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Add RAK13800 Ethernet Companion targets with multi-client TCP support - #2972

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Add RAK13800 Ethernet Companion targets with multi-client TCP support#2972
mathisono wants to merge 8 commits into
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mathisono:feat/rak13800-multiclient-ethernet-companion

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@mathisono

@mathisono mathisono commented Jul 16, 2026

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This PR is a follow-up to the Ethernet support merged in #1983.

It adds the RAK13800 Ethernet Companion board-support layer and upgrades the Companion Ethernet transport from single-client behavior to multi-client framed Companion TCP.

Headline changes

Multi-client framed Companion TCP

This PR updates SerialEthernetInterface so multiple Companion TCP clients can remain connected at the same time.

The transport now supports:

  • MAX_ETH_CLIENTS, defaulting to 3
  • per-client connection slots
  • per-client receive parser state
  • round-robin receive polling
  • _last_rx tracking for command response routing
  • broadcast delivery for push frames
  • slot-only disconnect cleanup
  • rejection of only the new client when all slots are full

This avoids the old failure mode where a second connection or incoming packet could close the live Companion socket.

Framed Companion API preserved

This is still MeshCore Companion framing, not CLI/raw-line mode:

client -> radio: '<' + uint16_le(length) + payload
radio -> client: '>' + uint16_le(length) + payload

This PR intentionally does not enable raw line mode for the Companion target.

RAK13800 board-support targets

Adds canonical RAK13800 Ethernet Companion targets:

  • RAK_RAK13800_companion_radio_eth
  • RAK_RAK13800_companion_radio_eth_static_diag

Keeps compatibility aliases for older names:

  • RAK_4631_companion_radio_eth_clean
  • RAK_4631_companion_radio_eth_static_diag
  • RAK_4631_companion_radio_ethernet

Crow / gateway settings

The RAK13800 Companion target uses:

  • ETHERNET_ENABLED=1
  • ETHERNET_TCP_PORT=4403
  • FORCE_CLIENT_REPEAT=0
  • MAX_CONTACTS=128
  • framed Companion packets
  • no raw-line CLI mode

The static diagnostic target adds:

  • IP: 10.245.94.47
  • gateway: 10.245.94.33
  • DNS: 10.245.94.33
  • subnet: 255.255.255.224
  • debug logging enabled

Device model

Ethernet builds report:

RAK 4631 / RAK13800 + W5100S

Normal RAK4631 builds continue to report the normal RAK4631 model string.

What this is not

  • Not the repeater CLI target
  • Not raw-line Ethernet CLI
  • Not MQTT
  • Not Meshtastic

This is the framed MeshCore Companion API over Ethernet TCP, with multi-client support for RAK4631 + RAK13800/W5100S hardware.

Validation

Added Companion TCP smoke-test scripts for:

  • normal framed Companion TCP
  • multi-client Companion TCP behavior

Expected validation:

pio run -e RAK_RAK13800_companion_radio_eth
pio run -e RAK_RAK13800_companion_radio_eth_static_diag

python3 scripts/meshcore_companion_tcp_smoke_test.py 10.245.94.47 4403
python3 scripts/meshcore_companion_multi_client_test.py 10.245.94.47 4403

Expected static diagnostic hardware result:

  • device reachable at 10.245.94.47/27
  • TCP 4403 open
  • APP_START receives a response
  • DEVICE_QUERY receives response code 0x0d
  • two Companion TCP clients can remain connected simultaneously

@mathisono

mathisono commented Jul 16, 2026

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Progress summary:

This PR replaces the earlier target-name-only framing from #2929 with a clearer branch and PR scope: RAK13800 Ethernet Companion board support with multi-client framed Companion TCP.

What has been completed:

  • Rebased onto dev after Support for RAK ethernet module #1983 merged.

  • Built on top of the merged RAK Ethernet foundation from Support for RAK ethernet module #1983.

  • Added canonical RAK13800 Ethernet Companion targets:

  • RAK_RAK13800_companion_radio_eth

  • RAK_RAK13800_companion_radio_eth_static_diag

  • Kept compatibility aliases for the older RAK_4631_* companion Ethernet target names.

  • Preserved framed MeshCore Companion TCP packets.

  • Did not enable raw-line CLI mode for the Companion target.

  • Updated the Companion Ethernet transport to support multiple simultaneous clients.

  • Kept new TCP client acceptance on server.accept(), not server.available().

  • Set the RAK13800 Companion TCP target to ETHERNET_TCP_PORT=4403 for Crow/gateway compatibility.

  • Added static diagnostic networking at 10.245.94.47/27.

  • Set FORCE_CLIENT_REPEAT=0 for gateway stability.

