ROS2 Bouncy Bolson Adds Free RTI Connext DDS: Boosting Connectivity & Diagnostics

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The second release of ROS2, codenamed "Bouncy Bolson", is now available for download from the official ROS2 website for Intel Linux, Windows, and iOS.

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ROS (Robot Operating System) is an open‑source framework for building robotic systems. ROS2 builds on the original platform, delivering higher performance by using the Data Distribution Service (DDS) for communication.

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About ROS2 Bouncy Bolson

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The "Bouncy" release is notable because it bundles RTI Connext DDS under a non‑commercial license. This makes professional‑grade DDS a free option for researchers, evaluators, and academics who use ROS2.

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Thanks to DDS’s standard‑based interoperability, every ROS2 user gains access to a rich ecosystem of tools and services, including:

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• RTI Admin Console – the go‑to tool for diagnosing connectivity issues.
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• RTI System Monitor – the premier solution for tuning and optimizing system performance.
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• RTI Recording Service – high‑bandwidth, long‑duration recording and playback of topic data.
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• RTI Routing Service – an out‑of‑the‑box bridge that enables cross‑network communication.
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Below is a real‑world example of how RTI Admin Console simplifies troubleshooting. I added a LiDAR data source to a ROS2 deployment and initially tried to display the data in RViz, but received no output.

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Using ROS2’s diagnostic commands helped narrow the issue. For instance, ros2 topic list shows active topics:

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I focused on the topic "/velodyne_points":

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Confirming that the publisher was active:

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Yet RViz still showed no data.

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Admin Console

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Launching RTI Admin Console via the RTI Launcher immediately highlights network problems. The console shows a red X indicator when participants cannot connect.

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Expanding Domain 0 and selecting "/velodyne_points" revealed a QoS mismatch:

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The publisher offered "Best Effort" reliability, but the RViz subscriber required a "Reliable" connection. DDS blocks the connection, preventing unnoticed mismatches.

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Admin Console also displays every participant, including hidden ROS2 internal topics. Key observations include:

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• Logged errors that can be examined later.
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• Writer‑only and reader‑only topics that indicate unpaired publishers or subscribers.
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• Support for multiple RMW layers from different DDS vendors, demonstrating true multi‑vendor interoperability.
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• When using the Connext RMW layer, type code information appears in discovery traffic and can be inspected in Admin Console.
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Other RMW layers suppress this information.

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Admin Console can also subscribe to data topics and visualize their values:

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With Admin Console, I identified the QoS mismatch and resolved the issue in minutes.

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Explore additional posts that showcase the power of the ROS2/DDS ecosystem for extending, diagnosing, and optimizing robotic systems, and for enhancing 3D visualization in pure DDS environments:

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• ROS2 + DDS: A Field Guide to Interoperability
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• ROS2 + DDS Play It Again
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• ROS 2 and DDS: Interoperability Drives Next‑Generation Robotics
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