ctrlport.dox

/*! \page page_ctrlport ControlPort

\section ctrlport_introduction Introduction

This is the ControlPort package. It is a tool to create distributed
control applications for GNU Radio. It provides blocks that can be
connected to an output stream to plot the signal remotely. It also
provides an API that allows blocks to export variables that can be
set, monitored, and plotted remotely.

ControlPort-specific functions and utilities are found in the
'ctrlport' namespace. From Python, access is done using the
gnuradio.ctrlport module, imported as:

\code
    from gnuradio import ctrlport
\endcode


\section ctrlport_conf Configuration

ControlPort is configured using two files. The first is the GNU Radio
preferences file while the second file is specific to the type of
middleware used.

The GNU Radio preferences file has three options. The 'on' option is
used to enable or disable the use of ControlPort, and is disabled by
default. The 'config' option allows a user to specify the
middleware-specific configuration file. The 'edges_list' is a special
option that exports the list of nodes and edges of the flowgraph
across ControlPort. This latter option is mainly used for redrawing
the flowgraph for the Performance Counter applications.

\code
  [ControlPort]
  on = True
  edges_list = True
  config = path-to/ctrlport.conf
\endcode

The ControlPort preferences are installed by default into
'gnuradio-runtime.conf'. These can always be overridden in the local
~/.gnuradio/config.conf file.



\section ctrlport_deps Dependencies

ControlPort is an abstracted remote procedure call tool that. It is
built on top of other middleware libraries. The following subsections
explain some details about the use of the particular middleware
project.

Currently, the only implemented middleware library is the Apache
Thrift project.

\subsection ctrlport_thrift Apache Thrift

Current version support: >= 0.9.2

Apache Thrift is a middleware layer that defines interfaces of a
program using its own Thrift language. GNU Radio's interface file is:

gnuradio-runtime/lib/controlport/thrift/gnuradio.thrift

This file defines the interfaces set, get, trigger, and properties. It
also defines a set of data structure Knobs to allow us to pass any
type of data over the interfaces.

To use Thrift in ControlPort requires a minimum Thrift version of
0.9.0. If a Thrift version greater than or equal to this version is
not found, the Thrift backend to ControlPort will not be installed,
through ControlPort itself still will be. During cmake configuration
time, it prints out information about finding Thrift and requires:

\li Thrift header files by looking for thrift/Thrift.h
\li Thrift C++ libraries: libthrift.so
\li Thrift Python bindings: "import thrift"

If all of these are not satisfied, the Thrift backend will not be
installed. Upon completion, cmake outputs a notification of what
components will be built. You will see this if Thrift was found and
can be used:

\code
* gr-ctrlport
* * thrift
\endcode

Cmake also uses the Thrift compiler ("thrift") to build the C++ and
Python files necessary for compiling ControlPort. It runs "thrift
--gen cpp" the C++ bindings in the build directory, and then
it runs "thrift --gen py" to build the Python bindings, also in the
build directory. These are used to compile the Thrift ControlPort
features and are necessary files to run the Python clients. If cmake
fails to produce these bindings, it should error out.



\subsubsection ctrlport_thrift_prefs Configuration

Thrift does not support its own concept of a configuration file, so we
have built one for our purposes in GNU Radio. The 'config' option in
the ControlPort section of the preference files tells ControlPort
where to find the backend-specific file format. GNU Radio's Thrift
format follows the same "[Section] key = value" scheme used in all of
its other preference files. Currently supported configuration options
are:

\code
[thrift]
port = 9090
nthreads = 2
buffersize = 1434
init_attempts = 100
\endcode


\subsubsection ctrlport_thrift_issues Thrift: Current Issues

Thrift uses a thread pool system to handle each connection, but it
will only allow up to a specified number of threads in the server. The
default value is 10 threads, but the Thrift configuration file allows
the user to change this value.

Thrift also does not find and use a free ephemeral port when launching
the server. It must be told explicitly which port to launch on, which
we set in the configuration file. This makes it difficult to launch
multiple flowgraphs on the same machine because that will cause a port
collision. Until this is fixed, a way around this is to use the
environmental variable GR_CONF_THRIFT_PORT=xxx to set the port number
for that specific application.

Efficiency issues of Thrift come from the over-the-wire formatting
done by the transport protocol. It defaults to using 512 byte packets,
which can lead to a lot of fragmentation of the data over the
connection. The buffersize configuration allows the user to set this
value to whatever number fits their network needs. The default 1434 is
designed around the standard 1500 byte Ethernet frame size limit minus
the TCP/IP and Ethernet header size.


\subsection ctrlport_client_translation Translation Layer for Clients

Different backends will produce different ways to interface with the
system. ControlPort in the running flowgraph acts as the server by
exposing interfaces to blocks. The interfaces and API in GNU Radio to
communicate with ControlPort are all abstracted completely away from
the backend methods and data types. That is, the code in GNU Radio's
scheduler and in the blocks that expose their ControlPort interfaces
will work regardless of the backend used.

