build(docker): Add remote radio support in docker by Lakshmi97-velampati · Pull Request #201 · rdkcentral/BartonCore

Lakshmi97-velampati · 2026-04-08T17:14:56Z

Add an optional otbr-radio Docker container that connects a Silicon Labs BRD2703 xG24 Explorer Kit to the Barton devcontainer via D-Bus, enabling Thread integration testing with real hardware.

Dockerfile.otbr-radio: builds image with cpcd and otbr-agent compiled for CPC transport; uses the URL spinel+cpc://cpcd_0?iid=1&iid-list=0 to handle both unicast and broadcast Spinel frames
compose.otbr-radio.yaml: compose overlay that shares a D-Bus socket volume with the barton service and maps RADIO_DEVICE at the same path on both the host and container sides
otbr-radio-entrypoint.sh: writes a fresh cpcd config on every start (uart_device_file, uart_hardflow: true), waits for "Daemon startup was successful" before launching otbr-agent, and auto-detects BACKBONE_IF from the host default route at runtime
setupDockerEnv.sh: auto-detects the backbone interface via ip route and writes it to docker/.env;

Refs: BARTON-359

Add an optional otbr-radio Docker container that connects a Silicon Labs BRD2703 xG24 Explorer Kit to the Barton devcontainer via D-Bus, enabling Thread integration testing with real hardware. - Dockerfile.otbr-radio: builds image with cpcd and otbr-agent compiled for CPC transport; uses the URL spinel+cpc://cpcd_0?iid=1&iid-list=0 to handle both unicast and broadcast Spinel frames - compose.otbr-radio.yaml: compose overlay that shares a D-Bus socket volume with the barton service and maps RADIO_DEVICE at the same path on both the host and container sides - otbr-radio-entrypoint.sh: writes a fresh cpcd config on every start (uart_device_file, uart_hardflow: true), waits for "Daemon startup was successful" before launching otbr-agent, and auto-detects BACKBONE_IF from the host default route at runtime - setupDockerEnv.sh: auto-detects the backbone interface via ip route and writes it to docker/.env; Refs: BARTON-359 Signed-off-by: mvelam850 <munilakshmi_velampati@comcast.com>

Copilot

Pull request overview

Adds an optional “real USB radio” Thread Border Router path for Barton’s Docker-based dev environment by introducing an otbr-radio sidecar container (cpcd + otbr-agent) that shares a D-Bus socket volume with the main barton container, enabling Thread integration testing against real BRD2703 hardware.

Changes:

Add an otbr-radio Docker image + entrypoint that brings up D-Bus, Avahi, cpcd, then otbr-agent over CPC (spinel+cpc://).
Add a Compose overlay to run otbr-radio with host networking/privileges and share /var/run/dbus with barton.
Extend tooling/docs: dockerw -T flag, .env variables (RADIO_DEVICE, BACKBONE_IF), and setup instructions.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 7 out of 7 changed files in this pull request and generated 4 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
docs/THREAD_BORDER_ROUTER_SUPPORT.md	Adds end-to-end documentation for simulated vs real-radio Thread setup, including USB-IP guidance.
dockerw	Adds `-T` flag to include the OTBR radio compose overlay and start the `otbr-radio` service.
docker/setupDockerEnv.sh	Writes optional `RADIO_DEVICE` and `BACKBONE_IF` into `docker/.env`, with backbone IF auto-detection.
docker/README.md	Documents the new compose overlay and the `-T` flag.
docker/otbr-radio-entrypoint.sh	New entrypoint that orchestrates D-Bus, Avahi, cpcd, and otbr-agent startup for CPC-based RCP.
docker/Dockerfile.otbr-radio	New build for cpcd + otbr-agent (Silabs GSDK transport/CPC) and D-Bus policy.
docker/compose.otbr-radio.yaml	New compose overlay that runs `otbr-radio` privileged with host networking and shares D-Bus socket volume with `barton`.

kfundecmcsa

I have a couple open questions, but requesting changes for the title. This effort should fall into the build commit type, not feat

Lakshmi97-velampati · 2026-04-13T13:01:07Z

I have a couple open questions, but requesting changes for the title. This effort should fall into the build commit type, not feat

Updated

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 7 out of 7 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 8 out of 8 changed files in this pull request and generated 5 comments.

tleacmcsa · 2026-04-17T12:10:56Z

Be sure to take this PR out of draft when you are ready for re-review.

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 8 out of 8 changed files in this pull request and generated 4 comments.

Lakshmi97-velampati · 2026-04-24T13:22:13Z

@cleithner-comcast and @kfundecmcsa : you have comments that are still open. Please review the responses/changes and mark them resolved if satisfied. @Lakshmi97-velampati same for you, but for copilot's comments. Please let me know if its ready for me to try out.

