edge-node-manager

README

edge-node-manager

resin.io dependent device edge-node-manager written in Go.

About

The edge-node-manager is an example of a gateway application designed to bridge the gap between Resin OS capable single board computers (e.g. the Raspberry Pi) and non Resin OS capable devices (e.g. micro-controllers). It has been designed to make it as easy as possible to add new supported dependent device types and to run alongside your user application.

The following functionality is implemented:

• Dependant device detection
• Dependant device provisioning
• Dependant device restart
• Dependent device over-the-air (OTA) updating
• Dependent device logging and information updating
• API

Notes

• Dependant device support is still in a very early stage of development, there will be bugs!
• Please file an issue if you encounter any bugs or think of any enhancments you would like to have
• Currently only supported on our staging site
• Only supported in the Resin Supervisor from v2.5.0 onwards

Images

Definitions

Dependant application

A dependent application is a Resin application that targets devices not capable of interacting directly with the Resin API.

The dependent application is scoped under a Resin application, which gets the definition of gateway application.

A dependent application follows the same development cycle as a conventional Resin application:

• It binds to your git workspace via the resin remote
• It consists of a Docker application
• It offers the same environment and configuration variables management

There are some key differences:

• It does not support Dockerfile templating
• The Dockerfile must target an x86 base image
• The actual firmware must be stored in the /assets folder within the built docker image

Dependent device

A dependant device is a device not capable of interacting directly with the Resin API - the reasons can be several, the most common are:

• No direct Internet capabilities
• Not able to run the Resin OS (being a microcontroller, for example)

Gateway application

The gateway application is responsible for detecting, provisioning and managing dependent devices belonging to one of its dependent applications. This is possible leveraging a new set of endpoints exposed by the Resin Supervisor.

The edge-node-manager (this repository) is an example of a gateway application.

Gateway device

The gateway device runs the gateway application and has the needed on-board radios to communicate with the managed dependant devices, for example:

• Bluetooth
• WiFi
• LoRa
• ZigBee

Throughout development an RPi3 has been used as the gateway device.

Guide

You will need

• Raspberry Pi3
• One of the supported boards

Getting started - Gateway application

• Sign up on resin.io
• Work through the getting started guide and create a new RPi3 gateway application called micros
• Clone this repository to your local workspace, for example:

$ git clone https://github.com/resin-io/edge-node-manager.git

• Add the gateway application resin remote to your local workspace using the useful shortcut in the dashboard UI, for example:

$ git remote add resin gh_josephroberts@git.resinstaging.io:gh_josephroberts/micros.git

• Push the application to your RPi3, for example:

$ git push resin master

Configuration variables

Configure the application configuration variables using the Fleet Configuration tab accessed from the side bar.

Variable Name	Default value	Set value	Description
RESIN_UI_ENABLE_DEPENDENT_APPLICATIONS	0	1	Enable dependent application support in the UI.
RESIN_SUPERVISOR_DELTA	0	1	Enable Delta Updates.
RESIN_DEPENDENT_DEVICES_HOOK_ADDRESS	http://0.0.0.0:1337/v1/devices/	http://127.0.0.1:1337/v1/devices/	The endpoint used by the Resin Supervisor to communicate with the ENM.

Environment variables

Configure the application environment variables using the Environment Variables tab accessed from the side bar.

Variable Name	Default value	Set value	Description
ENM_LOG_LEVEL	Debug	Info	Set the logging level.
ENM_CONFIG_LOOP_DELAY	10	10	Set the time inbetween application processing loops.
ENM_ASSETS_DIRECTORY	/data/assets	/data/assets	The directory used to store the dependant device firmware.
ENM_DB_DIRECTORY	/data/database	/data/database	The directory used to store the database.
ENM_DB_NAME	my.db	my.db	Set the database name.
ENM_API_VERSION	v1	v1	The supervisor API version.

Getting started - Dependent application

• Follow the readme for the supported board you would like to use

API

The edge-node-manager provides an API that allows the user to set the target status of the main process. This can be useful for a couple of reasons:

• Ensure the edge-node-manager process is not running during an update of the user container
• Free up the on-board radios to allow user code to interact directly with the dependent devices e.g. to collect sensor data

States

• Running
• Paused

SET /v1/enm/status

Set the edge-node-manager process status.

Example

curl -H "Content-Type: application/json" -X PUT --data '{"target":"Paused"}' http://127.0.0.1:1337/v1/enm/status

Response

HTTP/1.1 200 OK

GET /v1/enm/status

Get the edge-node-manager process status.

Example

curl -X GET http://127.0.0.1:1337/v1/enm/status

Response

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
{
    "current":"Running",
    "target":"Paused"
}

Dependent devices

Supported dependant devices

• nRF51822-DK - you can find an example dependant application and instructions here
• micro:bit - you can find an example dependant application and instructions here

Future supported dependant devices

We aim to support the complete Adafruit Feather family.

Adding support for a dependant device

Coming soon

Further reading

Coming soon