Charge Point simulator environment based on Open OCPP library and MQTT protocol.
The simulators contains 3 applications :
- chargepoint : Simulated Charge Point based on Open OCPP
- launcher : Daemon which will add/remove/start/stop the simulated Charge Points instances
- supervisor : User friendly HMI to monitor and configure the Charge Point simulators
These 3 applications are communicating using the MQTT protocol and the simulated Charge Point instances communicate also using OCPP protocol with a Central System.
The project can be be built using ether docker or natively.
Docker must be installed.
Run the makefile target:
make docker-build-images
- Open OCPP library (see Build and installation procedure)
- Paho MQTT library 1.3.8 or greater
- Python 3.8 or greater with the following packages : kivy, paho-mqtt
- Mosquitto MQTT broker 2.0.11 or greater
For information, most of the development has been made on the following environment:
- Debian 11 (Bullseye)
- gcc 10.2 and clang 11.0
- Python 3.9
- Mosquitto 2.0.11
On Debian the pre-requisites (except for Open OCPP) can be installed using the following commands:
sudo apt install python3 python3-pip mosquitto libpaho-mqtt-dev
python3 -m pip install -r requirements.txt
The build is based on CMake, the following definitions must be passed to the CMake command to customize the build :
- TARGET : Allow to load the appropriate CMakeLists_TARGET.txt file
- BIN_DIR : Output directory for the generated binaries
- CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE : Can be set to either Debug or Release (Release build produces optimized stripped binaries)
Additionnaly, the CMakeLists_Options.txt contains several options that can be switched on/off.
An helper makefile is available at project's level to simplify the use of CMake. Just use the one of the following commands to build using gcc or gcc without cross compilation :
make gcc-native or make clang-native or make gcc-native BUILD_TYPE=Debug or make clang-native BUILD_TYPE=Debug
The option DISABLE_DOCKER=1 allows to build natively without docker.
This makefile also contains the corresponding cleaning targets :
make clean-gcc-native or make clean-clang-native
The build generates the following 2 executables :
- chargepoint
- launcher
The whole simulation environment is based on MQTT so the mosquitto broker must always be started to make it work. On Debian, the mosquitto broker can be started or stopped using th following commands:
systemctl start mosquitto
systemctl stop mosquitto
It can also be started automatically at system's startup using the following commands :
systemctl enable mosquitto
systemctl disable mosquitto
The working directory of the simulation environment must contain the following files :
- chargepoint
- launcher
- config.ini
The first 2 files are the binaries generated during the build. The last one is a configuration file which will be used as a template for the configuration of all the instances of the simulated Charge Points. You will find an example in the binaries directory alongside the 2 other files.
Then the launcher daemon will create a charepoints directory with a dedicated subdirectory for each simulated Charge Point instance and containing their persistent data.
### Starting the simulation
To start the simulation environment, use the following command :
./launcher
You must then see the following logs indicating that it has successfully connected to the MQTT broker and that it is wainting for commands :
OCPP charge point simulator launcher
Connecting to the broker (tcp://localhost:1883)...
Subscribing to simulated charge point's topics...
Subscribing to launcher's command topic...
Ready!
The launcher daemon must run to allow the supervisor to monitor and configure the simulated Charge Point instances.
To stop the launcher, just press Ctrl+C.
To start the supervisor, use the following command from within the src/supervisor directory :
python3 main.py
The supervisor window will appear :
Click on the "Connect!" button to connect to the MQTT broker and to the launcher.
You will now have access to the simulated Charge Point instances :
On the left of the window is the list of the simulated Charge Point instances. After selecting an instance, the right part of the window will contain :
- The instance's information : name, registration status with the Central System, configuration
- For each connector :
- Id and OCPP status
- Simulated inputs : car cable, car suspension, car consumption and id tag
On the bottom of the window are the command buttons :
- Add CP : instanciate a new simulated Charge Point
- Remove CP : remove a simulated Charge Point from the simulation environment
- Kill CP/Restart CP : kill/restart the simulated Charge Point instance
- Save setup : save the current simulation environment into a JSON file
- Load setup : load a previously save simulation environment from a JSON file
When adding a new simulated Charge Point, the following window will appear :
At this step you will configure the simulated Charge Point's behavior for charge point type (AC/DC), current consumption and the URL of the Central System it must connect to.
