🧩 olg-scratchpad

olg-scratchpad is a local lab environment designed to emulate an OpenWiFi gateway–controller–client setup using Docker.
It provides containerized instances of VyOS (as a gateway router) and the uCentral Client, along with a host setup script to create macvlan networks and establish communication between the simulated components.

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📘 Overview

This environment simulates the end-to-end connectivity between:

• uCentral Client ↔ VyOS Router
• uCentral Client ↔ Cloud Controller
• VyOS Router ↔ APNOS Device

The goal is to replicate the OpenWiFi data flow from Access Point → Gateway → Cloud in a controlled, container-based environment.

🧱 Repository Structure

olg-scratchpad
├── documents # Design Documents
├── olg_setup.sh # Host and docker container setup script (creates macvlan networks and start containers)
├── README.md
├── ucentral-client # uCentral client for OLG
│   └── README.md
│   └── Dockerfile # Dockerfile to create docker image of ucentral-client from rootfs
│   └── rootfs/ # Contains the ucentral-client specific files from which docker image is created
└── vyos # VyOS Gateway for OLG
    ├── README.md
    └── vyos_config # The host volume required to mount in VyOS container
        ├── config.boot # The default vyos configuration to setup gateway's upstream interface and VyOS HTTP API Server
        └── scripts
            └── vyos-postconfig-bootup.script # The script to load the default VyOS configurations and perform specific operations after container gets initialized

⚙️ Components

VyOS (Router Gateway)

• Runs as a Docker container using an image (docker pull docker.io/routerarchitect123/vyos-2025.09.10-0018-rolling-generic:olgV1).
• Configured via config.boot and bootup scripts after reboot.
• Acts as a gateway device for APNOS device

uCentral Client

• Runs as a Docker container using an image (docker pull docker.io/routerarchitect123/ucentral-client:olgV1).
• uCentral Client acts as a configuration endpoint for the Gateway and is configured via cloud.
• Configures VyOS via rest API's exposed by its HTTPS API Server.
• Connects to Cloud Controller which configures the VyOS.

Host Setup Script – olg_setup.sh

• Prepares the Docker host environment:
  • Creates macvlan Docker networks for realistic L2 network segmentation.
  • Launches containers.

🧰 Execution Guide

Prerequisites

Before execution, ensure your host system has:

• Loaded Container Images for uCentral Client and VyOS in the Host.
• Two network interfaces:
  • eth0 – running a DHCP client, obtaining an IP from the upstream router.
  • eth1 – statically configured with a local IP.
• Configure variables in olg_setup.sh according to the host , specifically for Network & IP settings, The WAN_NET should be same as the network of host's eth0 interface.

Note

• The uCentral Client image is created from 3.1 and have certificates already embedded in it which works with Router-Architects Cloud Controller only.
• In order to make it work with custom cloud please replace the certificates.

Steps

1. Run the setup script:

./olg_setup.sh

2. Once the setup script completes, wait about a minute for VyOS to initialize. Then access the container:

docker exec -it vyos-olg su - vyos

3. Inside the VyOS container: Wait until eth0 (WAN) receives an IP via DHCP from the upstream router and has default route on eth0.

4. Note down the IP assigned to eth0 . This will be used in the uCentral configuration to reach the VyOS router.

ifconfig eth0

5. Access the uCentral Client container:

docker exec -it ucentral-olg /bin/ash

6. Update VyOS Connection Info. Edit /etc/ucentral/vyos-info.json . Replace the placeholder IP with the VyOS IP you noted earlier.

7. Start UBUS Service

/sbin/ubusd  &

8. Start uCentral Client This image ucentral-client:olgV1 is preconfigured with certificates and serial number details for demo purposes.

/usr/sbin/ucentral -S 74d4ddb965dc -s openwifi1.routerarchitects.com -P 15002 -d