EtherCAT Master Configuration Environment

Configuration environment for the EtherLab IgH EtherCAT Master (https://gitlab.com/etherlab.org/ethercat) on Debian 13.

History

The long history behind this repository is https://github.com/jeonghanlee/etherlabmaster. Most of the options are identical, but the old repository was redesigned to finish the same jobs. Only Debian is the supported platform.

Delivery Model

The environment delivers the same capability through two paths; a host uses one path, not both (they collide on /usr/bin/ethercat and the ethercat group). The capability-to-destination map is docs/delivery-model.md.

Production - Debian packages plus Ansible. There is no public apt source: build the package set from a checkout into a local apt repository first, then either provision with Ansible or install by hand.

git clone https://github.com/jeonghanlee/ethercat-env
cd ethercat-env
make init && make pkg.orig
# then dpkg-buildpackage + index a local apt repo - see docs/install.md

Provision with Ansible - the ethercat_master role installs the packages from the local repo, renders /etc/ethercat.conf, and starts ethercat.service:

cd ansible
ansible-playbook playbooks/site.yml -e ethercat_master_device=<iface>

Without Ansible, install and configure by hand: sudo apt install ethercat-host (pulls ethercat-dkms and ethercat-tools), copy the reference example to /etc/ethercat.conf, set MASTER0_DEVICE, and systemctl enable --now ethercat.service. libethercat1 / libethercat-dev are the runtime library and its development files. See docs/install.md for the full build and local-repo steps.

Development - Make wrapper. The retained wrapper builds and installs under the /opt/ethercat prefix for development and CI:

sudo apt install -y linux-headers-$(uname -r) build-essential libtool automake dkms
make init
make build.baseline

The full wrapper target surface (doctor, profiles, patches, DKMS lifecycle, runtime configuration, systemd/udev, RT host policy, removal, verification) is listed by make help.

Documentation

Document	Scope
docs/delivery-model.md	Package and role delivery model: the capability-to-destination map
docs/architecture.md	System architecture, delivery structure, and data flow
docs/install.md	Installation - production (packages + Ansible) and development (wrapper)
docs/operation.md	Routine operation and read-only status collection
docs/removal.md	Removal, rollback, and residue audit
docs/rt-tuning.md	Debian 13 real-time host policy (role and wrapper at parity)
docs/field-readiness.md	VM and hardware acceptance evidence model
docs/testplan_1.0.0.md	Release 1.0.0 cycle test plan
docs/milestone.md	Canonical work register and milestone status

Related Repositories

Repository	Role
ethercat-env-validation	VM real-execution validation: the source-build and package/Ansible acceptance vehicles and recorded evidence
etherlabmaster	Historical reference implementation
realtime-config	Real-time host configuration reference