GlobalUDP

GlobalUDP

Medium	Pins used	Inclusion
Ethernet port, wired or WiFi	NA	#include <PJONGlobalUDP.h>

With the GlobalUDP PJON strategy, multiple devices with Ethernet ports can use PJON to communicate with each other over an Ethernet network, wired or over WiFi or both. This strategy demands a little more configuration than the LocalUDP strategy but is not limited to the local network and can therefore reach devices farther away, to another LAN connected through VPN, or potentially across the Internet (beware of security issues).

Why PJON over UDP?

If a cabled or wireless Ethernet network exists, using this to let devices communicate can be easier than to pull new wires or utilize other radio communication modules.

It can also be useful for connecting physically separate clusters of devices that are connected wired with the SoftwareBitBang strategy, or wirelessly with the Oversampling strategy, when a LAN or WAN is connecting the locations.

How to use GlobalUDP

Use PJONGlobalUDP to instantiate a PJON object ready to communicate using PJONGlobalUDP strategy:

  #include <PJONGlobalUDP.h>

  PJONGlobalUDP bus(44); // Use device id 44

Set up the Ethernet card in the usual manner by calling Ethernet.begin, register the other devices to send to, then call the begin method on the PJON object:

void setup() {
  Ethernet.begin(mac, local_ip, gateway, gateway, subnet);
  bus.strategy.add_node(45, remote_ip1);
  bus.strategy.add_node(46, remote_ip2);
  bus.begin();
}

All the IP addresses of the registered nodes should be reachable. UDP port forwarding can be used to obtain this through firewalls. The IP address of the device can be DHCP assigned if none of the other devices need to reach it except with ACKs. Otherwise it should be static, unless using sender autoregistration.

Sender autoregistration is now enabled by default and can be disabled with:

  bus.set_autoregistration(false);

With sender autoregistration the sender of each incoming packet is automatically registered in the node table, meaning that replies will work also for unregistered devices with static or dynamic IP. Also, after a packet from a device has been received, packets can be sent to it by its PJON id.

This means that sender autoregistration can be used in setups where packets are exchanged through a central device, typically a master or switch, to let all devices except the central device use DHCP for dynamic network configuration. Each device then need to register the central device in its table, and the central device can have an empty table at startup.

Note that the preprocessor define GUDP_MAX_REMOTE_NODES is important when using autoregistration. For a device it should be higher than the maximum number of other devices it will communicate with. Its default value of 10 is low to save memory, and in larger setups it must be increased.

UDP packets are not broadcast like with the LocalUDP strategy, but directed to a selected receiver.

All the other necessary information is present in the general Documentation.

Known issues

• Firewall may block GlobalUDP packets, edit its configuration to allow them

Safety warning

In all cases, when installing or maintaining a PJON network, extreme care must be taken to avoid any danger. When connecting a local bus to the internet using EthernetTCP or GlobalUDP all connected devices must be considered potentially compromised, potentially manipulated or remotely actuated against your will. It should be considered a good practice not to connect to the internet systems that may create a damage (fire, flood, data-leak) if hacked.