We are building better abstractions on the clients sides now, as
well. Although certain backends will support other features of
discovery and services that work well with their products, GNU Radio
wants to make sure that clients can access the data from the
interfaces in the same way for any backend used. This abstraction is
done through the GNURadioControlPortClient. This class is told which
type of backend is used, and defaults to Thrift, and can be passed
information about the server's endpoint such as the host name and port
number to attach to. The GNURadioControlPortClient returns a 'radio'
object that represents the connection to the running flowgraph.


\section ctrlport_using Using ControlPort to Export Variables

The ability to export variables from a block is inherited from
gr::block. Then, when the flowgraph is started, the function
<b>setup_rpc()</b> is called in turn for each block. By default, this
is an empty function. A block overloads this function and defines and
exports variables in it.

Say we have a class <b>gr::blocks::foo</b> that has variables <b>a</b>
and <b>b</b> that we want to export. Specifically, we want to be able
to read the values of both <b>a</b> and <b>b</b> and also set the
value of <b>b</b>. The class <b>gr::blocks::foo</b> has setters and
getters all set up. So our class implementation header file looks
something like:

\code
namespace gr {
  namespace blocks {

    class foo_impl : public foo
    {
    private:
      float  d_a, d_b;

    public:
      foo_impl(float a, float b);
      ~foo_impl();

      float a() const { return d_a; }
      float b() const { return d_a; }
      void set_a(float a) { d_a = a; }
      void set_b(float b) { d_b = b; }
      void setup_rpc();
      int work(int noutput_items,
	       gr_vector_const_void_star &input_items,
	       gr_vector_void_star &output_items);
    };

  } /* namespace blocks */
} /* namespace gr */
\endcode

The source code then sets up the class and fills in
<b>setup_rpc()</b>.

\code
namespace gr {
  namespace blocks {

    foo_impl::foo_impl(float a, float b):
      sync_bloc(....),
      d_a(a), d_b(b)
    { }

    foo_impl::~foo_impl()
    { }

    void
    foo_impl::setup_rpc()
    {
#ifdef GR_CTRLPORT
      add_rpc_variable(
        rpcbasic_sptr(new rpcbasic_register_get<foo, float>(
          alias(), "a",
          &foo::a,
          pmt::mp(-2.0f), pmt::mp(2.0f), pmt::mp(0.0f),
          "", "Get value of a", RPC_PRIVLVL_MIN,
          DISPTIME | DISPOPTSTRIP)));

      add_rpc_variable(
        rpcbasic_sptr(new rpcbasic_register_get<foo, float>(
          alias(), "b",
          &foo::b,
          pmt::mp(0.0f), pmt::mp(20.0f), pmt::mp(10.0f),
          "", "Get value of b", RPC_PRIVLVL_MIN,
          DISPTIME | DISPOPTSTRIP)));

      add_rpc_variable(
        rpcbasic_sptr(new rpcbasic_register_set<foo, float>(
          alias(), "b",
          &foo::set_b,
          pmt::mp(0.0f), pmt::mp(20.0f), pmt::mp(10.0f),
          "", "Set value of b", RPC_PRIVLVL_MIN,
          DISPNULL)));
#endif /* GR_CTRLPORT */
    }

    int
    foo_impl::work(int noutput_items,
                   gr_vector_const_void_star &input_items,
                   gr_vector_void_star &output_items)
    { .... }

  } /* namespace blocks */
} /* namespace gr */
\endcode

In the above example, we're ignoring some of the basic semantics of
the class as a GNU Radio block and focus just on the call to set up
the get and set functions over ControlPort. Each block has a function
that allows us to add a new ControlPort interface object to a list,
the <b>add_rpc_variable</b>. We don't care about that list anymore;
that's for ControlPort to worry about. We just add new variables,
either setters or getters.

Without dissecting every piece of the above calls, notice that we use
the public class, <b>gr::blocks::foo</b> as the class, not the
implementation class. We also use the block's alias, which GNU Radio
uses as a database entry to connect a block by name to the pointer in
memory. This allows ControlPort to know where the object in memory is
at any given time to access the setters and getters.

The three PMTs specified are simply an expected minimum, maximum, and
default value. None of these are strictly enforced and only serve as
guides. The RPC_PRIVLVL_MIN is currently a placeholder for a
privilege level setting. In many cases, reading <b>b</b> might be
fine for everyone, but we want strong restrictions on who has the
ability to set <b>b</b>.

And finally, we can specify display options to hint at the right way
to display this variable when remotely plotting it. More on that in
the following section.

Finally, note that we put \#ifdefs around the code. We always want
<b>setup_rpc</b> to be there and callable, but if ControlPort was not
built for GNU Radio, we cannot register any variables with it. This is
just a nicety to allow us to set up our code for use with ControlPort
without requiring it.


\subsection ctrlport_alt_reg Alternative Registers

If using the concept above, <b>setup_rpc</b> automatically gets called
when the flowgraph is started. In most instances, this is all we ever
need since there's nothing interesting going on until then. However,
if not using a gr::block or needing access before we run the flowgraph,
the above method won't work (it comes down to when the block's alias
has meaning).

