can2mqtt

A Linux or Windows service to forward CAN frames to MQTT messages

HowTo

Note: This whole readme assumes the following environment:

• You are running Rasbian on a Raspberry Pi, however any other Linux system should work
• You are using a USBtin or PiCAN device to connect to the CAN Bus (others might work)

Install can-utils

sudo apt-get install git
cd ~
git clone https://github.com/linux-can/can-utils.git
cd can-utils
make

Install Dotnet Core

wget https://download.visualstudio.microsoft.com/download/pr/5a496e41-23da-4aaa-94a7-baa9ab619fc6/0d000727345f3f71858ee79367f6ec23/dotnet-runtime-5.0.4-linux-arm.tar.gz
sudo tar -xvf ./dotnet-runtime-5.0.4-linux-arm.tar.gz -C /opt/dotnet/
sudo ln -s /opt/dotnet/dotnet /usr/local/bin

Setup the CAN Bus connection

For either USBtin or PiCAN

USBtin

Assuming your device has the ID ttyACM0:

sudo ./slcan_attach -f -s1 -b 11 -o /dev/ttyACM0
sudo ./slcand ttyACM0 slcan0
sudo ifconfig slcan0 up

PiCAN

Copy

# interfaces(5) file used by ifup(8) and ifdown(8)

# Please note that this file is written to be used with dhcpcd
# For static IP, consult /etc/dhcpcd.conf and 'man dhcpcd.conf'

# Include files from /etc/network/interfaces.d:
source-directory /etc/network/interfaces.d

# CAN-Bus
auto can0
iface can0 can static
  bitrate 50000

to /etc/network/interfaces. Adapt bitrate to your heating.

Start canlogserver

This is only required to test or if you like to take care of canlogserver on your own. You can also configure a daemon to do this automatically (see below).

~/can-utils/canlogserver slcan0

Start can2mqtt:

This is only required to test or if you like to take care of can2mqtt on your own. You can also configure a daemon to do this automatically (see below).

Minimum parameter: ./can2mqtt_core --Daemon:MqttServer="192.168.0.192"

All parameter: ./can2mqtt_core --Daemon:Name="Can2MqttSE" --Daemon:CanServer="192.168.0.192" --Daemon:CanServerPort=28700 --Daemon:MqttServer="192.168.0.192" --Daemon:MqttClientId="Can2Mqtt" --Daemon:MqttTopic="Heating" --Daemon:MqttTranslator="StiebelEltron" --Daemon:CanForwardWrite=true --Daemon:CanForwardRead=false --Daemon:CanForwardResponse=true

Startup Parameters:

Parameter	Description	Default Value	Required	Example
--Daemon:Name	Define the name of your Daemon	Can2Mqtt	No	--Daemon:Name="Can2MqttSE"
--Daemon:CanServer	This is the address where your canlogserver is running	127.0.0.1	No	--Daemon:CanServer="192.168.0.192"
--Daemon:CanServerPort	This is the port of the canlogserver	28700	No	--Daemon:CanServerPort=28700
--Daemon:MqttServer	This is the address of the MQTT Broker.		Yes	--Daemon:MqttServer="192.168.0.192"
--Daemon:MqttClientId	This is the clientId of the MQTT Client. Choose any name you like	Can2Mqtt	No	--Daemon:MqttClientId="Can2Mqtt"
--Daemon:MqttTopic	This is the MQTT Root Topic of all MQTT message	Can2Mqtt	No	--Daemon:MqttTopic="Heating"
--Daemon:MqttTranslator	For some CAN Bus Clients are translators to translate the CAN Messages into a readable value and publish them via MQTT including the correct topic. Leave empty to publish every CAN frame without any further handling. Implemented translators right now: StiebelEltron		No	--Daemon:MqttTranslator="StiebelEltron"
--Daemon:CanForwardWrite	Should CAN frames of type "Write" be forwarded to MQTT?	true	No	--Daemon:CanForwardWrite=true
--Daemon:CanForwardRead	Should CAN frames of type "Read" be forwarded to MQTT?	false	No	--Daemon:CanForwardRead=false
--Daemon:CanForwardResponse	Should CAN frames of type "Response" be forwarded to MQTT?	true	No	--Daemon:CanForwardResponse=true
--Daemon:CANInterface	Detect CAN interface for proper decoding of CAN frames. "auto" will select the first interface in the system which contains "can" in the interface name, unless a specifc device name is configured, e.g "can0" or "slcan0".	auto	No	--Daemon:CANInterface=can0

Configure and Register Daemon for can2mqtt and canlogserver

Execute sudo nano etc/systemd/system/canlogserver.service and paste the following into the file. Replace the slcan0 in case your socket has a different name:

[Unit]
Description=canlogserver
After=network.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/home/pi/can-utils/canlogserver slcan0
WorkingDirectory=/home/pi/can-utils/canlogserver
StandardOutput=inherit
StandardError=inherit
Restart=always
User=pi

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Run sudo systemctl start canlogserver.service to test if the service starts (it should). To see if it runs, execute sudo systemctl status canlogserver.service. You should see something similar like this if everything went well in the last line: Jul 03 19:09:16 raspi-test systemd[1]: Started canlogserver.

Now we repeat this for the can2mqtt daemon. Execute sudo nano etc/systemd/system/can2mqtt.service and paste the following into the file. Replace the placeholder with your parameters:

[Unit]
Description=can2mqtt
After=network.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/dotnet /home/pi/can2mqtt_core/can2mqtt_core.dll >>>STATE YOUR PARAMETERS HERE<<<
WorkingDirectory=/home/pi/can2mqtt_core/
StandardOutput=inherit
StandardError=inherit
Restart=always
User=pi

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

An example for the ExecStart line is: ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/dotnet /home/pi/can2mqtt_core/can2mqtt_core.dll --Daemon:MqttServer="127.0.0.1" --Daemon:MqttClientId="Can2Mqtt" --Daemon:CANInterface="slcan0"

To test if it works, run the following command: sudo systemctl start can2mqtt.service. To test if the service is running, execute sudo systemctl status can2mqtt.service. You will see the last lines of output. If you do not see any errors after about 10 seconds, everything is fine.

Finally if everything is fine and you want to autostart the canlogserver and can2mqtt application, execute this:

sudo systemctl enable canlogserver.service
sudo systemctl enable can2mqtt.service