Installation

The iSR Client is used to proxy one or more Station Controllers on a local network to the iShareRadio Hub. Once proxied and paired to an Operator on the Hub, the Station Controller can then be controlled, managed and integrated with alerting and metrics.

Blue: LAN, Green: WAN

The iSR Client can be installed on the Station Controller Raspberry Pi or elsewhere so long as it can reach the Station Controller over the network. The simplest approach is to install it on the Raspberry Pi.

How the Proxy Works

The iSR Client is a secure, intelligent proxy for the Station Controller. It is responsible for communicating with the Station Controller modules, understanding their configuration, controlling various switches, relays and collecting readings. The Hub does not directly connect to the Station Controller and waits for the iSR Client to send status and reading information. The Hub can also send instructions to control and set various features on the modules.

The Operator must pair the iSR Client responsible for proxying the Station Controller first, then pair (add device) Station Controller.

iSR Client and Node-RED

The Hub will allow you to select whether Node-RED is disabled (default) or not when pairing a Station Controller.

For the iSR Client to successfully manage a Station Controller, it will connect to the Raspberry Pi and by default disable Node-RED permanently. This is because only one application can connect and control the serial port.

There are more advanced scenarios where some parts of the Station Controller can be managed by Node-RED and the iSR Client. These involve multiple serial port configurations.

Restoring Node-RED

If you wish to restore Node-RED you must disable the iSR Client and restart the Node-RED systemd service. Note, reconnecting the iSR Client to the Station Controller will disable Node-RED.

sudo systemctl stop isr-client
sudo systemctl disable isr-client
sudo systemctl enable nodered
sudo systemctl start nodered

Installing iSR Client on the Station Controller

Step-by-step installation (APT repository, Hub download, verification, and troubleshooting) is documented under iSR Client Installers:

Station Controller installer (Raspberry Pi)

That page covers Raspberry Pi OS requirements, Node-RED behavior during install, and pairing prerequisites. After installation, continue with Pairing the Station Controller on the Hub.