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XRPi Documentation - Interfacing
AGW Packet Engine Interface
SV2AGW's Packet Engine (commonly known as AGWPE) is a Windows program which manages packet radio hardware and provides AX25 services to other applications via a TCP/IP API (Application Programming Interface).
The API has been adopted by a number of other systems, some of which run on Linux, including XRPi itself.
XRPi's AGW interface allows you to use AGWPE or similar software "underneath" XRPi to manage the hardware, and to provide access to hardware not directly supported by XRPi.
You should not confuse this with XRPi's AGWHOST *emulator*, which is provided to support apps which expect to see AGWPE. The following diagram attempts to explain the difference:
UI-View etc <-- Application expecting AGW
.--------------------.
| (AGWHOST Emulator) | <-- App interacts with this
| |
| XRPi |
| |
| (AGW interface) | <-- Interacts with AGWPE
|--------------------|
| AGW Packet Engine |
'--------------------'
Soundcards etc. <-- Hardware supported by AGW
The AGW interface communicates with AGWPE's TCP/IP host interface, normally using TCP port 8000. XRPi always uses the Linux TCP/IP stack for this connection.
The AGW Packet engine (or a lookalike) may be located on the same PC or on a different PC, which could be anywhere in the world. Thus you could have a node in your shack whose RF ports are remotely located on a nice hilltop! Or you could remotely locate one of your ports to prevent desense etc.
You may configure more than one AGW interface, provided that each copy of AGWPE uses a different IP address/TCP port pair. A possible use would be a node which has its RF ports located on several different hilltops.
Configuring the INTERFACE
An AGW interface is specified like this:
INTERFACE=1 ; Change to suit yourself
TYPE=AGW
IOADDR=192.168.0.76 ; AGWPE IP (Default=localhost)
INTNUM=8001 ; AGWPE TCP port (Default=8000)
MTU=256
CONFIG=MyAgwPass ; Password for AGWPE
ENDINTERFACE
Note that IOADDR, INTNUM and CONFIG are all optional, and are only needed if you want to change the defaults.
IOADDR and INTNUM don't have the usual meaning. Instead they are used to specify the IP address and TCP port number used to communicate with AGWPE.
If you don't specify IOADDR, it defaults to 127.0.0.1, which is the same computer as XRPi is on. If AGWPE is on a different computer to XRPi, you need to enter its IP address here.
If you don't specify INTNUM, it defaults to 8000, which is the default AGW host port. Note that XRPi's AGWHOST emulator also defaults to this TCP port, so if you wish to leave AGWPE on port 8000 you must disable or reassign AGWPORT in XROUTER.CFG.
If you don't specify CONFIG, XRPi won't "authorise" with AGWPE. Authorisation is not usually required if you're using XRPi and AGWPE on the same computer. You can adjust the requirement for authorisation in AGWPE's setup.
If CONFIG is used, the "username" sent to AGWPE is the NODECALL and the "password" is the string specified by CONFIG.
Configuring the PORTs
An AGWPE interface can support 16 PORTs, which are declared in the usual way, each PORT using a different CHANNEL on the INTERFACE - for example:
PORT=1
ID=AGW Port 1
INTERFACENUM=1
CHANNEL=A
ENDPORT
PORT=2
ID=Agw Port 2
INTERFACENUM=1
CHANNEL=B
ENDPORT
Configuring AGWPE
- is currently beyond the scope of this page. Please refer to the documentation supplied with AGWPE