Time Config Hub

Overview

The Time Config Hub provides a comprehensive tool for managing Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) configurations on Intel TSN-capable hardware platforms. It includes both manual configuration management and automatic daemon functionality:

• Manual Configuration: Apply, validate, and manage TSN configurations
• Daemon Mode: Background monitoring for automatic configuration application

All functionality is available through the unified tch command-line interface.

Key features:

• Support for XML and YAML configuration formats
• Command-line interface with tch command
• Linux service for automatic configuration monitoring
• Configuration validation and dry-run mode
• Integration with Linux Traffic Control (TC) subsystem
• Network interface detection and validation
• Systemd service integration for production deployment

The Time Config Hub is designed to run on end stations equipped with TSN-capable hardware such as Intel i226 network cards.

Requirements

Hardware Support

• Intel i226 TSN-capable network cards
• Other Intel TSN-enabled hardware platforms

Software Requirements

• Python 3.9 or higher
• Linux operating system (Ubuntu recommended)
• Root privileges for applying configurations
• Network interfaces with TSN capabilities
• Bash shell (for TSN Reference Software compatibility)
• systemd (for daemon mode)

Installation

Quick Install (Recommended)

cd <repo-root>
chmod +x install.sh
sudo ./install.sh

This script will:

• Install the Python package and all dependencies into a dedicated virtual environment
• Create a fixed venv at /opt/tch/venv (used by systemd)
• Create necessary directory structure:
  • /etc/tch/app_config/ - Application configuration files
  • /etc/tch/tsn_configs/ - TSN traffic configuration files (configurable via tch_app.conf)
  • /var/log/tch/ - Application logs (configurable via tch_app.conf)
• Set up the tch command-line tool via a stable symlink: /usr/local/bin/tch → /opt/tch/venv/bin/tch
• Install systemd service file (tch.service) for daemon service
• Configure appropriate file permissions and ownership

Uninstallation

To completely remove Time Config Hub:

cd <repo-root>
chmod +x uninstall.sh
sudo ./uninstall.sh

Uninstall Options:

• ./uninstall.sh --help - Show help and available options
• sudo ./uninstall.sh --force - Skip confirmation prompts (automated uninstall)

The uninstall script will:

• Stop and disable the TSN daemon service
• Remove the virtual environment (/opt/tch/) and command-line symlink (/usr/local/bin/tch)
• Remove all application directories and configuration files
• Remove systemd service files

Usage

Command Line Interface

The tch command provides the main interface:

# Check version and installation
tch --version

# Apply configuration (dry run to validate)
tch apply config.yaml --interface eth0 --dry-run

# Apply configuration (requires root privileges)
sudo tch apply config.yaml --interface eth0

# Get current config status
tch status --interface eth0 --format json

# Reset TSN configuration
sudo tch reset --interface eth0

# Validate configuration file
tch validate config.yaml  # Note: Not yet implemented

Daemon Commands

# Check daemon status
tch daemon-status

# Control systemd daemon service
sudo tch daemon-start
sudo tch daemon-stop  
sudo tch daemon-restart

Available Commands Summary

Command	Description
apply <config_file>	Apply TSN configuration from XML/YAML file
status [--interface]	Show current config status
reset [--interface]	Reset TSN configuration
daemon-status	Show daemon status information
daemon-start	Start systemd daemon service
daemon-stop	Stop systemd daemon service
daemon-restart	Restart systemd daemon service
validate <config_file>	Validate configuration file format (not yet implemented)
config-show	Show current CLI configuration

Configuration Files

Time Config Hub supports both XML and YAML formats.

TODO: Example YAML Configuration:

Programmatic API

from time_config_hub import TIMEConfigHub

# Initialize hub
config_hub = TIMEConfigHub()

# Apply configuration
success = config_hub.apply_config("config.yaml", interface="eth0")

# Get status
status = config_hub.get_status(interface="eth0")
print(f"Current config status: {status}")

Functional Test Example

For detailed instructions and sample configuration files, see examples/scenario_1.

Runtime Directories

After installation, the following system directories are created and used:

Application Directories (Fixed Locations)

• /etc/tch/app_config/ - Application configuration files (tch_app.conf)

TSN Configuration Directories (Configurable)

These directories are configurable via the tch_app.conf file:

• ConfigDirectory (default: /etc/tch/tsn_configs/) - TSN traffic configuration files
• LogDirectory (default: /var/log/tch/) - Application logs

Directory Configuration

The locations of ConfigDirectory and LogDirectory are read from: /etc/tch/app_config/tch_app.conf

Example configuration:

General:
    Verbosity: true
    LogDirectory: /var/log/tch
    LogLevel: DEBUG
    ConfigDirectory: /etc/tch/tsn_configs

Documentation

For technical and development information:

• PACKAGE_STRUCTURE.md - Developer documentation and package details
• Configuration examples in the repository
• Inline code documentation

Troubleshooting

Command tch not found after installation

• Verify the stable CLI symlink exists: ls -l /usr/local/bin/tch
• Verify the venv CLI works: /opt/tch/venv/bin/tch --version
• Verify the package inside the venv: sudo /opt/tch/venv/bin/python -m pip show time_config_hub
• If /usr/local/bin is not in PATH, add it or invoke /opt/tch/venv/bin/tch directly

Permission denied when applying configurations

• TSN configuration requires root privileges: sudo tch apply ...

Interface not found error

• Verify the network interface exists: ip link show
• Ensure the interface supports TSN features: tch status --interface <interface>

Configuration parsing errors

• Validate your XML/YAML files: tch validate config.yaml
• Use dry-run mode before applying: tch apply config.yaml --dry-run
• Check the configuration format matches the expected schema

Daemon not responding

• Check daemon status: tch daemon-status
• Verify daemon configuration: tch config-show
• Check systemd service: sudo systemctl status tch.service

Disclaimer

• This project demonstrates TSN functionality on supported platforms
• Not intended for production use
• Intended for specific platforms and BSP - other HW/SW combinations YMMV
• Users are responsible for their own products' functionality and performance

License

Refer to LICENSE

Support

For issues and questions:

1. Check the troubleshooting section above
2. Review the documentation and examples in PACKAGE_STRUCTURE.md
3. File issues in the project repository
4. Ensure you're using supported hardware (Intel i226 or compatible TSN cards)

Disclaimer

This project is under development. All source code and features on the main branch are for the purpose of testing or evaluation and not production ready.