Connect to a network

Pick the data link your devices use, then the program that owns it: the CLI, a Python client or server, or a Rust owner. The guides in this section set up each link; transport boundaries keeps the evidence behind each one.

Choose a path

Path	How to start	Important boundary
BACnet/IP	CLI, Python client, or Rust client	Direct reads, discovery, and routed traffic are distinct tests; settings, other subnets, NAT, multicast
BACnet/IPv6	CLI `--ipv6`, Python, or Rust feature path	Requires appropriate IPv6 addressing/interface and network validation; targets are VMACs (`bip6:<instance>`), which the CLI resolves from `[ip]:port` and Python from `resolve_vmac`; setup
BACnet/SC	SC-enabled CLI, Python, or Rust	Certificate trust, local identities, and hub behavior must be configured; setup
MS/TP	Rust serial path, or Python `transport="mstp"` and `MstpEndpoint`	The CLI joins with `--mstp` in the Linux release executables, or a source build with the `serial` feature. Qualify the actual serial hardware; setup, real-time on Linux
Ethernet/802.3	Advanced Rust transport path	Platform/privilege evidence is incomplete; not a general CLI tutorial

This is a guide to entry points, not a formal supported-platform or conformance matrix.

**Different transports, different topologies**
Separate BACnet/IP, BACnet/SC, and MS/TP topology examples.
Original SVG (opens a new tab)

Match the link to an owner

Data link	Entry points	Setup and important boundary
B/IP, NORMAL	Rust/Python standalone client and server; shared endpoint	Explicit local IPv4 interface and UDP port; selected Network Port registration is a separate opt-in
B/IP, BBMD or foreign	Rust client, server and endpoint builders (`.mode(BipMode::…)`); Python `bbmd=` and `foreign_device=`; CLI `--foreign-bbmd`	BDT/FDT or configured BBMD; one transport is never both; shared-endpoint Number evidence does not qualify every administrative operation. Reach devices on other subnets
B/IP, BBMD behind NAT	`BbmdOptions::nat` (Rust); Python `Bbmd(nat_global_address=…)`	Configured global address and a port-forwarding router; two-hop BDT listing every site’s global address; loopback NAT emulation in tests, real routers only in the manual Docker check (`examples/docker/nat`). BACnet/IP across NAT
B/IP multicast (B/IP-M) node	Rust client, server and endpoint builders (`.multicast(…)`); Python `multicast=Multicast(…)`; CLI `--bip-multicast`	Explicit interface (no `0.0.0.0`), class D group, TTL 1 unless the group spans routers; broadcasts only from the group; NORMAL mode, or a BBMD that serves the group (J.8.3) with an all-ones own BDT row; not a foreign device; loopback evidence on Linux and macOS, Windows untested. Join a B/IP multicast group
B/IPv6	Standalone Rust/Python client and server; Rust shared endpoint composed over a `Bip6Transport`; Rust and Python configured foreign-device mode (`foreign_device=` in Python)	Select one usable interface/address; peers are named by 3-octet VMAC (`bip6:<instance>`); a registered Network Port needs the transport’s VMAC built from the served Device’s instance; no endpoint builder and no Python endpoint. Connect over BACnet/IPv6
BACnet/SC	Rust/Python standalone owners and shared endpoint	Operational credentials, explicit CA and durable UUID/VMAC configuration; Rust TLS paths require `sc-tls`
MS/TP	Rust transport/server/endpoint; Python standalone and endpoint paths	Serial adapter, station, baud and token participation; do not infer physical timing from simulation
Ethernet	Linux Rust standalone client and server	AF_PACKET raw socket permissions; no shared endpoint builder or Python Ethernet API

The CLI has its own configuration surface. A Rust transport does not imply a matching CLI command or Python constructor. For exact feature gates, use the crate manifests and Rust API; do not enable every feature merely to discover which one you need.

Next steps

Release v0.15.0 ·Build and integrate. Pre-1.0 APIs; partial conformance.Support & limitations