Installation & Setup

This guide covers setting up connections to the Flows platform. Note: This assumes Flows is already deployed and running.

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8+ for simt-emlite
• PostgreSQL client tools
• Network access to Flows API
• Authentication credentials

Client Installation

Flows CLI Tools (simt-emlite)

The Flows CLI tools provide the emop and mediators commands for meter operations:

# Install from PyPI (recommended)
pip install simt-emlite

# Check installation
emop --version
mediators --version

# Or install from source for development
git clone https://github.com/cepro/simt-emlite.git
cd simt-emlite
pip install -e .

Latest Version: 0.23.7 - View on PyPI

Configuration

Create configuration file at ~/.simt/emlite.env:

# Database connection
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:pass@flows.simtricity.com:5432/flows
FLOWS_API_URL=https://api.flows.simtricity.com

# Authentication
JWT_SECRET=your-jwt-secret
API_TOKEN=your-api-token

# Environment
ENVIRONMENT=production  # or development, staging

# Meter communication
MEDIATOR_GRPC_PORT=50051
MEDIATOR_TIMEOUT=30

CLI Setup

Configure the emop CLI:

# Set environment
emop env_set prod

# Test connection
emop env_show

# List available meters
emop list

Database Connection

Direct PostgreSQL Access

# Connect via psql
psql postgresql://user:pass@flows.simtricity.com:5432/flows

# Set search path
SET search_path TO flows, public;

# Test query
SELECT COUNT(*) FROM meter_registry WHERE mode = 'active';

Python Database Access

import psycopg2
from psycopg2.extras import RealDictCursor

# Connect to database
conn = psycopg2.connect(
    host="flows.simtricity.com",
    port=5432,
    database="flows",
    user="your_user",
    password="your_password"
)

# Query with dict cursor
with conn.cursor(cursor_factory=RealDictCursor) as cur:
    cur.execute("""
        SELECT serial, name, balance 
        FROM meter_registry mr
        JOIN meter_shadows ms ON mr.id = ms.id
        WHERE mr.mode = 'active'
    """)
    meters = cur.fetchall()

API Setup

Authentication

Generate JWT token:

import jwt
import datetime

def generate_token(secret, user_id, esco_id):
    payload = {
        'user_id': user_id,
        'esco_id': esco_id,
        'exp': datetime.datetime.utcnow() + datetime.timedelta(hours=24),
        'iat': datetime.datetime.utcnow()
    }
    return jwt.encode(payload, secret, algorithm='HS256')

token = generate_token(JWT_SECRET, 'user123', 'esco-uuid')

API Client

import requests

class FlowsAPIClient:
    def __init__(self, base_url, token):
        self.base_url = base_url
        self.headers = {
            'Authorization': f'Bearer {token}',
            'Content-Type': 'application/json'
        }
    
    def get_meters(self):
        response = requests.get(
            f"{self.base_url}/meter_registry",
            headers=self.headers
        )
        response.raise_for_status()
        return response.json()
    
    def get_meter_state(self, meter_id):
        response = requests.get(
            f"{self.base_url}/meter_shadows",
            params={'id': f'eq.{meter_id}'},
            headers=self.headers
        )
        response.raise_for_status()
        return response.json()[0] if response.json() else None

Mediator Server Setup

Local Development

Run mediator server locally for testing:

# Start mediator for a specific meter
mediators create EML2137580826
mediators start EML2137580826

# Check status
mediators list

Production Deployment

Mediators run on Fly.io:

# Deploy mediator app
fly deploy --app mediators-wlce

# Scale mediators
fly scale count 10 --app mediators-wlce

# Check logs
fly logs --app mediators-wlce

Environment Variables

Required Variables

Variable	Description	Example
DATABASE_URL	PostgreSQL connection string	postgresql://user:pass@host:5432/flows
FLOWS_API_URL	API endpoint	https://api.flows.simtricity.com
JWT_SECRET	JWT signing secret	your-secret-key
ESCO_ID	Energy community ID	550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000

Optional Variables

Variable	Description	Default
LOG_LEVEL	Logging verbosity	INFO
API_TIMEOUT	Request timeout (seconds)	30
RETRY_COUNT	API retry attempts	3
CACHE_TTL	Cache duration (seconds)	300

Network Requirements

Firewall Rules

Required outbound connections:

Service	Port	Protocol	Purpose
PostgreSQL	5432	TCP	Database access
API	443	HTTPS	REST API
Mediator	50051	gRPC	Meter communication
Meter	Various	TCP	Direct meter access

VPN Configuration

For secure access to production:

# Connect to VPN
openvpn --config flows-production.ovpn

# Test connectivity
ping flows.simtricity.com
nc -zv flows.simtricity.com 5432

Verification

Check Installation

def verify_installation():
    """Verify Flows platform access"""
    
    checks = []
    
    # Check database connection
    try:
        conn = psycopg2.connect(DATABASE_URL)
        conn.close()
        checks.append("✓ Database connection")
    except Exception as e:
        checks.append(f"✗ Database connection: {e}")
    
    # Check API access
    try:
        response = requests.get(f"{FLOWS_API_URL}/", headers=headers)
        response.raise_for_status()
        checks.append("✓ API access")
    except Exception as e:
        checks.append(f"✗ API access: {e}")
    
    # Check meter communication
    try:
        import simt_emlite
        checks.append("✓ simt-emlite installed")
    except ImportError:
        checks.append("✗ simt-emlite not installed")
    
    return checks

# Run verification
for check in verify_installation():
    print(check)

Test Queries

-- Check meter count
SELECT COUNT(*) FROM flows.meter_registry WHERE mode = 'active';

-- Check recent data
SELECT MAX(timestamp) as latest_reading 
FROM flows.register_import
WHERE timestamp > NOW() - INTERVAL '1 hour';

-- Check system health
SELECT 
    COUNT(DISTINCT meter_id) as reporting_meters,
    MIN(timestamp) as oldest,
    MAX(timestamp) as newest
FROM flows.meter_csq
WHERE timestamp > NOW() - INTERVAL '1 hour';

Next Steps

• Troubleshooting Guide - Common issues
• API Reference - API documentation
• Developer Guides - Usage examples