OpenLCB™ Development Documentation Index

This is the head page of the OpenLCB documentation web.

• If you are a novice, or just want a simple user-view, without technical detail, see the "First Look" page, or the“Brochure”.

• If you want a more in depth summary, with some technical detail, see the General Description.

• If you want to know how OpenLCB fits in with your layout, see the Use Cases.

• If you're interested in the gory technical details, see the Technical Introduction and read on below.

The information on the rest of this page is being migrated to new documents on the“OpenLCB Standards and Technical Notes” page. You should look there first for information, only coming back here for information on things we haven't formalized yet.

In some cases, we'll propose our documents to the NMRA as “draft NMRA Standards and Technical Notes”.

Primary Documents

• Overview

• FAQ

• Glossary (.pdf) (.odt)

• Bibliography

• Use Cases and Typical Equipment (This has become an NMRA draft document on another page)

• To Do List - Outstanding Items

• Common Communications Protocol

• Standard Interactions

• (including node IDs)

  • Globally assigned ranges (spreadsheet) (pdf)

• Additional Communications Protocols

  • Event Exchange

    • Assignment of unique Event ID numbers

  • Datagrams

  • Streams

• Additional Functional Protocols

  • Configuration Description Information format for information about how to configure a node.

  • Abbreviated Default Configuration Description Information for quick reads of a small amount of information from a node

  • Teach/Learn Configuration Protocol for self-contained configuration of producer/consumer nodes.

  • Early proposal for a general-purpose Reservation Protocol.

• NMRA 2010 Convention Demo Notes and Diagrams

Specific Wire Protocols

CAN Segments

• Introduction

• Node ID Alias Allocation Algorithm

• Examples:

  • CAN-TCP-CAN-TCP example - worked example of routing discovery across several links

• There was some discussion of a “common CAN physical layer”, e.g. a common hardware platform, at the NMRA 2010 meeting and after. Although this effort eventually failed, it may have been revived at the NMRA 2011 meeting. For more information, see our page on OpenLCB proposals to the NMRA.

• CAN Background Information

• On Node ID Alias Size – a note on the issues underlying the decision to have N bits in a Node ID alias

• Note on the statistics of Node ID alias collisions

Binary Serial Links

Binary serial links include several types.

• Introduction

TCP/IP Links

XigBee Wireless Links

Ethernet Links

(see preliminary Role of Ethernet note below)

Memory Representations

Memory representations are used within a program. These are not normative, in that they're not standards, but are rather examples and prototypes used for testing.

Notes

Non-normative notes containing background information on decisions, etc.

• Memory Access Configuration Protocol for configuring nodes via remote access to the contained configuration information

• Numerology - discussion of reasoning behind decisions on field sizes

• Message Format - discussion of reasoning behind message format decisions

• Routing - development of routing protocol

• Message Types for Simple Nodes - how simple nodes can interact with a subset of the protocol. (Older note that might provide background)

• LocoNet Connections - how to map and connect OpenLCB to Loconet

• External Connections - how to map and connect OpenLCB to external systems like DCC, XPressNet, etc

• Use With DCC - discussion of adapters between OpenLCB and DCC controls

• Signaling - discussion of using OpenLCB for layout train signals

• Control Points – initial discussion of using OpenLCB to model North American signaling “control points”

• Discovery of Topology - discussion of how to discover the module connections in a large modular layout, and what to do with that information

• Locomotive Control – looking into how to eventually implement locomotive control (throttles) over OpenLCB

• RFID Usage – looking into how to transfer RFID information over OpenLCB

• Ident Method – development of a method for identifying a specific node to configuration tools via some user interaction.

• Display Protocol – lightweight protocol for driving simple displays e.g. on throttle nodes or placed around a layout.

• Role of Ethernet – role of direct (not via IP) Ethernet connectivity

• On Software Structure – Some discussion of how various structures for computer programs work with OpenLCB

• On Using Producer/Consumer Events– Discussion of how Producer/Consumer Events can be used on a model railroad.

• On Layout ID – discussion of the need for a unique “Layout ID” string

• Logging – a proposal for a common error logging and retrieval technique

• Remote Button Protocol – a proposal for providing remote access to node (board) buttons and LEDs, to make configuration stoopless.

• Bootloader – a proposal for a common node bootloader technique

• Wireless – discussion of protocol issues when communicating over weak wireless links

Examples

Non-normative examples of using the proposed protocols.

• Blue/Gold Configuration Protocol for self-contained configuration of producer/consumer nodes.

• Fast-clock example and discussion

• Examples of use by modular clubs and discussion

• Start of Day operations for managing layout state.

• OSI model layers - discussion of how OpenLCB maps to the OSI networking model.

• Node Management - examples of various forms of network management.

• CAN-TCP-CAN-TCP example - example of routing access across several links and CAN segments

• Segment Startup - calculation of traffic during the startup of a CAN segment

• Crossing Gate example – how a model railroader can first encounter OpenLCB when building a crossing gate

Diagrams:

• GUI – Graphical User Interface

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