EVerest DCFC

A multi-arch container that makes it easy to spin up a virtual DCFC for testing.

Features

• Multi-Architecture: Supports ARM64 (Apple Silicon, Raspberry Pi) and AMD64
• OCPP Support: Configurable OCPP version (1.6, 2.0.1, 2.1) via environment variable
• Multi-Connector: Configurable number of EVSEs/connectors (1–16) via NUM_CONNECTORS
• Charging Profiles: Full support for smart charging profiles
• Node-RED Dashboard: Visual interface for simulation control and monitoring
• Debug Build: Full debug symbols for detailed crash stack traces

Quick Start

Run the Container

Create a network w/ IPv6 enabled:

docker network create --ipv6 ip6net

Basic usage with OCPP 1.6:

docker run -d \
  --name everest \
  --network ip6net \
  -p 1880:1880 \
  -e OCPP_VERSION=1.6 \
  -e OCPP_URL=ws://your-csms-server:9000 \
  -e OCPP_ID=CP001 \
  ghcr.io/relion-charging/everest-dcfc:latest

Using OCPP 2.0.1:

docker run -d \
  --name everest \
  --network ip6net \
  -p 1880:1880 \
  -e OCPP_VERSION=2.0.1 \
  -e OCPP_URL=ws://your-csms-server:9000 \
  -e OCPP_ID=CP001 \
  ghcr.io/relion-charging/everest-dcfc:latest

Starting a charger with 8 connectors:

docker run -d \
  --name everest \
  --network ip6net \
  -p 1880:1880 \
  -e OCPP_VERSION=1.6 \
  -e OCPP_URL=ws://your-csms-server:9000 \
  -e OCPP_ID=CP001 \
  -e NUM_CONNECTORS=8 \
  ghcr.io/relion-charging/everest-dcfc:latest

Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
OCPP_VERSION	1.6	OCPP version to use. Options: 1.6, 2.0.1, 2.1
OCPP_URL	ws://localhost:9000	WebSocket URL of the CSMS (Central System)
OCPP_ID	CP1	Charge Point ID for OCPP registration
NUM_CONNECTORS	1	Number of EVSEs/connectors to simulate (1–16)

Multi-Connector Details

When NUM_CONNECTORS is set to more than 1, the container dynamically generates a full EVerest module stack for each connector at startup. Each connector gets its own evse_manager, yeti_driver, dc_supply, slac, evse_v2g, and ev_manager modules with independently addressable MQTT topics.

In the Node-RED dashboard, use the "Select Connector #" numeric input in the Connector panel to target a specific connector before clicking simulation or control buttons. For example, to start a session on connector 7 of an 8-connector charger:

1. Set NUM_CONNECTORS=8 when starting the container
2. Open the Node-RED dashboard at http://localhost:1880/dashboard
3. Set "Select Connector #" to 7
4. Toggle "Enable EV Simulation" on
5. Click "Car Plugin" to start a session on connector 7

Accessing the Interfaces

Once the container is running:

• Node-RED Dashboard: http://localhost:1880/ui
• Node-RED Editor: http://localhost:1880/admin

Node-RED Dashboard Features

The included Node-RED dashboard provides:

• Car Simulation Controls: Plugin/Unplug simulated EV
• Charging Controls: Pause/Resume charging sessions
• Monitoring: Real-time power, voltage, temperature display
• State Display: Current charging state

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                  Docker Container                    │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐    │
│  │              Supervisord (PID 1)             │    │
│  └─────────────┬──────────┬──────────┬─────────┘    │
│                │          │          │              │
│  ┌─────────┐   │  ┌───────┴───────┐  │  ┌────────┐  │
│  │Mosquitto│◄──┤  │   EVerest     │  ├─►│Node-RED│  │
│  │  :1883  │   │  │   Manager     │  │  │ :1880  │  │
│  └─────────┘   │  └───────────────┘  │  └────────┘  │
│       ▲        │          │          │       │      │
│       │        │          ▼          │       │      │
│       │        │  ┌───────────────┐  │       │      │
│       └────────┴──│  OCPP Client  │──┴───────┘      │
│                   │  (1.6/2.0.1)  │                  │
│                   └───────┬───────┘                  │
└───────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────┘
                            │
                            ▼
                    ┌───────────────┐
                    │     CSMS      │
                    │  (External)   │
                    └───────────────┘

File Structure

├── Dockerfile                   # Multi-stage build: EVerest + gomplate binary
├── entrypoint.sh                # Startup script: runs gomplate, injects OCPP config
├── supervisord.conf             # Process manager configuration
├── config-ocpp16.yaml.tmpl      # Gomplate template → EVerest config for OCPP 1.6
├── config-ocpp201.yaml.tmpl     # Gomplate template → EVerest config for OCPP 2.0.1/2.1
├── ocpp-config-16.json          # OCPP 1.6 protocol configuration (processed by jq)
├── ocpp-config-201.json         # OCPP 2.0.1 protocol configuration (processed by jq)
├── flows.json                   # Node-RED dashboard flows
└── README.md                    # This file

At runtime, entrypoint.sh calls gomplate on the appropriate .tmpl file. The template loops over NUM_CONNECTORS to emit one full EVerest module stack per connector, then appends the shared module section. The resulting /etc/everest/config.yaml is consumed by EVerest Manager.

To customise the EVerest module layout (e.g. change DC supply limits, add a new module), edit the relevant .tmpl file — no shell scripting required.

Charging Profile Support

This container includes full support for OCPP Smart Charging profiles:

• OCPP 1.6: SetChargingProfile, ClearChargingProfile, GetCompositeSchedule
• OCPP 2.0.1: Smart Charging feature profile with enhanced scheduling

The EnergyManager module processes charging profiles and adjusts the charging current accordingly.

Debugging

This container is built with full debug symbols (-g3 -ggdb) for better crash diagnostics. When a crash occurs, stack traces will include:

• Function names
• Source file names
• Line numbers

What Happens When a Crash Occurs

When a crash occurs (like the buffer overflow), the container will:

1. Print the error message to stdout/stderr (captured in docker logs)
2. Generate a core dump file at /tmp/everest-logs/core.* (if enabled)
3. The error will include memory addresses that can be resolved with debug symbols

Analyzing Crashes

# View container logs for crash information
docker logs everest

# Copy crash logs out of the container
docker cp everest:/tmp/everest-logs/ ./crash-logs/

# If core dumps are available, analyze with gdb
docker exec -it everest gdb /usr/local/bin/manager /tmp/everest-logs/core.*

GDB Commands for Crash Analysis

Once in gdb with a core dump:

# Show the stack trace
bt

# Show full stack trace with local variables
bt full

# Show source code context (if available)
list

# Print variable values
print <variable_name>

Troubleshooting

View Logs

# All logs
docker logs everest

# Follow logs
docker logs -f everest

# Specific service logs (exec into container)
docker exec -it everest tail -f /var/log/supervisor/everest.log
docker exec -it everest tail -f /var/log/supervisor/nodered.log
docker exec -it everest tail -f /var/log/supervisor/mosquitto.log

# Check for core dumps after a crash
docker exec -it everest ls -la /tmp/everest-logs/

Check Service Status

docker exec -it everest supervisorctl status

MQTT Debugging

# Subscribe to all EVerest topics
docker exec -it everest mosquitto_sub -t 'everest/#' -v

References

• EVerest Documentation
• EVerest Core Repository
• EVerest Demo
• OCPP Specification

License

Apache 2.0 - See the EVerest project for full license details.