Debugging

This section contains configuration components that can be used to better understand the way BACnet packets are processed by the BFR. By “splicing” debugging components in different sections of the stack the user can see how packets are transformed.

Debug

The Debug component prints the contents of the packets it receives to stdout and then continues the packet in the same direction it came from, upstream or downstream:

<Debug client="client_label" server="server_label" prefix="prefix_str" />

This component can act as a client, server, or both at the same time. When it is in the middle of a stack, both the client and server attributes are specified. If the prefix is provided, the prefix string is printed before the packet contents providing a way to distinguish different debugging sections and layers.

There is no restriction on the number of debugging components in a configuration.

Console

The Console component

<Console client="client_label" server="server_label" prefix="prefix_str" />

This component can act as a client or a server, but not both at the same time. There can be only one console component in a configuration.

Echo

The Echo component receives any packet, swaps the source and destination, and sends the packet back:

<Echo client="client_label" server="server_label" />

This component can act as a client or server, but not both at the same time. There is no restriction on the number of echo components in a configuration.

Samples

For these and other samples, the components are described in configuration starting from the bottom of a stack and proceeding up. In the coorisponding diagrams, upstream traffic goes from left to right, the downstream traffic from right to left.

Console as a Server

This sample configuration file creates one of each of the Console, Debug, and Echo components and binds them together:

<BFR>
    <Console server="a"/>
    <Debug client="a" server="b"/>
    <Echo client="b"/>
</BFR>

Console as a Server

Packets entered at the console are sent upstream to the debug component which prints a description of the packet and forwards it to the echo component. The echo swaps the source and destination addresses and sends the packet downstream.

Console as a Client

This configuration file is almost identical to the one above, except the stack is flipped:

<BFR>
    <Echo server="a"/>
    <Debug client="a" server="b"/>
    <Console client="b"/>
</BFR>

Console as a Client

Packets entered at the console are sent downstream to the debug component which prints a description of the packet and forwards it to the echo component. The echo swaps the source and destination addresses and sends the packet upstream.