mirror of
https://github.com/ipnet-mesh/meshcore-hub.git
synced 2026-07-06 09:52:00 +02:00
Louis King
80 lines
6.6 KiB
Markdown
80 lines
6.6 KiB
Markdown
# Remote Observers
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Other operators can run their own [meshcore-packet-capture](https://github.com/agessaman/meshcore-packet-capture) instance and publish decoded packets to your MeshCore Hub. They can also optionally contribute to the LetsMesh and MeshRank networks.
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This document covers the local packet-capture observer (the `observer` compose profile) and the remote-observer contribution flow. The `PACKETCAPTURE_*` and `SERIAL_PORT` variables that configure the external capture image are documented at the bottom of this page; for everything else see [configuration.md](configuration.md).
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> **Prerequisite:** Your MQTT broker must be accessible to remote observers. In production, this means exposing the WebSocket listener via a reverse proxy with TLS (e.g., `wss://mqtt.example.com/mqtt`).
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> **Restricting which observers are accepted:** because anyone with broker access can publish as an observer, Hub operators can gate ingestion by observer public key using `OBSERVER_ALLOWLIST` / `OBSERVER_DENYLIST`. See [configuration.md → Observer Ingestion Filters](configuration.md#observer-ingestion-filters).
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## Example: Contribute to MeshCore Hub, MeshRank and other services
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A ready-made Docker Compose setup is provided in `contrib/packetcapture/`. Download it and configure:
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```bash
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mkdir meshcore-observer && cd meshcore-observer
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wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ipnet-mesh/meshcore-hub/main/contrib/packetcapture/docker-compose.yml
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wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ipnet-mesh/meshcore-hub/main/contrib/packetcapture/.env.example
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cp .env.example .env
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```
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Edit `.env` and update the following variables:
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| Variable | Description |
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| ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
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| `SERIAL_PORT` | Device path for your MeshCore companion device (e.g. `/dev/ttyUSB0`, or `/dev/serial/by-id/...` for a stable path) |
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| `IATA` | 3-letter area code for your location (e.g. `STN`, `SEA`) |
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| `ORIGIN` | Observer identifier (default: `observer`) |
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| `IPNET_ENABLE` | Set `true` to contribute packets to IPNet MeshCore Hub (default: `true`) |
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| `MESHRANK_ENABLE` | Set `true` to contribute to MeshRank (default: `false`) |
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| `MESHRANK_UPLINK_KEY` | Your MeshRank uplink key (required if MeshRank enabled) |
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| `CUSTOM_ENABLE` | Set `true` to publish to a custom MQTT broker (default: `false`) |
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| `CUSTOM_MQTT_SERVER` | Custom MQTT broker hostname |
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| `CUSTOM_MQTT_PORT` | Custom MQTT broker port (default: `8883`) |
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| `CUSTOM_MQTT_USE_TLS` | `true` for TLS, `false` for plain (default: `true`) |
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| `CUSTOM_MQTT_USERNAME` | Username for custom broker auth |
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| `CUSTOM_MQTT_PASSWORD` | Password for custom broker auth |
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Then start the observer:
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```bash
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docker compose up -d
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```
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> **Local network (no TLS):** Set `CUSTOM_MQTT_SERVER` to the Hub's LAN IP (e.g. `192.168.1.100`), `CUSTOM_MQTT_PORT=1883`, and `CUSTOM_MQTT_USE_TLS=false`.
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## Packet Capture Settings
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The variables below configure the external **meshcore-packet-capture** image (`ghcr.io/agessaman/meshcore-packet-capture`), which is run by the `observer` compose profile. They are _not_ consumed by MeshCore Hub itself — they are listed here because they live in the same `.env` and are needed by operators running an observer. See the [meshcore-packet-capture documentation](https://github.com/agessaman/meshcore-packet-capture) for full details.
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### Device
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| Variable | Default | Description |
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| ----------------------------- | --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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| `SERIAL_PORT` | `/dev/ttyUSB0` | Serial port for the packet-capture device (typically `/dev/ttyUSB[0-9]` or `/dev/ttyACM[0-9]` on Linux) |
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| `PACKETCAPTURE_IATA` | `LOC` | 3-letter IATA airport/area code used in topic templates |
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| `PACKETCAPTURE_ORIGIN` | _(device name)_ | Observer display name (defaults to the device name from the MeshCore connection) |
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| `PACKETCAPTURE_IMAGE_VERSION` | `latest` | Docker image tag for the packet-capture image |
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### Connection behaviour
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| Variable | Default | Description |
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| -------------------------------------- | ------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
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| `PACKETCAPTURE_TIMEOUT` | `30` | Connection timeout in seconds |
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| `PACKETCAPTURE_MAX_CONNECTION_RETRIES` | `5` | Max device-connection retries |
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| `PACKETCAPTURE_CONNECTION_RETRY_DELAY` | `5` | Seconds between device-connection retries |
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| `PACKETCAPTURE_HEALTH_CHECK_INTERVAL` | `30` | Seconds between health checks |
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| `PACKETCAPTURE_ADVERT_INTERVAL_HOURS` | `11` | Send flood adverts at this interval in hours (`0` = disabled) |
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| `PACKETCAPTURE_RF_DATA_TIMEOUT` | `15.0` | RF data cache timeout in seconds |
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### MQTT reconnection
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| Variable | Default | Description |
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| -------------------------------------- | ------- | --------------------------------------------- |
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| `PACKETCAPTURE_MAX_MQTT_RETRIES` | `5` | Max MQTT reconnection attempts |
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| `PACKETCAPTURE_MQTT_RETRY_DELAY` | `5` | Seconds between MQTT reconnection attempts |
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| `PACKETCAPTURE_EXIT_ON_RECONNECT_FAIL` | `true` | Exit the process when MQTT reconnection fails |
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