ROS 2 Middleware Layer for RTI Connext DDS

This repository contains two novel implementations of the ROS 2 RMW layer which allow developers to deploy their ROS applications on top of RTI Connext DDS Professional and RTI Connext DDS Micro.

The repository provides two RMW packages:

• rmw_connextdds

• rmw_connextddsmicro

Package rmw_connextdds is meant to be a replacement for rmw_connext_cpp. This new implementation resolves several performance issues, and it improves out-of-the-box interoperability with DDS applications.

The repository is undergoing stabilization, with some features still in active development. Please consider reporting any issue that you may experience, while monitoring the repository for frequent updates.

For any questions or feedback, feel free to reach out to robotics@rti.com.

Quick Start

1. Load ROS into the shell environment (Rolling if using the master branch, see Support for different ROS 2 Releases)

    source /opt/ros/rolling/setup.bash
    

1. Configure RTI Connext DDS Professional and/or RTI Connext DDS Micro on your system (see Requirements). Make the installation(s) available via environment variables, e.g. by using the provided rtisetenv_<architecture>.bash script (replace ~/rti_connext_dds-6.0.1 with the path of your Connext installation):

    source ~/rti_connext_dds-6.0.1/resource/scripts/rtisetenv_x64Linux4gcc7.3.0.bash
    export CONNEXTDDS_DIR=${NDDSHOME}
    

1. Create an overlay directory and clone the repository:

    mkdir -p ~/ros2_connextdds/src/ros2
    cd ~/ros2_connextdds
    git clone https://github.com/rticommunity/rmw_connextdds.git src/ros2/rmw_connextdds
    

1. Build the RMW:

    colcon build --symlink-install
    

1. Load the generated environment script:

    source ~/ros2_connextdds/install/setup.bash
    

1. Run ROS applications with RTI Connext DDS Professional:

    RMW_IMPLEMENTATION=rmw_connextdds ros2 run demo_nodes_cpp talker
    

1. Run ROS applications with RTI Connext DDS Micro:

    RMW_IMPLEMENTATION=rmw_connextddsmicro ros2 run demo_nodes_cpp talker
    

Support for different ROS 2 Releases

rmw_connextdds, and rmw_connextddsmicro support multiple versions of ROS 2.

The following table summarizes which branch of the repository should be checked out in order to compile the RMW implementations for a specific ROS 2 release:

Branch master is actively developed and maintained. It is used to create other branches for specific ROS 2 releases (starting from Galactic).

Branches marked as LTS will receive updates for critical bug fixes and important patches only (until they reach EOL).

Branches marked as EOL will not receive any future updates.

RTI Connext DDS Requirements

File truncated at 100 lines see the full file