Node-RED
Introduction
Quoting from nodered.org:
Node-RED is a programming tool for wiring together hardware devices, APIs, and online services in new and interesting ways. It provides a browser-based editor that makes it easy to wire together flows using the wide range of nodes in the palette that can be deployed to its runtime in a single click.
This article complies with the Typographic Conventions for Torizon Documentation
Running on Torizon
Prerequisites
- A Toradex Computer on Module with Torizon installed.
Executing the Node-RED Container through the Command-Line
Getting Node-RED to run on Torizon is very easy, especially because the Node-RED project provides good support and documentation for Docker.
Below is the most basic setup to get started. Execute this command on the SoM:
you can try to use another tag for a newer version, such as latest
or any other tag listed on the images's Docker Hub, as long as it is available for your hardware architecture. We use a fixed version to make sure that such a version actually works and further updates do not compromise our examples and documentation.
# docker run -it -p 1880:1880 --name mynodered nodered/node-red:1.0.6-2
Expand the collapsible section below to see sample output. A similar output will be presented:
Command output from Node-RED bring-up in a container
In summary, the Docker image is downloaded and started, and Node-RED is exposed through port 1880.
Alternative: Executing the Node-RED Container through Portainer
The image TorizonCore with evaluation containers has many different demos. For instructions about how to install Torizon on your board, refer to Toradex Quickstart Guide.
With Portainer opened, explore it by going to the App Templates section in Portainer and click on the Node-RED template.
Usage
On a desktop PC connected to the same network as the Computer on Module, open a web-browser (for example Chrome or Firefox) and use either one of the following URLs:
http://<Board's Ethernet IP>:1880
or
http://<SoM name>-<serial number>.local:1880
See the example below for my Apalis iMX8, with Ethernet IP 192.168.10.5
and serial number 0333444555
. The zero to the left cannot be disregarded:
http://192.168.10.5:1880
or
http://apalis-imx8-0333444555.local:1880
And now you have access to the web-based Node-RED dashboard:
Next Steps / Additional Resources
Well done, now you know the basics! Go ahead and read the extensive Node-RED official documentation, which includes documentation for Docker as well:
Webinars
Toradex has presented webinars about Node-RED and you can watch them on demand.