pdb file, which is no longer required with latest releases. Therefore "old" .pdb files in the respecting installation folder can and should be deleted when updating.


vsmStudio does not require an installation but is delivered as executable. To start the application, just execute the vsmStudio.exe (1) by double click.


Since release 2022-1, vsmStudio comes as 64-bit application.

When updating from an older 32-bit to a 64-bit vsmStudio version, vsmStudio will detect that the 64-bit Registry node is not existing and a once-only pop-up window will appear after executing the vsmStudio.exe. Please read the text within this window carefully and confirm. Existing 32-bit Registry settings are automatically migrated to the new 64-bit node, if the pop-up is confirmed with OK. The original 32-Bit node in the Registry is not changed and therefore still available in case there should be any need to run a 32-bit vsmStudio version at any time again. A Backup of the Configuration and Storage data is not made automatically, which is also mentioned in the pop-up window.


After startup of vsmStudio, verify the success of the update by checking the running version within the start-up screen or via the respective icon on the toolbar.


If the system is a redundant Server Cluster, the same procedure must be repeated on each Server in the Cluster.


Software Registration

After the initial start of vsmStudio, the following prompt will provide further information to register the software license:


To register your software, select the option registration under the menu tab.


The following registration window will open, copy the System-Identification-Number (1) via the Copy button (2). 

Please create a license request via our Service Portal and provide the copied System-Identification-Number. Further information on this process can be found here.

Once the registration key was provided, enter it accordingly in the blank section of the registration window (3). Confirm with OK. The software is now licensed and can be used within the limits of the enabled features and resources. Follow the same process if an extension of the license is required and a respective new key is provided.


VSM Folder Details

The folders automatically created by the system include:

Folder "Configurations" (1)

The folder Configurations contains the following file types for every configuration.

  • .vmc Files

For every configuration, a .vmc file is created with an individual ID. It serves the synchronisation of servers in the Multi-Server Cluster and contains the protocol assignment and configuration of the virtual master matrix.

  • .vmcc Files

.vmcc files are generated automatically during software updates.

  • .bak Files

.bak files are backup files that are created automatically if system-critical changes are made to the configuration.

Folder "Firmware" (2)

The folder Firmware initially contains no files. It is used to update vsmGear. Paste one or multiple new .pFL file into the folder to update the firmware on VSM hardware automatically. The hardware can be downgraded or flashed using a Firmware.Patch.ini file.

The process of updating VSM panels and hardware does require incremental CPU, network and memory consumption of the vsmStudio application. Depending on the number of panels, the automatic update procedure can affect the overall system performance. Before starting to use a vsmStudio Server in a live production system please make sure to delete all firmware files within the firmware folders!

Firmware updates in a running system should be planned carefully and executed during dedicated service windows only. Alternatively panels may also be updated by connecting to any offline Server running vsmStudio with the respective firmware files in its local Firmware folder.

Folder "LogFiles" (3)

The folder LogFiles initially contains no files. LogFiles are created once the vsmStudio application is started. Dump and Trace files are created depending on respective event triggers.

  • .log Files

The software creates daily log files and saves them in this folder. This happens, for example, every time vsmStudio is started. If the software runs for 24 hours, a log file is created at 3:00am (local time) by default. Its size (in gigabytes) as well as length of time it will be saved can be defined at the start of every configuration. Log files are sorted by date and saved in a text format. Manual deleting of log files on a regular basis is recommended.

  • Subfolder Dumps

In the event of a crash, dump files (.dmp) are saved in the folder LogFiles. These contain a snapshot of the memory with time and date of the crash. This allows the identification of the problem that led to the crash.

  • Subfolder Trace

.txt files showing the CommTrace are saved in the subfolder Trace. Trace files contain information pertaining to the logging start of the computer, the version of vsmStudio used, running events, and crosspoints with pseudo devices. Go to the System Debug Flags rider under matrix settings to create a trace file.

Folder "Mapping" (4)

The folder Mapping initially contains no files. E.g., if a Lawo Nova73 router is configured to the system, the folder Mapping saves an .ini file with the corresponding interfaces.

This file should always be read-only.

Folder "nats" (5)

Since Release 26.1.1, the folder nats is provided together with the vsmStudio version. This folder contains the process nats-server.exe as well a template configuration file, which is mandatory for the system to create configuration related files later. With every running HOME connection, a new leafnode process will be started and a respective file will be listed in here temporarily. 

Folder "Resources" (6)

The folder Resources contains two sub folders. Both related to graphical content used in vsmStudio configurations.

  • Subfolder Pictures

The folder Pictures allows the saving of different backgrounds for different panel IDs. If it contains the file background.default.bmp, this picture is used as background for the panel editor.

  • Subfolder vsmPanel

The folder vsmPanel contains pictures that are assigned to buttons or image page-items in the panel editor. These are saved into this folder automatically upon use within any configuration of the system.

Folder "Storage" (7)

The folder Storage may contain various folders with different .dat files. These .dat files contain configuration-specific information for each configuration that was loaded on the system. For instance, label changes or change of storage groups are marked by the system with time stamp and are subsequently saved. The time stamp is not applied to all labels and storage groups, but only to those that were changed. The following .dat files are saved here:



  • Labels.dat

Stores transfer of labels to other servers with time stamp and changes.

  • ScheduledEvents.dat

Stores events for the transfer to other servers set up in the scheduler.

  • SignalLocks.dat

Stores locked signals to be transferred to other servers.

  • StorageGroups.dat

Stores contents of storage groups to be transferred to other servers.

  • VirtualStates.dat

Stores crosspoint information related to virtual signals.

  • Tombstones.dat

An administrative file that saves changes and synchronizes the server (for a maximum of 90 days).

  • DeviceState.dat

Stores crosspoint information of the VSM Dummy X-Switches.