Warning : These settings cannot be modified afterwards. You will have to remove the current Charge Point and add a new one to "modify" them.
Once started, the simulated Charge Points will keep running even if the launcher and/or the supervisor are not running anymore. To take back control of the simulated Charge Points, just restart the launcher and the supervisor : they will appear into the list on the left side of the window.
You can then kill or remove the simulated Charge Points if needed.
The whole simulation environment can be monitored and controled through MQTT messages.
Here is the MQTT topic tree of the simulation environment :
cp_simu
|--launcher
| |-cmd
| |-status
|--cps
| |-simu_cp_XXX
| | |-cmd
| | |-status
| | |-connectors
| | | |-1
| | | | |-car
| | | | |-id_tag
| | | | |-status
| | | |-N
| | | | |-car
| | | | |-id_tag
| | | | |-status
| |-simu_cp_YYY
| | |-cmd
| | |-status
| | |-connectors
| | | |-1
| | | | |-car
| | | | |-id_tag
| | | | |-status
| | | |-N
| | | | |-car
| | | | |-id_tag
| | | | |-status
The simulation environment takes advantage of 2 MQTT features :
- Retained messages : all the status messages are retained to allow to obtain the simulation environment status on connection
- Will messages : the launcher and the simulated Charge Points both register a will message on their status topic so that it can be automatically updated when they stop after a crash or a user interruption
To remove a simulated Charge Point from the simulation environment, use the following protocol :
- Kill the simulated Charge Point instance through the launcher API
- Remove the retained status of the simulated Charge Point and its connectors in the MQTT broker by sending a retained message with an empty payload on their status topics
The launcher publishes its status as a retained message on the following topic : cp_simu/launcher/status.
The status can be either Alive or Dead.
The launcher listens to the following topic : cp_simu/launcher/cmd.
The start command allow to instanciate and start one or more new simulated Charge Points.
Payload :
{
"type": "start",
"charge_points": [
{ "id": "simu_cp_XXX", "type": "AC", "vendor": "Open OCPP AC", "model": "Simulated CP", "serial": "S/NABCD1234", "central_system": "ws://localhost:8080", "nb_connectors": 1, "nb_phases": 3, "voltage": 230.0, "max_setpoint": 32, "max_setpoint_per_connector": 16 },
{ "id": "simu_cp_YYY", "type": "AC", "vendor": "Open OCPP AC", "model": "Simulated CP", "serial": "S/NABCD5678", "central_system": "ws://localhost:8080", "nb_connectors": 2, "nb_phases": 1, "voltage": 230.0, "max_setpoint": 32, "max_setpoint_per_connector": 32 },
{ "id": "simu_cp_XXX", "type": "DC", "vendor": "Open OCPP DC", "model": "Simulated CP", "serial": "S/NABCD1234", "central_system": "ws://localhost:8080", "nb_connectors": 1, "nb_phases": 1, "voltage": 400.0, "max_setpoint": 300000, "max_setpoint_per_connector": 300000 },
{ "id": "simu_cp_YYY", "type": "DC", "vendor": "Open OCPP DC", "model": "Simulated CP", "serial": "S/NABCD5678", "central_system": "ws://localhost:8080", "nb_connectors": 2, "nb_phases": 1, "voltage": 230.0, "max_setpoint": 500000, "max_setpoint_per_connector": 250000 },
]
}
The kill command allow to kill one or more running simulated Charge Point instances.
Payload :
{
"type": "kill",
"charge_points": [
{ "id": "simu_cp_XXX" },
{ "id": "simu_cp_YYY" }
]
}
The restart command allow to restart one or more previously killed simulated Charge Point instances.