@tleacmcsa yes, you can try this.

cleithner-comcast · 2026-04-24T15:18:07Z

Marked comments resolved

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 8 out of 8 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.

tleacmcsa

This generally worked with the exception that I had to change the DBUS_SYSTEM_BUS_ADDRESS value set in compose.otbr-radio.yaml to point to the otbr-dbus path.

Thread subsystem worked, but I could not commission a Matter+Thread device since there is no bluez/Bluetooth support. We need to add bluez in the same container as otbr-agent since they both can use the same radio for Thread and bluetooth. Its fine with me if the bluetooth/bluez part comes in a follow-up PR though.

To confirm, were you able to commission a Matter+Thread device in this configuration? How did you decide it was successful, the Thread subsystem showing ready?

tleacmcsa · 2026-04-28T18:34:26Z

+        volumes:
+            - dbus-socket:/var/run/otbr-dbus
+        environment:
+            - DBUS_SYSTEM_BUS_ADDRESS=${DBUS_SYSTEM_BUS_ADDRESS:-unix:path=/var/run/dbus/system_bus_socket}


Why isnt this the otbr-dbus?

unix:path=/var/run/dbus/system_bus_socket fallback is the safe default for the no-hardware case, and dockerw -T (or the devcontainer environment when hardware is configured) overrides it to the private bus.

FYI, i am only testing the devcontainer method (as I expect most users of this would since we almost always work in the IDE). I did not see how to get this working without hacking on this yaml file to change it to the otbr-dbus. Please try that out and be sure to test with devcontainer.

Sure will try it.

Lakshmi97-velampati · 2026-04-30T11:12:24Z

This generally worked with the exception that I had to change the DBUS_SYSTEM_BUS_ADDRESS value set in compose.otbr-radio.yaml to point to the otbr-dbus path.

Thread subsystem worked, but I could not commission a Matter+Thread device since there is no bluez/Bluetooth support. We need to add bluez in the same container as otbr-agent since they both can use the same radio for Thread and bluetooth. Its fine with me if the bluetooth/bluez part comes in a follow-up PR though.

To confirm, were you able to commission a Matter+Thread device in this configuration? How did you decide it was successful, the Thread subsystem showing ready?

Thanks for testing this and for adding the BLE support.

Apologies, I haven’t validated the commissioning flow yet. My checks were limited to confirming that the otbr-agent is running in the new container.

I’ll verify the commissioning flow now with the BLE changes you’ve added and confirm the results.

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 19 out of 19 changed files in this pull request and generated 4 comments.

+            # AF_BLUETOOTH (e.g. bluetoothctl) can run via nsenter.
+            - /proc/1/ns/net:/run/host-netns:ro
+        environment:
+            - DBUS_SYSTEM_BUS_ADDRESS=${DBUS_SYSTEM_BUS_ADDRESS:-unix:path=/var/run/otbr-dbus/system_bus_socket}


 2. If using Matter, configure and build your Matter SDK as described in [MATTER_SUPPORT.md]().
 3. If using Zigbee, see [ZIGBEE_SUPPORT.md]().
-4. If using OpenThread's Border Router, see [THREAD_BORDER_ROUTER_SUPPORT.md]().
+4. If using OpenThread's Border Router, see [REMOTE_RADIO_FOR_DEVELOPMENT.md]().


+        if echo "${HCI_DEVICES}" | grep -q "hci${BLE_ADAPTER_ID}"; then
+            pass "hci${BLE_ADAPTER_ID} is present in host network namespace"
+
+            HCI_STATUS=$(echo "${HCI_DEVICES}" | grep -A2 "hci${BLE_ADAPTER_ID}:" || true)


+echo "[otbr-radio] Starting cpcd (instance: cpcd_0, device: ${RADIO_DEVICE})..."
+CPCD_LOG="/tmp/cpcd.log"
+: > "${CPCD_LOG}"
+cpcd --conf "${CPCD_CONF}" > >(tee "${CPCD_LOG}") 2>&1 &


…ation

hcitool uses the legacy HCI socket interface which permanently conflicts with bluetoothd's MGMT socket. Starting an LE scan via hcitool and killing it leaves the kernel MGMT layer stuck, causing all subsequent StartDiscovery calls to fail with InProgress. Changes: - Rewrite ble_verify_scan() to use hciconfig instead of hcitool lescan - Make ble_health_check() passive (read D-Bus properties only, no StartDiscovery/StopDiscovery) to avoid conflicts with Matter SDK scans - Remove hciconfig down and hcitool cmd HCI_Reset from init sequence; simplify to hciconfig up with down/up recovery cycle - Update usbip-validate.sh checks for revised BLE stack behavior

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 20 out of 20 changed files in this pull request and generated 6 comments.