There are alternate variable registration functions for the sets and
gets. These take the form:

\code
  rpcbasic_register_get(const std::string& name,
			const char* functionbase,
                        T* obj,
			Tfrom (T::*function)(),
			const pmt::pmt_t &min, const pmt::pmt_t &max, const pmt::pmt_t &def,
			const char* units_ = "",
			const char* desc_ = "",
			priv_lvl_t minpriv_ = RPC_PRIVLVL_MIN,
			DisplayType display_ = DISPNULL)

  rpcbasic_register_set(const std::string& name,
			const char* functionbase,
                        T* obj,
			void (T::*function)(Tto),
			const pmt::pmt_t &min, const pmt::pmt_t &max, const pmt::pmt_t &def,
			const char* units_ = "",
			const char* desc_ = "",
			priv_lvl_t minpriv_ = RPC_PRIVLVL_MIN,
			DisplayType display_ = DISPNULL)
\endcode

The only thing different about the above code is that instead of
taking a single 'alias()' name, which provides us access to the
objects pointer, we instead provide a unique name
(<b>fucntionbase</b>) and a pointer to the object itself
(<b>obj</b>). These are templated functions, so the class T is known
from that.

If using this method, the recommended way is to create a new function
(not <b>setup_rpc</b>), register the variable using
<b>add_rpc_variable</b> but with the different <b>register_get/set</b>
shown here, and then call this function either in the object's
constructor or make it a public member function to be called when you
need it.


\section ctrlport_disp Display Options

When exporting a new RPC variable over ControlPort, one argument is a
display options mask. These options are useful to a remote client to
tell identify activities like default plotters and initial
conditions. The <b>gr-ctrlport-monitor</b> application uses this
heavily in determining how to plot ControlPort variables.

The options mask is just a 32-bit value with options OR'd
together. Certain options are only appropriate for certain types of
plots. Options on plots where that option is not available will
simply be ignored.

The main caveat to be aware of is that the DISPXY plot type is
specific to complex values. Therefore, DISPOPTCPLX is assumed.

These options are specified in rpccallbackregister_base.h and are
exposed through SWIG to live in the \b gr namespace.

<b>Plot Types</b>
\li <b>DISPNULL:</b> Nothing specified.
\li <b>DISPTIME:</b> Time-domain plot.
\li <b>DISPXY:</b> XY or constellation plot (complex only).
\li <b>DISPPSD:</b> PSD plot.
\li <b>DISPSPEC:</b> Spectrogram plot.
\li <b>DISPRAST:</b> Time raster plot (non-complex only)

<b>Plot Options</b>
\li <b>DISPOPTCPLX:</b> Signal is complex.
\li <b>DISPOPTLOG:</b> Start plot in semilog-y mode (time domain only).
\li <b>DISPOPTSTEM:</b> Start plot in stem mode (time domain only).
\li <b>DISPOPTSTRIP:</b> Run plot as a stripchart (time domain only).
\li <b>DISPOPTSCATTER:</b> Do scatter plot instead of lines (XY plot only).


\section ctrlport_probes ControlPort Probes

ControlPort provides a set of probes that can be used as sinks that
pass vectors of data across ControlPort. These probes are used to
sample or visualize data remotely. We can place a ControlPort probe
anywhere in the flowgraph to grab the latest sample of data from the
block it's connected to.

The main ControlPort probe to use is
<b>blocks.ctrlport_probe2_x</b>. From GRC, this is simply "CtrlPort
Probe", which can handle complex, floats, ints, shorts, and bytes. The
blocks are named and given a description to identify them over
ControlPort. The blocks also take a vector length for how many samples
to pass back at a time. Finally, these blocks take a display hint,
as described in the above section. This allows us to specify the
default behavior for how to display the samples.

Another block that can be used is the <b>fft.ctrlport_probe_psd</b> to
calculate the PSD and pass that over the ControlPort interface.

\section ctrlport_monitors ControlPort Monitors

There are two main ControlPort monitor applications provided with GNU
Radio. Both act similarly. The first is a standard ControlPort monitor
application. This connects to a running flowgraph and displays all
exported interfaces in a table format. The name, unit, latest sample,
and description of all interfaces are display in a
row. Double-clicking will open up the default display. Right clicking
any item will allow the user to select the type of plot to use to
display the data.

When a display is active, using the buttons at the top, the subwindows
can all be tiled or windowed as needed to manage the full
interface. We can then drag-and-drop any other item on top of a
currently running display plot.

To launch the ControlPort monitor application, know the IP address and
port of the ControlPort endpoint established by the flowgraph and run:

<pre>
gr-ctrlport-monitor \<ip-addr\> -p \<port\>
</pre>


\subsection perfmonitor Performance Monitor

A second application is used to locally redraw the flowgraph and
display some of the Performance Counters. In this application, the
nodes are blue boxes where the size of the box is proportional to the
work time and the color depth and line width are proportional to the
output buffer fullness.

The controls at the top of the Performance Monitor application allow
us to select the instantaneous, average, and variance values of the
Performance Counters. And the work time and buffer fullness can be
displayed as a table or bar graph.

To launch the Performance Monitor, run:

<pre>
gr-perf-monitorx \<ip-addr\> -p \<port\>
</pre>

*/