Payload :
{
"type": "restart",
"charge_points": [
{ "id": "simu_cp_XXX", "type": "AC", "vendor": "Open OCPP AC", "model": "Simulated CP", "serial": "S/NABCD1234", "central_system": "ws://localhost:8080", "nb_connectors": 1, "nb_phases": 3, "voltage": 230.0, "max_setpoint": 32, "max_setpoint_per_connector": 16 },
{ "id": "simu_cp_YYY", "type": "AC", "vendor": "Open OCPP AC", "model": "Simulated CP", "serial": "S/NABCD5678", "central_system": "ws://localhost:8080", "nb_connectors": 2, "nb_phases": 1, "voltage": 230.0, "max_setpoint": 32, "max_setpoint_per_connector": 32 },
{ "id": "simu_cp_XXX", "type": "DC", "vendor": "Open OCPP DC", "model": "Simulated CP", "serial": "S/NABCD1234", "central_system": "ws://localhost:8080", "nb_connectors": 1, "nb_phases": 1, "voltage": 400.0, "max_setpoint": 300000, "max_setpoint_per_connector": 300000 },
{ "id": "simu_cp_YYY", "type": "DC", "vendor": "Open OCPP DC", "model": "Simulated CP", "serial": "S/NABCD5678", "central_system": "ws://localhost:8080", "nb_connectors": 2, "nb_phases": 1, "voltage": 230.0, "max_setpoint": 500000, "max_setpoint_per_connector": 250000 },
]
}
The simulated Charge Points publish their status as a retained message on the following topic : cp_simu/cps/simu_cp_XXX/status.
The status message has the following payload :
{
"pid":69672,
"status":"Disconnected",
"vendor":"Open OCPP",
"model":"Simulated CP",
"serial":"S/NABCD1234",
"nb_phases":3,
"max_setpoint":32.0,
"central_system":"wss://127.0.0.1:9980/",
"type":"AC",
"voltage":230.0"
}
Each connector of the simulated Charge Point publishes its status as a retained message on the following topic : cp_simu/cps/simu_cp_XXX/connectors/N/status where N stands for the connector number.
The status message has the following payload :
{
"status":"Available",
"id_tag":"",
"max_setpoint":32.0,
"ocpp_setpoint":32.0,
"setpoint":0.0,
"consumption_l1":0.0,
"consumption_l2":0.0,
"consumption_l3":0.0,
"car_consumption_l1":0.0,
"car_consumption_l2":0.0,
"car_consumption_l3":0.0,
"car_cable_capacity":0.0,
"car_ready":true
}
Each connector of the simulated Charge Point are listening to the following topic to simulate interaction with a car : cp_simu/cps/simu_cp_XXX/connectors/N/car where N stands for the connector number.
The expected command payload is :
{
"cable": 32.0,
"ready": true,
"consumption_l1": 10.0,
"consumption_l2": 10.0,
"consumption_l3": 10.0
}
Each connector of the simulated Charge Point are listening to the following topic to simulate interaction with a user resenting an RFID card : cp_simu/cps/simu_cp_XXX/connectors/N/id_tag where N stands for the connector number.
The expected command payload is :
{
"id": "ID_TAG"
}
Each connector of the simulated Charge Point are listening to the following topic to force the Charge Point in faulted status : cp_simu/cps/simu_cp_XXX/connectors/N/faulted where N stands for the connector number.
The expected command payload is :
{
"faulted": false
}
Each simulated Charge Point are listening to the following topic to execute a certain command: cp_simu/cps/simu_cp_XXX/cmd.
The expected command payload is :
{
"type": "<cmd>"
}
So far there are 2 commands:
- close: ask to end the application
- ocpp_config: ask to send on MQTT topic cp_simu/cps/simu_cp_XXX/ocpp_config all the OCPP config of the Charge Point