+            # AF_BLUETOOTH (e.g. bluetoothctl) can run via nsenter.
+            - /proc/1/ns/net:/run/host-netns:ro
+        environment:
+            - DBUS_SYSTEM_BUS_ADDRESS=${DBUS_SYSTEM_BUS_ADDRESS:-unix:path=/var/run/otbr-dbus/system_bus_socket}


+echo "[otbr-radio] Starting private D-Bus system bus at ${DBUS_SYSTEM_BUS_ADDRESS}..."
+mkdir -p "${DBUS_DIR}"
+if [ -S "${DBUS_SOCKET_PATH}" ]; then
+    echo "[otbr-radio] Removing stale D-Bus socket ${DBUS_SOCKET_PATH}..."
+    rm -f "${DBUS_SOCKET_PATH}"
+fi
+dbus-daemon --config-file=/etc/otbr-dbus.conf --fork --nopidfile
+echo "[otbr-radio] Private D-Bus started."
+
+###############################################################################
+# 2. Validate the USB radio device
+###############################################################################
+if [ -z "${RADIO_DEVICE}" ]; then
+    echo "[otbr-radio] ERROR: RADIO_DEVICE is not set." >&2
+    echo "[otbr-radio]        Set it in docker/.env or export before starting:" >&2
+    echo "[otbr-radio]            export RADIO_DEVICE=/dev/ttyACM0" >&2
+    echo "[otbr-radio]        See docs/REMOTE_RADIO_FOR_DEVELOPMENT.md for setup instructions." >&2
+    exit 1
+fi


+  <listen>unix:path=/var/run/otbr-dbus/system_bus_socket</listen>
+  <auth>ANONYMOUS</auth>
+  <allow_anonymous/>
  <policy context="default">
-    <allow own="io.openthread.BorderRouter.wpan0"/>
-    <allow send_destination="io.openthread.BorderRouter.wpan0"/>
-    <allow send_interface="*"/>
+    <allow user="*"/>
+    <allow own="*"/>
    <allow send_type="*"/>
-    <allow receive_sender="*"/>
+    <allow send_destination="*"/>
    <allow receive_type="*"/>
+    <allow receive_sender="*"/>


+    # Use timeout because bluetoothctl blocks if bluetoothd is not running.
+    BT_LIST=$(timeout 5 sudo nsenter --net="${HOST_NETNS}" bluetoothctl list 2>/dev/null || true)


+#   scripts/usbip-attach-local.sh user@remote-server
+#   scripts/usbip-attach-local.sh remote-server    # uses current username
+#
+# Leave the terminal open while you work.  Press Ctrl-C to close the tunnel.
+# Run scripts/usbip-detach-local.sh to clean up.


+        char *endPtr = nullptr;
+        unsigned long val = strtoul(env, &endPtr, 10);
+
+        if (endPtr != env && *endPtr == '\0')
+        {
+            adapterId = static_cast<uint32_t>(val);
+            icInfo("Using BLE adapter hci%u from %s", adapterId, BLE_CONTROLLER_ADAPTER_ID_ENV);


Lakshmi97-velampati requested review from cleithner-comcast, kfundecmcsa, mkkoch, rchowdcmcsa and tleacmcsa as code owners April 8, 2026 17:14

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings April 8, 2026 17:14

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of Lakshmi97-velampati April 8, 2026 17:15 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Apr 8, 2026

View reviewed changes

Comment thread docker/otbr-radio-entrypoint.sh Outdated

Comment thread docker/otbr-radio-entrypoint.sh Outdated

Comment thread docker/setupDockerEnv.sh Outdated

Comment thread dockerw Outdated

kfundecmcsa requested changes Apr 9, 2026

View reviewed changes

Comment thread docs/THREAD_BORDER_ROUTER_SUPPORT.md Outdated

Comment thread docs/THREAD_BORDER_ROUTER_SUPPORT.md Outdated

Lakshmi97-velampati changed the title ~~feat(docker): Add thread radio support in docker~~ build(docker): Add thread radio support in docker Apr 13, 2026

build(docker) : address review findings by copilot

492020d

Lakshmi97-velampati requested a review from Copilot April 13, 2026 13:01

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of Lakshmi97-velampati April 13, 2026 13:02 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Apr 13, 2026

View reviewed changes

Comment thread docker/Dockerfile.otbr-radio

cleithner-comcast requested changes Apr 13, 2026

View reviewed changes

Comment thread docker/compose.otbr-radio.yaml Outdated

Comment thread docker/compose.otbr-radio.yaml Outdated

Comment thread docker/compose.otbr-radio.yaml Outdated

Comment thread docker/otbr-radio-entrypoint.sh Outdated

Comment thread docker/otbr-radio-entrypoint.sh Outdated

Merge branch 'main' into mvelam850/dev/threadRadionInDockerCompose

3f3bd21

Lakshmi97-velampati requested review from cleithner-comcast, Copilot and kfundecmcsa April 16, 2026 12:15

