Controller is the backend of the simulation system. It coordinates all machines and devices to perform tasks, such as turning on/off the sytem, collecting status, etc.

There are two parts: server and client. All communication between server and client is via gRPC.

Server runs on a single machine and connects to all clients to act as central control. It:

• dispatches command to all clients
• collect component status from all clients
• serve http APIs to frontend/UI

Client runs on every machine and acts as worker for server. Based on configuration, it:

• loads components to control apps, devices, etc
• reports status of components to server.

1. Install Python 2.7

   Choose X86 version regardless if OS is 64bit.

2. Install Make for Windows

   2.1. Download and install from http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages/make.htm

   2.2. Add "C:\Program Files (X86)\GnuWin32\bin" to System PATH

3. Install Microsoft Visual C++ Compiler for Python 2.7

   https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=44266

1. Install all the dependencies:

   make init

2. Build source code:

   make build

To have server or client run automatically on reboot:

make install-client

make install-server

To run server or client manually:

make run-client

make run-server