Local Access

You can join a workstation directly to your Mesh of Things network by running the agent with Docker's host network mode. This works with Docker Engine on Linux and with supported Docker Desktop versions on macOS and Windows.

• developing and testing services that use the mesh;
• testing connectivity from your workstation; and
• reaching allowed device services without first connecting through another device.

To set up local access:

1. Install Docker on the workstation.
2. If you use Docker Desktop, use version 4.34 or later and enable Host networking under Settings → Resources → Network. Docker Desktop must be running Linux containers, and Enhanced Container Isolation must be disabled for host networking.
3. Select Add device on the Devices page.
4. Select Disable dashboard access if the workstation only needs network access, and review whether peer isolation is appropriate.
5. Copy the generated command and add --network host to the docker run options before the image name.
6. Run the command on the workstation.

You can now reach allowed services on other devices from the local command line.

Docker Desktop limitations

Docker Desktop host networking supports TCP and UDP at layer 4. Containers cannot bind directly to a specific host IP address, and host networking is unavailable while Docker Desktop is using Windows containers. These limitations do not prevent normal TCP or UDP access to allowed services over the mesh.

TIP

The destination device's firewall rules must allow this workstation as a source. Both devices must also be on the same network and must not be peer-isolated.