There are two human interfaces in an IP400 node, one uses a UAR/T connection to the node to configure it using a simple set of menu selections, the mode sophisticated network user interface is currently in development, which is accessed with a web browser. A separate machine to machine interface provides a transport for IP (Internet Protocol) packets between nodes.

Human Interfaces

The menu-driven interface is accessed from the Pi using a terminal emulator such as minicom. An example of the menu is shown below.

This menu enables low-level parameters to be set such as the station callsign, data rates, frequency of beacon frames, and also the system clock. This data can be permanently stored in flash memory on the node.

The web browser interface provides a view into nodes discovered on the network and services available at them.

The image above is a snapshot of the mesh table view, generated by a node that can view two others, which have the same callsign, but different VPN addresses. Hovering the mouse over the node brings up a detailed table of the location, grid square, and operating frequency.

Machine to Machine Interface

A machine to machine interface provides a pathway for IP based applications to use the node routing information to send packets to devices attached to other nodes on the network.

Packets are sent to a destination IP address on the network, using a local node as a proxy server. The network then encapsulates the packet as an IP400 frame and forwards it to its destination.