  • Updated Ethernet build manufacturer/model reporting to RAK 4631 / RAK13800 + W5100S.

  • Added Companion TCP smoke-test scripts, including a multi-client test.

  • Updated README, flashing, validation, and FAQ docs.

Transport verification completed:

  • server.available in src/helpers/nrf52, examples, and variants: no hits.
  • server.accept is present in SerialEthernetInterface.cpp and separately in EthernetCLI.h.
  • ETHERNET_RAW_LINE is not defined in variants/rak4631/platformio.ini.
  • FORCE_CLIENT_REPEAT is present in both examples/companion_radio/MyMesh.cpp and variants/rak4631/platformio.ini.
  • Both canonical RAK13800 Companion targets include helpers/nrf52/SerialEthernetInterface.cpp.
  • Both canonical RAK13800 Companion targets include the RAKWireless/RAK13800-W5100S dependency.

The standout functional change is multi-client framed Companion TCP: multiple Companion clients can stay connected at the same time, push frames can be broadcast, and command responses route back to the client that sent the command.

@mathisono mathisono mentioned this pull request Jul 16, 2026
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@1sthandy

1sthandy commented Jul 28, 2026

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Hi @mathisono — heads up on an overlap here.

#2679 (rebased onto #1983, currently open) already includes an equivalent multi-client SerialEthernetInterface: MAX_ETH_CLIENTS (default 3), per-client connection slots + receive-parser state, round-robin inbound polling, _last_rx-based response routing, and broadcast delivery for push-coded frames — same failure mode being fixed (a second client, or even an incoming packet from an existing one, kicking the live Companion socket). It's been tested on real RAK4631+RAK13800/W5100S+RAK19018 hardware with Home Assistant and the phone app connected to the same device simultaneously.

Rather than land two independent multi-client implementations of the same transport, might be worth coordinating on which one moves forward (or merging the better parts of each). @ripplebiz — you made the call on #1983 vs #2679 as the Ethernet foundation last time; would appreciate your read on how to reconcile this one too, given the overlap.

Happy to compare implementations in more detail if useful.

@1sthandy 1sthandy mentioned this pull request Aug 11, 2026
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1sthandy added a commit to 1sthandy/MeshCore that referenced this pull request Aug 21, 2026
@1sthandy @claude
Port PoE delta onto the new RAK13800EthernetInterface architecture
351a2c9 
liamcottle's unrelated refactor (MultiSerialInterface + chip-agnostic
EthernetInterface/SerialEthernetInterface base with RAK13800/CH390 drivers)
landed in dev and deleted the old src/helpers/nrf52/SerialEthernetInterface.*
this PR previously extended. Rebase onto that, and re-target the multi-client
+ PoE-safe deferred bring-up work at the new RAK13800EthernetInterface class
instead, so meshcore-dev#2679 stays mergeable:

- RAK13800EthernetInterface.{h,cpp}: keep inheriting the shared
  SerialEthernetInterface base (for its debug macros/ETHERNET_TCP_PORT
  default), but fully override writeFrame()/checkRecvFrame()/enable()/
  disable()/isConnected()/isWriteBusy()/loop() with a multi-client-aware
  implementation (MAX_ETH_CLIENTS=3, per-client parse state, round-robin
  polling, response routing, push-frame broadcast) -- this is now the
  default for ALL RAK13800 companion builds, not just the PoE ones, matching
  meshcore-dev#2972's original intent. available()/read()/write() are trivial stubs
  kept only to satisfy the base class's pure-virtual contract.
- Same WITH_W5100S_POE-gated deferred bring-up as before (skip Ethernet
  init/begin in begin(), do it from loop() after ETH_POE_DEFER_MS once the
  PoE converter has latched, bounded DHCP with static-IP fallback).
- No changes needed to the shared SerialEthernetInterface/EthernetInterface/
  MultiSerialInterface files, CH390's driver, or companion_radio/main.cpp --
  same class name/location, so ETHERNET_CLASS=RAK13800EthernetInterface
  picks this up automatically.
- simple_room_server/main.cpp: add the same WITH_W5100S_POE boot-delay
  shortcut (1000ms -> 20ms) simple_repeater already had, for consistency
  now that it also has a _poe env.

This also makes meshcore-dev#2972 (the other multi-client attempt) moot -- it targets
the now-deleted nrf52/SerialEthernetInterface.* path.

Verified: RAK_4631_{repeater,room_server,companion_radio}_ethernet_poe,
the plain _ethernet envs, and non-Ethernet envs (repeater, room_server,
companion_radio_usb/ble) all build clean.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
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5 participants

@mathisono @1sthandy @NoodlesNZ @liamcottle @formtapez