News - 2023 API Changes

Introducing RF24Network, RF24Mesh & RF24Gateway v2.0 with some significant API changes, adding the use of C++ Templates in order to support a range of ESB enabled radios, most recently NRF52x radios.

Important Notes:

Any network layer that uses v2 needs to have RF24Network/RF24Mesh dependencies of v2 or newer. RF24 v1.x is an exception here.
General usage should remain backward compatible, see the included examples of the related libraries for more info
Any third party libs that extend the network/mesh layer may also need to be updated to incorporate the new templated class prototypes:
template<class radio_t>

class ESBNetwork;

template<class network_t, class radio_t>

class ESBMesh;

ESBMesh
Definition RF24Gateway.h:48

ESBNetwork
Definition RF24Gateway.h:45
Third party libs should also be able to use the backward-compatible typedef in their template:
- ESBGateway.h:
  template<typename network_t, typename mesh_t>
  
  class ESBGateway
  
  ESBGateway
  Definition RF24Gateway.h:66
  
  and inform the compiler what types they intend to support:
- ESBGateway.cpp:
  template class ESBGateway<RF24Network, RF24Mesh>;
The auto installers do not perform a version check like package managers, so having the correct versions of the software is important.
We will be maintaining the v1.x versions with bugfixes etc for those who cannot or do not wish to migrate to the newer template approach.

Installation

See http://nRF24.github.io/RF24 for installation instructions using the installer, or clone the RF24 libs and run 'make install' for each one.

After running the installer, RF24Gateway will be installed at rf24libs/RF24Gateway. Examples are included for operating the gateway as well as client scripts & programs to control nodes via http requests.

Note: RF24Gateway is tested with and defaults to using RF24Mesh. Sensor nodes must also use RF24Mesh or be statically assigned within RF24Mesh.

See http://nRF24.github.io/RF24Ethernet/ for related documentation for use with RF24Gateway.

How It Works

RF24Gateway is relatively simple in design, and uses the Universal TUN/TAP driver for Linux

Data incoming from the RF24 communication stack (designated as external data) is passed to the interface without modification. Conversely, incoming TCP/IP or other data received on the TUN/TAP interface is passed directly into the radio network and designated as external data.

Linux devices running RF24Gateway can establish network links using the built-in TCP/IP stack, and users can include Arduino/AVR devices or additional RPi devices to automatically extend the wireless range.

Arduino/AVR devices, etc must utilize a software IP stack such as uIP.

Simple Configuration

In the standard configuration, a single Linux/RF24Gateway node is used to provide connectivity to one or more Arduino nodes running RF24Ethernet. In this case the master node could be configured with IP 10.1.3.1 netmask 255.255.255.0 and nodeID 0 The remaining Arduino nodes can used nodeIDs 2-253, and would be assigned IP addresses 10.1.3.2-253 and netmask 255.255.255.0

If there are problems starting the examples, the following commands can be run to configure the interface:

ip tuntap add dev tun_nrf24 mode tun user pi multi_queue

ifconfig tun_nrf24 10.1.3.1/24

To enable nat and routing, the following commands can also be run:

sudo sysctl -w net.ipv4.ip_forward=1

sudo iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -j MASQUERADE

See http://nRF24.github.io/RF24Ethernet/ConfigAndSetup.html for more info

Advanced Configuration

In a more advanced configuration, users can use two or more nodes running RF24Gateway together, along with Arduino Nodes running RF24Ethernet In this case the master node could be configured differently with IP 10.1.3.1 netmask 255.255.0.0 and nodeID 0 The child RPi2 node could be assigned IP 10.1.3.33 netmask 255.255.0.0 and nodeID 33 Another device, lets say usb0 connected to the child RPi2 node is assigned IP 10.1.5.1 netmask 255.255.255.0

In this configuration, connectivity between all nodes in the mesh would be established, but a routing table is needed to include attached and internet devices.

To fully enable routing beyond the RPi devices, a routing table needs to be added to the Master node:

Rename the file RF24Gateway/examples/routing.txx to routing.txt
Edit the file accordingly
Restart the gateway example to reload routing info

Network Configuration Example

Local WiFi/Ethernet Network (Windows,Linux,RPi devices etc) - 10.10.1.0 - 255.255.255.0 ( 10.10.1.x network )
RPi devices (tun_nrf24 interfaces & all connected devices) - 10.1.0.0 - 255.255.0.0 ( 10.1.x.x network )

Explanation

The RF24Gateway/RF24Mesh network supports about 253 hosts. I setup the RF24Gateway and all associated devices with a much larger subnet in this config to encompass all devices directly accessible via the RF24Gateway network.

ie: RPi master 10.1.3.1/16, RPi2 child 10.1.3.33/16, RPi2 child usb0 10.1.5.1/24

Routing Configuration

In the RF24Gateway example working directory, create a file "routing.txt". Add routing entries in a standard kind of format:

IP<space>NetMask<space>Gateway

Example routing.txt file:

Traffic for 10.1.5.x will use 10.1.3.33 as the gateway

10.1.5.0 255.255.255.0 10.1.3.33
Traffic for 10.1.4.x will use 10.1.3.34 as the gateway

10.1.4.0 255.255.255.0 10.1.3.34
Traffic not in the RF24Gateway network will be sent via 10.10.3.33 by default

0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 10.10.3.33

Additional Routing Configuration

You can specify any combination of IP/Netmask in the routing.txt file to create unique subnets for routing traffic.

Examples are:

Traffic for 10.1.5.(1-30) will use 10.1.3.33 as the gateway

10.1.5.0 255.255.255.224 10.1.3.33
Traffic for 10.1.5.(33-62) will use 10.1.3.34 as the gateway

10.1.5.32 255.255.255.224 10.1.3.34
Traffic for 10.1.5.(65-94) will use 10.1.3.35 as the gateway

10.1.5.64 255.255.255.224 10.1.3.35
Traffic not in the RF24Gateway network will be sent via 10.10.3.32 by default

0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 10.10.3.32

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