SteVe (Steckdosenverwaltung) is a fantastic open-source project that simplifies the management of electric vehicle (EV) charging points. With the rise of electric mobility, being able to easily set up and manage these charge points is essential.

Introduction

Originating from RWTH Aachen University in 2013, SteVe aims to enhance the use of electric mobility with straightforward installation and management capabilities. It manages charge points, user data, and RFID cards for authentication, and has been successfully tested in real-world settings.

Getting Started with SteVe

• Supported OCPP Versions:
  • OCPP 1.2S
  • OCPP 1.2J
  • OCPP 1.5S
  • OCPP 1.5J
  • OCPP 1.6S
  • OCPP 1.6J
• System Requirements:
  • JDK 17 or newer
  • Maven
  • MySQL or MariaDB

Configuration and Installation Steps

1. Database Preparation

Make sure that the time zone of the MySQL server matches that of SteVe. It’s recommended to set it to UTC. Use the following SQL commands to initialize the database:

CREATE DATABASE stevedb CHARACTER SET utf8 COLLATE utf8_unicode_ci;
CREATE USER steve@localhost IDENTIFIED BY changeme;
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON stevedb.* TO steve@localhost;

2. Download and Extract SteVe

Use the following commands to download and extract SteVe:

wget https://github.com/steve-community/steve/archive/steve-X.X.X.tar.gz
tar xzvf steve-X.X.X.tar.gz
cd steve-X.X.X

3. Configure SteVe

Before building, adjust the following in main.properties:

• Change database configuration
• Change the host IP address
• Change web interface credentials
• Enable HTTPS if needed

4. Build SteVe

Compile SteVe using Maven with the following command:

./mvnw package

5. Run SteVe

To start the application, run:

java -jar target/steve.jar

Using Docker with SteVe

If you prefer Docker, you can skip the earlier steps and use:

docker compose up -d

Configure Docker settings in main.properties as described in the configuration steps.

First Steps After Installation

Once SteVe is running, access your web interface using:

http://your-server-ip:port/steve/manager

Adding a Charge Point

1. Navigate to *Data Management* -> *Charge Points* -> *Add*.
2. Enter the ChargeBox ID and confirm.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues, consider these troubleshooting ideas:

• Check MySQL connectivity and user permissions.
• Ensure the OCPP version matches the charge point configuration.
• Verify the configuration settings in main.properties.
• Consult the FAQ for common issues.

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Final Words

At fxis.ai, we believe that such advancements are crucial for the future of AI, as they enable more comprehensive and effective solutions. Our team is continually exploring new methodologies to push the envelope in artificial intelligence, ensuring that our clients benefit from the latest technological innovations.

Have fun with SteVe and enjoy managing your electric charge points efficiently!