Provisioning & Testing
This page provides a first overview of the Provisioning workflows available for Controller configuration and testing.
RED 3.3 compliance
- We've added guidance on adapting your provisioning workflow to the RED 3.3 security requirements as this comes with changes to how passwords are handled. Read more about it here.
- Failing to adapt to the changes may lead to permanent Manufacturer lockout.
Provisioning workflows can support:
- Factory configuration
- Factory testing
- Spare part Controller preparation
If your main goal is | You may prefer | Because | High-level purpose | Tradeoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| # Fast direct per-unit configuration | SSH | Lowest overhead, direct persistency/file control | Direct access to the Controller, allowing for configuration, reboot, and configuration via config files | No guardrails, more control, more responsibility |
| # Manual configuration through the device interface | Config UI | Configuration is done through the existing device interface | Configuration through the device interface | No automation |
| # Offline file-based configuration | USB stick | Configuration can be applied without network access | Offline file-based configuration | Not very flexible but quick to implement |
| # Structured configuration, testing, and validation | Test Adapter | Built for repeatable configuration, test execution, and validation flows | Repeatable configuration and production test execution | Comes with decent overhead but great for large-scale provisioning. Often combined with SSH |
| # Full production flow (configure + verify) | SSH + Test Adapter | SSH for direct access, Test Adapter for repeatable configuration and testing | Direct configuration and repeatable configuration and production test execution | Combines the flexibility of SSH with the configuration and test structure of Test Adapter |
Combining methods
Most production workflows combine multiple methods. You may for example use USB-stick based configuration for enabling the REST interface and setting a static IP address, then use SSH in combination with the Test Adapter for everything else.
1 How to set up your provisioning workflow
This is the intended way to set up provisioning for a batch of Charge Controllers:
- Configure manually on one unit: apply all required settings on a single unit via SSH or the Config UI
- Validate behavior: confirm the unit behaves correctly before touching any other unit
- Automate: Re-use the established baseline from the the validated unit to configure the remaining units via SSH, USB, or Test Adapter