Configuration

Configuration

BenchMesh uses a YAML configuration file to define connected devices and their settings.

Configuration File Location

The configuration file is located at:

benchmesh-serial-service/config.yaml

Configuration Format

The configuration uses YAML v1 schema:

version: 1
devices:
  - id: tenmapsu-1              # Unique device ID
    name: "TENMA PSU"            # Display name
    driver: tenma_psu            # Driver name
    port: /dev/tty722540         # Serial port path
    baud: 9600                   # Baud rate
    serial: 8N1                  # Data bits, parity, stop bits
    model: 72-2540               # Optional model override

Configuration Fields

Required Fields

Field	Description	Example
id	Unique identifier for the device	psu-1, dmm-bench
name	Human-readable display name	"Bench Power Supply"
driver	Driver module name	tenma_72, owon_xdm
port	Serial port path	/dev/ttyUSB0, COM3
baud	Baud rate	9600, 115200
serial	Serial format (data-parity-stop)	8N1, 7E1

Optional Fields

Field	Description	Example
model	Override device model detection	72-2540

Serial Port Formats

The serial field specifies data bits, parity, and stop bits:

• Data bits: 7 or 8
• Parity: N (none), E (even), O (odd)
• Stop bits: 1 or 2

Common formats:

• 8N1 - 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit (most common)
• 7E1 - 7 data bits, even parity, 1 stop bit
• 8E1 - 8 data bits, even parity, 1 stop bit

Available Drivers

BenchMesh includes drivers for various instruments:

Power Supplies (PSU)

• tenma_72 (alias: tenma_psu) - Tenma 72-series programmable power supplies

Spectrum Analyzers (SAL)

• owon_xsa - OWON XSA series spectrum analyzers

Digital Multimeters (DMM)

• owon_xdm - OWON XDM series multimeters

Electronic Loads (ELL)

• owon_oel - OWON OEL series electronic loads

Function Generators (AWG)

• owon_dge - OWON DGE series function generators

Serial Port Discovery

Linux

List available serial ports:

ls -l /dev/ttyUSB*
ls -l /dev/ttyACM*

For persistent device paths, use udev rules:

# Find device serial number
udevadm info -a -n /dev/ttyUSB0 | grep serial

# Create rule in /etc/udev/rules.d/99-benchmesh.rules
SUBSYSTEM=="tty", ATTRS{serial}=="A50285BI", SYMLINK+="tty722540"

Windows

Serial ports appear as COM1, COM2, etc.

Check Device Manager:

1. Open Device Manager
2. Expand "Ports (COM & LPT)"
3. Note the COM port number

macOS

List available ports:

ls -l /dev/tty.usb*
ls -l /dev/cu.usb*

Configuration Best Practices

1. Use descriptive IDs: Makes automation scripts more readable
2. Persistent port paths: Use udev rules on Linux for stable device paths
3. Document custom models: If using model overrides, document why
4. Backup configuration: Keep a backup copy of config.yaml

Modifying Configuration

Via UI (Recommended)

1. Click ⚙️ Configuration in the top bar
2. Add, edit, or remove devices
3. Click Save Configuration
4. Restart the service for changes to take effect

Manual Editing

1. Stop the BenchMesh service
2. Edit benchmesh-serial-service/config.yaml
3. Validate YAML syntax
4. Restart the service

Configuration Validation

The system validates configuration on startup:

• Required fields: Checks all required fields are present
• Driver existence: Verifies driver module exists
• Unique IDs: Ensures all device IDs are unique
• Serial format: Validates serial format string

Validation errors appear in the console log on startup.

Example Configurations

Single Power Supply

version: 1
devices:
  - id: psu-1
    name: "Bench PSU"
    driver: tenma_72
    port: /dev/ttyUSB0
    baud: 9600
    serial: 8N1

Multiple Instruments

version: 1
devices:
  - id: psu-main
    name: "Main Power Supply"
    driver: tenma_72
    port: /dev/ttyUSB0
    baud: 9600
    serial: 8N1

  - id: dmm-bench
    name: "Bench Multimeter"
    driver: owon_xdm
    port: /dev/ttyUSB1
    baud: 115200
    serial: 8N1

  - id: load-1
    name: "Electronic Load"
    driver: owon_oel
    port: /dev/ttyUSB2
    baud: 115200
    serial: 8N1

Environment Variables

Override default configuration path:

export BENCHMESH_CONFIG=/path/to/custom/config.yaml
python -m benchmesh_service.main