OCPP proxy for several back offices on one charger.
An OCPP proxy sits between a charger and its back offices (CSMS). The charger opens one websocket connection, to the proxy, and the proxy relays the OCPP messages to every backend connected to it and back. The Plugchoice proxy takes any number of back offices per charger, each with its own role, and is free on every account.
What you get
Choose your back office
A back office that is not in the list connects with its websocket URL, as long as it speaks OCPP 1.6J. See the integration list
Several at once
A billing party and an energy platform on the same charger, each with its role: Billing, or Data and control.
Leave without a site visit
Switch a back office off with one toggle in the portal or the app. The charger stays connected to Plugchoice.
Keep the back office you have
Nothing to migrate. The back office keeps its stream, and the Plugchoice portal and app work from the first day.
How the OCPP proxy works
The charger keeps one websocket connection, to the Plugchoice proxy. The proxy passes the charger's OCPP messages on to every connected back office, and their commands on to the charger. What an OCPP proxy is and when you need one
- Held and replayedMessages wait while a back office is offline and arrive when it is back.
- A role per back officeBilling decides who may charge. Data and control reads everything and can send commands.
- Your card list countsPlugchoice decides which cards may charge, until you give a back office the Billing role.
- Every message loggedEach OCPP message to and from the charger is stored, filterable and exportable.
OCPP proxy, gateway or broker
| Term | What it does | When you need one |
|---|---|---|
| OCPP proxy | Takes the charger's one OCPP connection and relays it to one or more back offices. The charger is set up once, with the proxy's address. | You want several back offices on one charger, or want to change back office without a site visit. |
| OCPP gateway | Connects devices that cannot reach the back office on their own. It translates another protocol or OCPP version, or bundles the chargers of one site behind one connection. | Your chargers speak another protocol or OCPP version than the back office, or a site needs one local connection point. |
| OCPP broker | Distributes OCPP messages over several back offices, often with rules for which party receives which message. In German-speaking markets the word often means an OCPP proxy. | The same cases as a proxy. |
Set up the OCPP proxy
- Point the charger at the proxySet its websocket URL to wss://ocpp.plugchoice.com. The charger then appears in the portal.
- Add the back officePick it from the list of 300+ back offices or enter its websocket URL, in the portal or the app.
- Give it a roleBilling for the party that decides who may charge, Data and control for an energy platform or your own product.
Who uses the proxy
Developers
Build on chargers someone else runs. Your product connects with the Data and control role: it reads everything and can send commands. The billing back office stays as it is.
Questions about the OCPP proxy
A CSMS, or back office, manages chargers: cards, transactions, configuration and billing. An OCPP proxy passes a charger's connection on to one or more CSMS. Plugchoice is both: a free back office, with the proxy in front of it.
Yes. It is part of the free platform, with no fee per charger.
Yes. Connect the charger to Plugchoice and add that back office with the Billing role. Both run at the same time.
Yes, each with a role: Billing for the party that decides who may charge, Data and control for an energy platform or your own product.
Only the relay to that back office stops. The charger stays connected to Plugchoice, and the portal, the app and the diagnostics keep working.
300+ back offices are ready to pick from a list. Any other back office that speaks OCPP 1.6J works with its websocket URL.
OCPP 1.6J, depending on the charger's model, firmware and configuration. OCPP 2.0.1 and 2.1 are not supported today; a charger that also offers 1.6J connects with 1.6J. The OCPP 1.6J guide
It rewrites only the message IDs and the OCPP 1.6 transaction IDs. Signed meter values pass through as the charger sent them.
For systems that do not speak OCPP, such as your own dashboard, a home automation platform or a CRM. The API for developers
Start in the web portal
Create a free account, point a charger at wss://ocpp.plugchoice.com and it appears in the portal.
Charging at home? Get the app.