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of Lakshmi97-velampati April 16, 2026 12:15 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Apr 16, 2026

View reviewed changes

Comment thread docker/otbr-radio-entrypoint.sh Outdated

Comment thread docker/compose.otbr-radio.yaml Outdated

Comment thread docker/compose.otbr-radio.yaml Outdated

Comment thread docker/compose.otbr-radio.yaml Outdated

Comment thread .devcontainer/devcontainer.json

Lakshmi97-velampati marked this pull request as draft April 17, 2026 02:10

Merge branch 'main' into mvelam850/dev/threadRadionInDockerCompose

7eba8d7

Lakshmi97-velampati marked this pull request as ready for review April 17, 2026 16:03

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings April 17, 2026 16:03

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of Lakshmi97-velampati April 17, 2026 16:04 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Apr 17, 2026

View reviewed changes

Comment thread docs/THREAD_BORDER_ROUTER_SUPPORT.md Outdated

Comment thread docker/compose.otbr-radio.yaml Outdated

Comment thread dockerw Outdated

Comment thread dockerw Outdated

Merge branch 'main' into mvelam850/dev/threadRadionInDockerCompose

af4bc0a

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings April 27, 2026 15:16

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of cleithner-comcast April 27, 2026 15:16 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Apr 27, 2026

View reviewed changes

Comment thread dockerw

Comment thread docker/otbr-radio-entrypoint.sh

tleacmcsa reviewed Apr 28, 2026

View reviewed changes

Comment thread docs/THREAD_BORDER_ROUTER_SUPPORT.md Outdated

Comment thread dockerw

tleacmcsa reviewed Apr 28, 2026

View reviewed changes

Merge branch 'main' into mvelam850/dev/threadRadionInDockerCompose

cf0abce

Lakshmi97-velampati marked this pull request as draft April 29, 2026 14:01

tleacmcsa reviewed Apr 29, 2026

View reviewed changes

Comment thread docker/Dockerfile.otbr-radio Outdated

added simultaneous bluetooth support on same silabs radio

2e68240

tleacmcsa dismissed stale reviews from cleithner-comcast, kfundecmcsa, and rchowdcmcsa via 2e68240 April 29, 2026 17:12

pick the right ble adapter for matter sdk

adf2734

Lakshmi97-velampati and others added 2 commits May 3, 2026 11:39

Merge branch 'main' into mvelam850/dev/threadRadionInDockerCompose

8db26b1

helper scripts and doc updates

0b3a612

tleacmcsa changed the title ~~build(docker): Add thread radio support in docker~~ build(docker): Add remote radio support in docker May 11, 2026

Merge branch 'main' into mvelam850/dev/threadRadionInDockerCompose

c7131c8

Lakshmi97-velampati marked this pull request as ready for review May 19, 2026 06:12

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings May 19, 2026 06:12

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of Lakshmi97-velampati May 19, 2026 06:13 View session

Copilot AI reviewed May 19, 2026

View reviewed changes

Lakshmi97-velampati and others added 2 commits May 19, 2026 11:05

fix private D-Bus connectivity and bluetoothd host system bus registr…

cde9e19

…ation

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings May 20, 2026 19:53

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of tleacmcsa May 20, 2026 19:53 View session

Copilot AI reviewed May 20, 2026

View reviewed changes

		# Use timeout because bluetoothctl blocks if bluetoothd is not running.
		BT_LIST=$(timeout 5 sudo nsenter --net="${HOST_NETNS}" bluetoothctl list 2>/dev/null \|\| true)

Conversation

Lakshmi97-velampati commented Apr 8, 2026

Uh oh!

Copilot AI left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Pull request overview

Reviewed changes

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

kfundecmcsa left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Lakshmi97-velampati commented Apr 13, 2026

Uh oh!

Copilot AI left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Pull request overview

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Copilot AI left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Pull request overview

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

tleacmcsa commented Apr 17, 2026

Uh oh!

Copilot AI left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Pull request overview

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Lakshmi97-velampati commented Apr 24, 2026

Uh oh!

cleithner-comcast commented Apr 24, 2026

Uh oh!

Copilot AI left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Pull request overview

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

tleacmcsa left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

tleacmcsa Apr 28, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Lakshmi97-velampati Apr 29, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

tleacmcsa Apr 29, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Lakshmi97-velampati Apr 29, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Lakshmi97-velampati commented Apr 30, 2026

Uh oh!

Copilot AI left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment